Inside the complex voting system for Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards 2023 came and went, but how precisely do the winners get chosen? Let's have a look! There are now 91 categories in 27 fields thanks to the addition of five new categories this year as well as a unique award for the Best Song for Social Change. In addition, the 65th annual award ceremony honored the best music recorded over a relatively narrow eligibility window. Strangely, since it only includes music that was released between October 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022, it actually ended a long time ago. Additionally, Recording Academy members and record labels submit entries that they believe should be considered for the Grammy Awards at the start of the process. Members of the Academy might be classified as professional, student, or voting members. Voting members are artists, producers, and musicians who work directly on the creation of music. And student members are students who are studying to work in the music industry, while professionals who work in the music industry are professional members. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit: GRAMMY.com[/caption] And although the nominees themselves do not need to be Recording Academy members, their work must be submitted by one or by a recognized media company. Additionally, more than 350 experts from a range of disciplines participate in review sessions to ensure that the submissions meet requirements and are classified appropriately. The goal of screenings is to make sure that each entry is valid and placed in the appropriate category, not to evaluate the recordings artistically or technically.

More details

Following the screening, it's time for the nominations, with first-round ballets being distributed to voting members and tallied by the independent accounting firm Deloitte. In addition to the four categories in the General Field (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist), they may vote in up to ten categories across up to three genre fields. And to ensure the quality of the voting, members are instructed to cast their votes solely in the areas in which they are experts. Moreover, final nominations for craft categories are chosen by committees made up of voters from every city in The Academy's Chapter. The final voting then takes place when nominations have been decided upon and made public. In order to choose the winners, Academy voting members vote in up to 10 categories spanning up to three genre fields in addition to the four categories of the General Field. Obviously, the winner in a category is the one with the most votes, and if there is a tie, there are two winners. Also read: Jennifer Coolidge revealed that she used “terrible things” customers said to her as a waitress for comedy skits [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1296"] Image credit: The Hollywood Reporter[/caption] Then, following Deloitte's review of the votes, each winner's name is delivered in a sealed envelope that is not opened until the event. Hence, the outcomes are unknown until the televised awards ceremony when the Grammy Award winners are revealed.

What exactly is wrong with any of that then?

The awards honor "artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position," according to its official statement. However, the "album sales or chart position" seems to help a lot more, it has been suggested. Furthermore, you must clear a lot of obstacles before being taken into consideration, and completing the paperwork is time-consuming. And those who are signed to a major label may be passed up in favor of someone who has a greater chance, or smaller labels may not know how to submit. Moreover, your work must have been published and sold in the US, but it's unclear how this works today, when anyone may submit their music to streaming services like YouTube. In addition, individual awards pose problems as well, as in the case of Best New Artist, because they are given to those who "first establishes the public identity of that artist or established group."  Therefore, this implies that you could have been working in the music business for years but would be eligible if it was your first solo album. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit: National Today[/caption] On another note, when it comes to voting, some genres receive less support than others during the nominations phase, and many voters without any relevant experience choose the winning genres. In addition, to qualify for that category, your album only needs to contain 51% of that genre. As a result, mainstream music is given preference because it has a higher likelihood of fitting multiple genres. Lastly, at the 2023 Grammy Awards, winners also received the Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical), Best Alternative Music Performance, Best Americana Performance, Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media, or Best Spoken Word Poetry Album awards.