It became one of the highest rated music TV ceremonies in the UK, boosting sales of CDs and then downloads in the crucial fortnight before Christmas every year.
At the beginning of December, a shortlist of twenty (later extended to thirty) songs were decided by an expert industry panel and showcased in a preview programme, with the public then invited to choose their favourite by phone vote, and the ten songs with the most votes advanced to the live show the following week.
After all of the songs had been presented, the phone lines were opened and in later years, voting was also conducted by both online and text message.
The artist with the most votes was declared the winner and received the trophy before performing their winning song again to close the programme.
One suggested reason for this is that it is done to attract young girls, who the organisers are sure will watch the televised final and vote for the records.
Others have argued that it is an attempt to boost the sales of pop artists' albums, which traditionally have limited success relative to their singles, in the crucial pre-Christmas period.
Of the examples cited as evidence for this, the most famous include the exclusion of rap artist Eminem's "My Name Is..." in 1999 as he was unavailable to perform live on the Record of the Year final and the omission from nominations of rock act The Darkness's track "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" in 2003 despite being one of the highest selling singles of the year.
In spite of this, many winners of the award, as well as the organisers, argue its significance and integrity on the basis that it represents the views of the public, rather than critics.
The writer and director Richard Curtis, who is the founder of Comic Relief, also cited Gareth Gates' win of the 2002 award as the deciding factor in asking him to record the following year's Red Nose Day single for the charity.
Below is a list of companies that have sponsored the award since it began: From 1998 to 2004, the theme music was the club track "Disco Cop" by Blue Adonis.