Between 1975 and 1980, Billboard Magazine hosted a series of eight International Disco Forums, weekend-long trade conferences for members of the music, radio and nightlife industries featuring equipment exhibitors, speakers and panel discussions. Disco Forum VI, held at the New York Hilton Hotel 12-15 July 1979, was attended by over 1,000 registrants from 16 countries and began with a welcome party at the Roseville Ballroom hosted by artists Sister Sledge, Peter Brown and Bonnie Pointer, followed by a midnight party at Studio 54 sponsored by Donna Summer's record label, Casablanca Record & FilmWorks.
At the Forum's climactic banquet on the evening of 15 July, Summer was awarded three honors including Best Female Disco Artist and her fourth consecutive prize for overall Best Disco Artist. The award for Best Disco Album, accompanied by the present trophy, was shared as a tie between Summer's double-LP Live and More and Chic's C'est Chic. Casablanca received the title of Top Disco Label.
Live and More, its first three sides recorded live in concert at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles on 17 June 1978, was Summer's first album to achieve Platinum status, being certified by the RIAA on 19 October 1978 in recognition of over 2,000,000 copies sold. It was also Summer's first release to top the Billboard 200 chart, reaching the #1 position the week of 11 November 1978.