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A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Music Film.

26 ceremonies, 2000–2025. 26 different winners.

Who won most recently?
Jon Batiste in 2025 for American Symphony.
  1. American SymphonyJon Batiste
  2. Moonage DaydreamDavid Bowie
  3. Jazz Fest: A New Orleans StoryFrank Marshall and Ryan Suffern, directors
  4. Summer of SoulAhmir "Questlove" Thompson, director
  5. The Sound of My VoiceLinda Ronstadt
  6. Homecoming: A Film by BeyoncéBeyoncé
Years explored
2000–2025
Different winners
26
Category leader
No leader
About this record

Best Music Film was previously known as Best Long Form Music Video.

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

20002025

01 / The reigns

26 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2000–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited label.

One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by label; scroll sideways for the full run.
Jimi Hendrix'00
John Lennon'01
Mel Brooks'02
The Clash'03
Sam Cooke'04
David Leland, director'05
Bob Dylan'06
Bruce Springsteen'07
Madonna'08
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'09
Adrian Wills, director'10
The Doors'11
Foo Fighters'12
Big Easy Express'13
Paul McCartney'14
20 Feet from Stardom'15
Amy Winehouse'16
The Beatles'17
Allen Hughes, director'18
Quincy Jones'19
Beyoncé'20
Linda Ronstadt'21
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, director'22
Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern, directors'23
David Bowie'24
Jon Batiste'25

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025. Excludes 2 nominations credited to Various Artists, which names a compilation rather than an act.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Coldplay
    3 noms
  2. 02
    Billie Eilish
    2 noms
  3. 03
    Gorillaz
    2 noms
  4. 04
    R. Kelly
    2 noms
  5. 05
    U2
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

Beyoncé performing on the Renaissance World Tour in London
01Beyoncé3 losses · 1 wins
  1. 02
    Coldplay
    3L · 0W
  2. 03
    Billie Eilish
    2L · 0W
  3. 04
    Gorillaz
    2L · 0W
  4. 05
    R. Kelly
    2L · 0W
  5. 06
    U2
    2L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerLabel
2025Jon Batiste (American Symphony)
beat 4 others
  • Bao Nguyen, director (The Greatest Night in Pop)
  • June Carter Cash (June)
  • Run DMC (Kings from Queens)
  • Steven van Zandt (Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple)
Not listed
2024David Bowie (Moonage Daydream)
beat 4 others
  • Tupac Shakur (Dear Mama)
  • Lewis Capaldi (How I'm Feeling Now)
  • Little Richard (I Am Everything)
  • Kendrick Lamar (Live from Paris: The Big Steppers Tour)
Not listed
2023Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern, directors (Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story)
beat 5 others
  • Adele (Adele One Night Only)
  • Neil Young and Crazy Horse (Barn: A Band, A Brotherhood, A Barn)
  • Billie Eilish (Billie Eilish: Live at the O2)
  • Rosalía (Motomami (Rosalía Tiktok Live Performance))
  • Justin Bieber (Our World)
Not listed
2022Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, director (Summer of Soul)
beat 4 others
  • David Byrne (David Byrne's American Utopia)
  • Billie Eilish (Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles)
  • Bo Burnham (Inside)
  • Jimi Hendrix (Music, Money, Madness... Jimi Hendrix in Maui)
Not listed
2021Linda Ronstadt (The Sound of My Voice)
beat 4 others
  • Beastie Boys (Beastie Boys Story)
  • Beyoncé (Black Is King)
  • ZZ Top (That Little Ol' Band from Texas)
  • Freestyle Love Supreme (We Are Freestyle Love Supreme)
Not listed
2020Beyoncé (Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé)
beat 4 others
  • Thom Yorke (Anima)
  • Miles Davis (Birth of the Cool)
  • David Crosby (Remember My Name)
  • Jeff Malmberg and Morgan Neville, directors (Shangri-La)
Not listed
2019Quincy Jones (Quincy)
beat 4 others
  • Itzhak Perlman (Itzhak)
  • Elvis Presley (The King)
  • Eric Clapton (Life in 12 Bars)
  • Whitney Houston (Whitney)
Not listed
2018Allen Hughes, director (The Defiant Ones)
beat 4 others
  • Grateful Dead (Long Strange Trip)
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (One More Time with Feeling)
  • Maro Chermayeff and Jeff Dupre, directors (Soundbreaking)
  • Sam Pollard, director (Two Trains Runnin)
Not listed
2017The Beatles (The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years)
beat 4 others
  • George J. Flanigen IV, director (American Saturday Night: Live from the Grand Ole Opry)
  • Steve Aoki (I'll Sleep When I'm Dead)
  • Beyoncé (Lemonade)
  • Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble (The Music of Strangers)
Not listed
2016Amy Winehouse (Amy)
beat 4 others
  • James Brown (Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown)
  • Foo Fighters (Sonic Highways)
  • Roger Waters (The Wall)
  • Nina Simone (What Happened, Miss Simone?)
Not listed
2015Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer and Judith Hill (20 Feet from Stardom)
beat 4 others
  • Beyoncé and Jay-Z (Beyoncé and Jay-Z: On the Run Tour)
  • Coldplay (Ghost Stories)
  • Metallica (Metallica: Through the Never)
  • Pink (The Truth About Love Tour: Live from Melbourne)
Not listed
2014Paul McCartney (Live Kisses)
beat 4 others
  • Green Day (¡Cuatro!)
  • Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite (I'm In I'm Out and I'm Gone: The Making of Get Up!)
  • Coldplay (Live 2012)
  • Mumford & Sons (The Road to Red Rocks)
Not listed
2013Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show (Big Easy Express)
beat 4 others
  • Sade (Bring Me Home – Live 2011)
  • U2 (From the Sky Down)
  • Tegan & Sara (Get Along)
  • Esperanza Spalding (Radio Music Society)
Not listed
2012Foo Fighters (Foo Fighters: Back and Forth)
beat 4 others
  • A Tribe Called Quest (Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest)
  • Beyoncé (I Am... World Tour)
  • TV on the Radio (Nine Types of Light)
  • Kings of Leon (Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon)
Not listed
2011The Doors (When You're Strange)
beat 4 others
  • Arif Mardin (The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story)
  • Blur (No Distance Left to Run)
  • Rush (Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage)
  • The White Stripes (Under Great White Northern Lights)
Not listed
2010Adrian Wills, director (The Beatles Love – All Together Now)
beat 4 others
  • Anita O'Day (Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer)
  • Chris Botti (In Boston)
  • Johnny Cash (Johnny Cash's America)
  • Keith Urban (Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy World Tour Live)
Not listed
2009Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Runnin' Down a Dream)
beat 4 others
  • The Who (Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who)
  • Rihanna (Good Girl Gone Bad Live)
  • Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville, directors (Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story)
  • John Mayer (Where the Light Is: Live in Los Angeles)
Not listed
2008Madonna (The Confessions Tour)
beat 4 others
  • Kenny Wayne Shepherd (10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads)
  • Reuben Fields, director (Liberacion: The Songs of the New Cuban Underground)
  • Dierks Bentley (Live & Loud at the Fillmore)
  • R. Kelly (Trapped in the Closet (Chapters 13–22))
Not listed
2007Bruce Springsteen (Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run)
beat 4 others
  • Gorillaz (Demon Days: Live in Manchester)
  • Death Cab for Cutie (Directions)
  • Terence Blanchard (Flow: Living in the Stream of Music)
  • Madonna (I'm Going to Tell You a Secret)
Not listed
2006Bob Dylan (No Direction Home)
beat 4 others
  • Brian Wilson (Brian Wilson Presents Smile)
  • Bruce Springsteen (Devils & Dust)
  • Ramones (End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones)
  • R. Kelly (Trapped in the Closet (Chapters 1–5))
Not listed
2005David Leland, director (Concert for George)
beat 4 others
  • John Adams and London Symphony Orchestra (John Adams: The Death of Klinghoffer)
  • Coldplay (Coldplay Live 2003)
  • Various Artists (Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues – A Music Journey)
  • Mark Moormann, director (Tom Dowd and the Language of Music)
Not listed
2004Sam Cooke (Legend)
beat 4 others
  • Various Artists (The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966, Volume 1)
  • Muddy Waters (American Masters – Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied)
  • Tom Cairns, director (Leonard Bernstein: Trouble in Tahiti)
  • Gorillaz (Phase One: Celebrity Take Down)
Not listed
2003The Clash (Westway to the World)
beat 4 others
  • 1 Giant Leap (1 Giant Leap)
  • Robbie Williams (Live at the Albert)
  • Beth Harrington, director (Welcome to the Club: The Women of Rockabilly)
  • Nappy Roots (The World According to Nappy)
Not listed
2002Mel Brooks (Recording The Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks)
beat 3 others
  • Freddie Mercury (Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story)
  • Moby (Play: The DVD)
  • Bob Marley (Rebel Music: The Bob Marley Story)
Not listed
2001John Lennon (Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album)
beat 4 others
  • Ella Fitzgerald (American Masters – Ella Fitzgerald: Something to Live For)
  • Donald Sturrock, director (The Art of Piano: Great Pianists of the 20th Century)
  • The Beach Boys (Endless Harmony – The Beach Boys Story, A Documentary)
  • Willie Nelson (Teatro)
Not listed
2000Jimi Hendrix (Band of Gypsys: Live at Fillmore East)
beat 4 others
  • Asleep at the Wheel (The Making of 'Ride With Bob)
  • Gloria Estefan (Don't Stop)
  • Radiohead (Meeting People Is Easy)
  • U2 (PopMart: Live from Mexico City)
Not listed