By Tamara Conniff
The Grammy Awards. How do legacy artists get bundled with rap stars? Who decides the nominees for the coveted album of the year? Does it make sense to have Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney Gwen Stefani, U2 and Kanye West all up for the same award? Your questions answered right here.
It is that Grammy voting time of year. Those nominated fete the Recording Academy's wisdom and prowess, while those shunned cry fraud and favoritism.
Yet the voting process has been a mystery, until now. In fact, it is obsessively overseen by Diane Theriot, head of awards, and a 17-year Academy veteran. She has held strong through numerous regimes (from the hated Michael Greene to the loved Neil Portnow).
In early summer, Grammy entries are solicited from Recording Academy members and registered record labels. This group submits approximately 15,000 initial entries for Grammy consideration online between June and August. Theriot and her awards team then assess all the entries to make sure they are actually eligible.
In late September, Grammy screening meetings are held to ensure all recordings have been entered into the correct categories. For example, to assess whether U2 should be considered rock or pop, etc.
This is no small task given there are 108 categories. The Academy invites member experts in each genre to make these assessments. The Academy prides itself in that the Grammy Awards are based on peer voting. These experts are chosen based on what area -- producer, artist, etc. -- of the recording business qualified them for membership.
Screening committees for Native American music, soundtracks, world music and children's music are held at the Recording Academy's Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters. All other committee meetings are held during a two-day off-site, usually at a swank hotel, where experts labor in nine different screening rooms.
Now it starts getting complicated. Enter the craft fields. (As a refresher, the 108 categories are contained in 31 fields; for example, the pop field has seven categories.) Craft field categories are deemed so because they require a distinct amount of hands-on research and expertise. They include album package, album notes, best historical album, remix and surround sound. It is important that those voting on album package actually see the album package, etc. The Academy sets up expert craft committees in each chapter city made up of voting members. The chapter boards recommend committee members who then have to be approved by the full board of trustees. These craft categories do not go out to general voting. The craft committees go through a two-step voting process to determine the final nominations, which are given directly to accounting firm Deloitte.
Non-craft committee categories are included on the general ballot, which is based on the 15,000 entries. Grammy voters send their ballots to Deloitte, which then tabulates the data and prepare the awards department for the next round, which is even more complicated.
The general ballot determines the semi-finalists for yet another set of craft fields: composing, arranging, engineering and producing. This process is the same as the other craft committees, it just happens at a later time.
The general ballot also gives the Academy the semi-finalists for the jazz, classical, Latin and music video fields as well as the general field, aka the BIG ONES: album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist.
Nomination review committees comprised of voting members who have been approved by the trustees then scrutinize these semi-finalists. Yes, trustees are eligible to be on these committees. Theriot assures Billboard that these committees are in fact top secret and rotate every year.
Why have nomination review committees? Theriot says these committees began for classical and jazz in May 1989 and May 1992, respectively, because it is not mainstream music. The Academy wanted to make sure that members did not cast their votes based on popularity or name recognition, but truly on the quality of the recording. The nomination review committee listens to all semi-finalists recordings from beginning to end before casting their votes. Latin was added to this list in May 2002, and the general field was added in 1995.
Yes, the general field is the most contentious. But shockingly enough, the Academy had good reason to do it. Theriot confesses that not all Academy members know the difference between song of the year and record of the year. Song of the year is a songwriter's award and needs to be judged based on melody, lyrics and writing aptitude. Record of the year is an artist's award and can be judged more on performance and delivery. Once again, the top-secret experts have to be called in. Committee members cast their individual votes directly to Deloitte, whose representatives come on site. Each committee, including the craft committees, range in size from 15 to 40 people.
This is how the Academy gets to the final nominations. And for the naysayers who say members can vote in too many fields -- not so. For the first ballot, members can vote in only nine fields; and for the second ballot, in only eight fields. The production, composing and arranging fields are voted on only by people who qualified for membership in these respective areas.
The final nominations are due Jan. 11. Then, on Feb. 8, representatives from Deloitte, under police escort, will bring the winning envelopes directly to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, in time for the live telecast.
Is the process perfect? No. People complain that the nominees, especially for album of the year, song of the year and record of the year, are either too commercial or not commercial enough. Theriot says the awards department is always working on ways to make the process better.
Who are these people who get to sit on committees? They are peers of the nominees and winners, they are experts, and, we all hope, they care more about music than record business politics.
This article originally appeared in the Jan. 7. 2006, issue of Billboard.
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/grammy/2006/voting/index.jsp
The Grammy Awards. How do legacy artists get bundled with rap stars? Who decides the nominees for the coveted album of the year? Does it make sense to have Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney Gwen Stefani, U2 and Kanye West all up for the same award? Your questions answered right here.
It is that Grammy voting time of year. Those nominated fete the Recording Academy's wisdom and prowess, while those shunned cry fraud and favoritism.
Yet the voting process has been a mystery, until now. In fact, it is obsessively overseen by Diane Theriot, head of awards, and a 17-year Academy veteran. She has held strong through numerous regimes (from the hated Michael Greene to the loved Neil Portnow).
In early summer, Grammy entries are solicited from Recording Academy members and registered record labels. This group submits approximately 15,000 initial entries for Grammy consideration online between June and August. Theriot and her awards team then assess all the entries to make sure they are actually eligible.
In late September, Grammy screening meetings are held to ensure all recordings have been entered into the correct categories. For example, to assess whether U2 should be considered rock or pop, etc.
This is no small task given there are 108 categories. The Academy invites member experts in each genre to make these assessments. The Academy prides itself in that the Grammy Awards are based on peer voting. These experts are chosen based on what area -- producer, artist, etc. -- of the recording business qualified them for membership.
Screening committees for Native American music, soundtracks, world music and children's music are held at the Recording Academy's Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters. All other committee meetings are held during a two-day off-site, usually at a swank hotel, where experts labor in nine different screening rooms.
Now it starts getting complicated. Enter the craft fields. (As a refresher, the 108 categories are contained in 31 fields; for example, the pop field has seven categories.) Craft field categories are deemed so because they require a distinct amount of hands-on research and expertise. They include album package, album notes, best historical album, remix and surround sound. It is important that those voting on album package actually see the album package, etc. The Academy sets up expert craft committees in each chapter city made up of voting members. The chapter boards recommend committee members who then have to be approved by the full board of trustees. These craft categories do not go out to general voting. The craft committees go through a two-step voting process to determine the final nominations, which are given directly to accounting firm Deloitte.
Non-craft committee categories are included on the general ballot, which is based on the 15,000 entries. Grammy voters send their ballots to Deloitte, which then tabulates the data and prepare the awards department for the next round, which is even more complicated.
The general ballot determines the semi-finalists for yet another set of craft fields: composing, arranging, engineering and producing. This process is the same as the other craft committees, it just happens at a later time.
The general ballot also gives the Academy the semi-finalists for the jazz, classical, Latin and music video fields as well as the general field, aka the BIG ONES: album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist.
Nomination review committees comprised of voting members who have been approved by the trustees then scrutinize these semi-finalists. Yes, trustees are eligible to be on these committees. Theriot assures Billboard that these committees are in fact top secret and rotate every year.
Why have nomination review committees? Theriot says these committees began for classical and jazz in May 1989 and May 1992, respectively, because it is not mainstream music. The Academy wanted to make sure that members did not cast their votes based on popularity or name recognition, but truly on the quality of the recording. The nomination review committee listens to all semi-finalists recordings from beginning to end before casting their votes. Latin was added to this list in May 2002, and the general field was added in 1995.
Yes, the general field is the most contentious. But shockingly enough, the Academy had good reason to do it. Theriot confesses that not all Academy members know the difference between song of the year and record of the year. Song of the year is a songwriter's award and needs to be judged based on melody, lyrics and writing aptitude. Record of the year is an artist's award and can be judged more on performance and delivery. Once again, the top-secret experts have to be called in. Committee members cast their individual votes directly to Deloitte, whose representatives come on site. Each committee, including the craft committees, range in size from 15 to 40 people.
This is how the Academy gets to the final nominations. And for the naysayers who say members can vote in too many fields -- not so. For the first ballot, members can vote in only nine fields; and for the second ballot, in only eight fields. The production, composing and arranging fields are voted on only by people who qualified for membership in these respective areas.
The final nominations are due Jan. 11. Then, on Feb. 8, representatives from Deloitte, under police escort, will bring the winning envelopes directly to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, in time for the live telecast.
Is the process perfect? No. People complain that the nominees, especially for album of the year, song of the year and record of the year, are either too commercial or not commercial enough. Theriot says the awards department is always working on ways to make the process better.
Who are these people who get to sit on committees? They are peers of the nominees and winners, they are experts, and, we all hope, they care more about music than record business politics.
This article originally appeared in the Jan. 7. 2006, issue of Billboard.
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/grammy/2006/voting/index.jsp
