One of Harvey Mason jr.’s best innovations since becoming CEO of the Recording Academy is ordering that the compete “rules and guidelines” handbook be posted online — with all 66 pages of the rulebook arriving online last Thursday (July 14). It’s an extensive document that tells you everything you could ever want to know (and then some!) about the Grammy Awards process. Here are 10 rules that surprised or impressed us.
Notes: Most artists today, including new artists, write much of their material. The last 10 Grammy winners for best new artist, from fun. (2012) to Olivia Rodrigo (2021), wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the albums that were keyed to the award. Chance the Rapper, the 2016 winner, and Ryan Lewis, who won the 2013 award with his partner Macklemore, also produced their albums.
Should Grammy voters take new artists’ writing and producing talents into consideration? The Grammys expressly tell voters to focus on the artist’s performance in this category. Songwriting “may be a secondary consideration.” Production? That’s irrelevant here.
Here’s the rule: “In adjudicating this category, the primary element to consider is the artist’s performance. If the artist wrote most or all of the songs, this may be a secondary consideration. Production elements of the recording should not be considered.”
2. The Academy Lowered the Bar for Doling Out Grammy Nominations for Album of the Year–But Not Free Grammy Tickets
Notes: Last year, the Academy removed the “33 percent playing time” rule in album of the year which held that lead artists, featured artists, songwriters, producers, mixers and engineers who worked on 33% playing time of the album were eligible for Grammy nominations. They changed it so that everybody who worked on the album in those capacities is a Grammy nominee. They are maintaining that (overly) generous approach this year. But the generosity does not extend to giving free Grammy tickets and similar perks to all of the nominees. As was the case last year, the 33 percent playing time rule remains in effect for those courtesies.
So creative contributors whose contributions to an album of the year nominee were modest or slight can still receive Grammy nominations, but they’re on their own when it comes to Grammy tickets (which aren’t cheap). (More than a few would probably say “You can keep the Grammy nomination. I’ll take the free Grammy tickets.”)
Here’s the rule: “For album of the year nominees, the telecast, Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, Grammy Celebration, and Grammy Nominees Reception tickets go to artist(s) and to featured artist(s), songwriter(s) of new material, producer(s), recording engineer(s), mixer(s), and mastering engineer(s) credited with at least 33 percent playing time of the album, if other than the artist.” (page 33)
3. The Academy Jumped to 10 Nominees in Each of the Big Four Categories, But It’s Holding the Line at 5 Nominees Elsewhere.
In Best New Artist, Voters Should Focus on the Artist’s Performance (Songwriting Is ‘Secondary’ and Production Is Irrelevant)
Photo : Christopher Polk
Notes: Most artists today, including new artists, write much of their material. The last 10 Grammy winners for best new artist, from fun. (2012) to Olivia Rodrigo (2021), wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the albums that were keyed to the award. Chance the Rapper, the 2016 winner, and Ryan Lewis, who won the 2013 award with his partner Macklemore, also produced their albums.
Should Grammy voters take new artists’ writing and producing talents into consideration? The Grammys expressly tell voters to focus on the artist’s performance in this category. Songwriting “may be a secondary consideration.” Production? That’s irrelevant here.
Here’s the rule: “In adjudicating this category, the primary element to consider is the artist’s performance. If the artist wrote most or all of the songs, this may be a secondary consideration. Production elements of the recording should not be considered.”
2. The Academy Lowered the Bar for Doling Out Grammy Nominations for Album of the Year–But Not Free Grammy Tickets
Notes: Last year, the Academy removed the “33 percent playing time” rule in album of the year which held that lead artists, featured artists, songwriters, producers, mixers and engineers who worked on 33% playing time of the album were eligible for Grammy nominations. They changed it so that everybody who worked on the album in those capacities is a Grammy nominee. They are maintaining that (overly) generous approach this year. But the generosity does not extend to giving free Grammy tickets and similar perks to all of the nominees. As was the case last year, the 33 percent playing time rule remains in effect for those courtesies.
So creative contributors whose contributions to an album of the year nominee were modest or slight can still receive Grammy nominations, but they’re on their own when it comes to Grammy tickets (which aren’t cheap). (More than a few would probably say “You can keep the Grammy nomination. I’ll take the free Grammy tickets.”)
Here’s the rule: “For album of the year nominees, the telecast, Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, Grammy Celebration, and Grammy Nominees Reception tickets go to artist(s) and to featured artist(s), songwriter(s) of new material, producer(s), recording engineer(s), mixer(s), and mastering engineer(s) credited with at least 33 percent playing time of the album, if other than the artist.” (page 33)
3
The Academy Jumped to 10 Nominees in Each of the Big Four Categories, But It’s Holding the Line at 5 Nominees Elsewhere
Notes: The Grammys used to cap all categories at five nominees (barring ties), but in 2018, it expanded the number of nominees in each of its Big Four categories (album, record and song of the year, plus best new artist) to eight. Last year, at the eleventh hour, it expanded it again from eight to 10.
But the Academy has no current plans to expand the number of nominees in other categories, by going to six or eight nominees in other key categories — such as genre album categories, for example.
That’s wise: The Academy will present 91 Grammys this year. With 10 nominees in each of the Big Four categories and five nominees in each of the 87 other categories, that’s 474 nominees (of course, many repeat, so there are fewer distinct nominees), That’s a lot of categories. It’s best to keep the number of nominees in check.
Here’s the rule: “The number of nominations in the general field categories (record of the year, song of the year, album of the year, and best new artist) is 10. The other categories will have five nominations. In the event of a tie in the nominations, there shall be no more than six and no less than three nominations in these categories.” (page 16)
4. There’s No Limit on the Number of Song of the Year Nominations a Songwriter Can Have in a Given Year
Notes: In general, an artist can have just one nomination for record or album of the year, but there’s an exception that could bring them a second nod – if the second nomination is with a co-nominee, or if each nod is with a different co-nominee.
These exceptions have come into play in recent years. In 2020, Beyoncé had two nods for record of the year – for her own “Black Parade” and as a featured artist on Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage.” In 2013, Pharrell had two nods for record of the year – as a featured artist on both Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”
Going further back, in 1989, Tom Petty was nominated for album of the year for his own Full Moon Fever, and as a member of Traveling Wilburys for their collaborative album Volume One.
But there’s no limit on the number of nominations a songwriter could have for song of the year or in these five other songwriting categories – best rock song, best R&B song, best rap song, best country song, or best song for visual media.
This past year, two songwriters each had two of the 10 song of the year nominees. Dernst Emile II (D’Mile) was nominated for co-writing Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” (which won) and H.E.R.’s “Fight for You.” Brandi Carlile was nominated for co-writing her own hit “Right on Time” and “A Beautiful Noise,” a collab with Alicia Keys. They were the first songwriters to have more than one song of the year nominee in any one year since 1994, when Elton John and Tim Rice also had two (back when the category had only five nominees).
Here’s the rule [for album of the year and record of the year]: “1 nomination to the artist – with the following exceptions: 2 nominations to the artist if the 2nd is with a co-nominee or 2 nominations to the artist if each [is] with a co-nominee.” [for song of the year: no limit on number of nominations] (page 21)
5. Screening Committees May Move Entries to Categories They Deem More Suitable, But If They’re Unsure, They Should Leave It.
Notes: The Academy claims as one if its rights “to place any selection into the category it deems appropriate.” But the Academy has placed a limit on that power. If there isn’t a consensus about where to move a recording, the entry should be left where it is.
Here’s the rule: “Entries in most categories are screened by committees of genre experts to determine appropriate category and field placement. If a genre screening committee determines that a recording should be moved to another genre, the recording is forwarded and screened by that genre committee.
“The screening committee is expected to consider the artist’s intent as part of the decision-making process. In cases where a screening committee is unsure whether to move the recording to another genre, artist’s intent (as indicated by the category in which the recording was initially entered) should be considered as the deciding factor in the appropriate category placement.” (page 14)
6. If a Grammy is Rescinded, No Award is Given That Year (Sorry, Runner-Up)
Notes: In 1990, Milli Vanilli’s Grammy for best new artist was rescinded following a lip-synching scandal. The Academy didn’t give the award to the artist with the next-highest-vote total (the other nominees that year were Neneh Cherry, Indigo Girls, Soul II Soul and Tone Loc). Official Grammy records list the other four candidates as nominees and simply show no winner that year. (It’s as if Milli Vanilli never existed.)
Somewhat surprisingly, the Academy would do the same thing today.
Here’s the rule: “The Grammy process does not produce a ranked result with a winner and ordered runners-up. In any situation where a Grammy Award is withdrawn following the presentation, no award is given in that category for that year.”
7. If You’re Contesting the Nominations List, You Have 2 Weeks From the Date the Nods Are Announced.
Notes: This year’s Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov. 15. The deadline to alert the Academy of any errors or omissions in the nominations lists is Nov. 29. After that, you’ll have to wait till after the award telecast on Feb. 5, 2023. Recording Academy staff are pretty busy in the run-up to the awards show, and feel this restriction is necessary for them to stay on track.
Here’s the rule: “A deadline has been established for those not credited appropriately in liner notes or metadata files to claim status as a nominee: two weeks after the announcement of the nominations. The process for corrections to be made to nominations is to have the potential recipient inform the awards department of the correction, specifically detailing what was inaccurately submitted or omitted, an explanation as to why the error took place, and what steps are being taken to correct the mistake. The Academy may also in its due diligence require further documentation regarding the inquiry as it sees fit to substantiate its authenticity. Once the information is reviewed and approved by the head of awards, the correction is then made and the nomination corrected. Any individual not included in the final nominations list who claims a nomination after the deadline will be informed by staff that all official changes to be made will be done after the awards telecast.”
8. The Academy Has Strict Rules on the Number of Entries That Are Needed in Each Category
Notes: The Academy requires 40 nominees in a category to warrant the standard five nominees. No category fell below that threshold this past year, but four came close, logging between 40 and 50 entries – best regional roots music album (41 entries), best Latin jazz album (47 entries), best large jazz ensemble album (48 entries), and best traditional blues album (49 entries).
Here’s the rule: “Each category shall have at least 40 distinct artist entries. If a category receives between 25 and 39 entries, only three recordings will receive nominations in that year. Should there be fewer than 25 entries in a category, that category will immediately go on hiatus for the current year — no award given — and entries will be screened into the next most logical category. If a category received fewer than 25 entries for three consecutive years, the category will be discontinued, and submissions will be entered in the next most appropriate category.”
9. The Academy Accepts Awards & Nominations Proposals From Members – But Don’t Dawdle
Notes: If you’re watching (or attending) the 65th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, you may have an idea for adding, dropping or improving a category. The Academy is willing to consider your idea – but you better get cracking. You have exactly 24 days from the date of the upcoming telecast to get your proposal in.
You’re supposed to direct your idea to the head of the awards department and/or the co-chairs of the awards & nominations committee. The Academy doesn’t provide the names or email addresses of those people, so respondents will have to do some work just to figure out who to send it to and where to send it. The Academy could do a better job making this information easily accessible, which would be in line with Mason’s oft-repeated claim that transparency is important to the new leadership of the Academy.
Here’s the rule: “The Recording Academy accepts proposals for changes to the rules, guidelines, definitions, etc. of the Grammy Awards. Members of the Academy may submit proposals year-round (the cutoff for proposals to be considered for the following year is March 1). All proposals need to be submitted to the head of the awards department and/or the co-chairs of the awards & nominations committee.”
10. The Academy Requires Turnover in Craft Committees Each Year
Here’s the rule: “The Recording Academy accepts proposals for changes to the rules, guidelines, definitions, etc. of the Grammy Awards. Members of the Academy may submit proposals year-round (the cutoff for proposals to be considered for the following year is March 1). All proposals need to be submitted to the head of the awards department and/or the co-chairs of the awards & nominations committee.”
