LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23 -- Taylor Swift directed her first solo music video in 2020 while also serving as its writer and lead performer, a production arrangement that most of her peers would have avoided. Six years later, MTV has created an award category specifically to define what she made of it.

CBS and MTV announced Monday that Swift will receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, a new recognition that formally separates her work behind the camera from the broader category of music industry promotion. The award is given to "groundbreaking music artists whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling," the network said in its of...