On Friday, the Recording Academy announced sweeping changes to the Grammy nomination process including the elimination of secret voting committees. Other changes set to take effect in 2022 include the consolidation of production categories, the addition of two new categories, and a limit on the number of votes that voters can cast.
The most attention-grabbing change for the Grammys is the elimination of secret nominating committees. This past year saw an intense backlash against the clandestine process by The Weeknd who, despite the enormous critical and commercial success of his After Hours album and “Blinding Lights” single, garnered zero nominations. In response to the lack of recognition, The Weeknd boycotted this year’s ceremony and came out publicly against what he categorized as the Academy’s backroom dealings.
It now appears that the Recording Academy has made a concrete step forward in transparency, eliminating the secret committee that made final decisions on the nominees for the “Big Four” General field of Album, Song, and Record of the Year and Best New Artist. Nominating committees will remain in place for craft categories, including producer, packaging, and liner notes, but those who have been the object of far less scrutiny.
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Going forward, the nominees for the General category will be chosen by the general Academy electorate, 90% of which, Variety reports, will go through a re-qualification process this year to “ensure that the voting body is actively engaged in music creation.”
“It’s been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I’m immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our Awards process,” Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. “This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community. While change and progress are key drivers of our actions, one thing will always remain — the Grammy Award is the only peer-driven and peer-voted recognition in music. We are honored to work alongside the music community year-round to further refine and protect the integrity of the Awards process.”
Additional changes coming to the music industry awards ceremony include reducing the number of categories in which Grammy Award Voters may vote from 15 to 10, which can be in no more than three categories. According to a statement from the Academy, this is to “ensure music creators are voting in the categories in which they are most knowledgeable and qualified.” All voters will still be able to cast ballots in the Big Four General categories.
The next Grammys will also see a reduction in craft categories with six existing craft fields consolidated into two: Presentation Field and Production Field. The Presentation Field will contain what were formerly the Package Field, Notes Field, and Historical Field, whereas the Production Field will consolidate the Production, Non-Classical Field; Production, Immersive Audio Field; and Production, Classical Field into one.
Finally, the Grammys will feature two new categories in 2021 which, given the reduction of craft categories, will bring the total number of categories to 86. The two new categories are Best Global Music Performance (Global Music Field) and Best Música Urbana Album (Latin Music Field).
“The latest changes to the Grammy Awards process are prime examples of the Recording Academy’s commitment to authentically represent all music creators and ensure our practices are in lock-step with the ever-changing musical environment,” Chief Industry Officer at the Recording Academy Ruby Marchand said. “As we continue to build a more active and vibrant membership community, we are confident in the expertise of our voting members to recognize excellence in music each year.”
Scroll down to read the full press release from the Recording Academy announcing the changes coming to the Grammy Awards.
[H/T Variety]