The organisation behind The Grammys has officially announced the renaming of four award categories.
The nature of these name changes may seem minimal at first – however, they are in fact an attempt to reflect the increasingly inclusive nature of the Grammys. Such transformation is a significant step forward for the music industry and is a recognition of the progressive nature of the society we now live in. The changes have been formalised in a new guidelines book published by the Recording Academy and will apply to the 63rd Grammy Awards, due to take place in January 2021.
2020 has been an eventful year so far, to say the least. With awareness of racial injustice and a struggle for equality being played out across America and beyond, movements such as the #theshowmustbepaused and the Black Music Coalition have put pressure on organisations such as The Recording Academy to take action.
“I’m excited to announce our latest changes, as we’re constantly evaluating our Awards process and evolving it to ensure the GRAMMY Awards are inclusive and reflect the current state of the music industry”.
Harvey Mason Jr., Recording Academy CEO
Four award categories have been retitled. “Best Progressive R&B Album” is replacing the former, “Best Urban Contemporary Album”, reflecting a change in the way R&B and urban music is categorised. “Best Melodic Rap Performance” is now replacing “Best Rap/Sung Performance”, in recognition of the merge between rapping and singing that’s now taking place in so much hip-hop, rap, and trap music. “Best Latin Pop Album” is now “Best Latin Pop or Urban Album” and the award for “Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album” has been renamed “Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album”. Other notable changes to the rules include eligibility criteria for the category of Best New Artist.
After the Grammys posted a recent poll that asked about the changes, over half of people asked said, “it’s a step in the right direction”. We’re looking forward to seeing more positive changes within the music industry that move towards inclusivity for all.