The Recording Academy Is Making Some Changes to the GRAMMY Awards Process

When it comes to the way the GRAMMY Awards process is conducted, some serious changes are taking place. As revealed by a newly-shared press release from The Recording Academy, an internal “annual review of awards rules and regulations” is bringing about “new amendments” for the music industry’s most well-known award ceremony. While the entire list of changes can be checked out here, some of the most notable amendments include the following:

Moving forward, all music creators (songwriters, producers, engineers, mixers, mastering engineers, featured artists) credited with at least 33 percent or more playing time on the winning album will be eligible to receive a GRAMMY in the Album Of The Year category. Previously, songwriters were not recognized in this category.

For the first time, all voting members will cast their GRAMMY Awards votes online rather than by paper ballot. This transition will provide the Recording Academy’s more than 13,000 voting members greater access and flexibility than ever before, eliminate the possibility of invalid ballots and protect further against fraudulent voting.

Nominations Review Committees will be created and implemented for the Rap, Contemporary Instrumental, and New Age Fields. A Nominations Review process was established in 1989 as an additional round of checks and balances to eliminate the potential for a popularity bias that puts emerging artists, independent music, and late-year releases at a disadvantage. Since then, Nominations Review Committees have been established across 15 GRAMMY Awards Fields.

Moving forward, all music creators (songwriters, producers, engineers, mixers, mastering engineers, featured artists) credited with at least 33 percent or more playing time on the winning album will be eligible to receive a GRAMMY for Album Of The Year. Previously, songwriters were not recognized in this category.

The entire list of nominees for the 60th GRAMMY Awards will be revealed on Tuesday, November 28; the Madison Square Garden-hosted awards ceremony will debut on television on Sunday, January 28. For more, read up on the previous winners for the 2017 GRAMMYs.