Olivia Rodrigo has good reason to be “Obsessed” with the Grammy eligibility rules, specifically the one that states: “Tracks from an album released during last year’s eligibility period are eligible in the current eligibility period, provided the same tracks were not entered the previous year and the album did not win a Grammy.”
That means that Rodrigo’s “Obsessed,” a single from the deluxe Guts (Spilled) edition of her 2023 album Guts, is eligible for the 67th annual Grammy Awards. The single was released on March 22, 2024, well within the eligibility period for the 2025 Grammys (Sept. 16, 2023 to Aug. 30, 2024). It was not entered in last year’s awards process (the focus was on “Vampire,” which was nominated for record and song of the year and best pop vocal performance, and “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl,” nominated for best rock song). And crucially, Guts didn’t win a Grammy, though it was nominated for both album of the year and best pop vocal album at the ceremony.
On the other hand, if Noah Kahan were to look over the Grammy rulebook, he might find less to cheer about. Stick Season (Forever), which was released on Feb. 9, 2024, will not be eligible to compete for album of the year. Here’s the rule from the Grammy rulebook: “Updated, revised or expanded versions of previously submitted albums will not be eligible.”
Stick Season (Forever) is an expanded version of Kahan’s Stick Season album, which was released on Oct. 14, 2022. An earlier expanded version, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), was entered for album of the year and best Americana album at the ceremony that was held earlier this year. It wasn’t nominated in either category, but it was “submitted.” (Kahan’s only Grammy nomination to date is best new artist at the ceremony held earlier this year.)
Current voting and professional members of the Recording Academy are hunkering down today and tomorrow – or, at least, the Academy fervently hopes they are – to enter recordings for the 67th annual Grammy Awards. The submission window closes on Friday Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. PT.
The rules and guidelines handbook for the 67th annual Grammy Awards runs 75 pages – and it’s not exactly a “beach read.” Fortunately, the Academy prepared a one-page summary of “Basic Guidelines.” We combed through that document to cull these eight highlights.
Recordings must meet these three basic eligibility guidelines.
Recordings must be commercially released, nationally distributed and available from any date within the aforementioned eligibility period (Sept. 16, 2023 to Aug. 30, 2024) through at least Jan. 3, 2025 – the date of the current Grammy year’s final-ballot voting deadline.
That means if a recording was available briefly, but is not available during the voting period, it’s not eligible. That’s a sound rule.
This will catch you up on key dates in this year’s Grammy process. First-round voting runs from Oct. 4 through Oct. 15. Nominees will be announced on Nov. 8. Final-round voting runs from Dec. 12 through Jan. 3, 2025. The Grammys will be presented on Feb. 2, 2025 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Only one version/mix of a recording is eligible.
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
The Academy will use the original album version of a song for screening and verification unless specifically instructed otherwise when entered. If a different version/mix of a recording by a solo artist features a guest artist, final determination of which mix is used will be made by the record label releasing the original artist version.
We saw an example of this rule in 2015, when Sam Smith won record and song of the year for the “Darkchild Version” of his breakthrough smash, “Stay With Me.” That version, co-produced by Rodney Jerkins, was also nominated for best pop solo performance. Capitol Records, the record label that released the original artist version, opted to go with the Darkchild Version instead of the original album version.
Albums must be at least three-quarters new.
Albums must contain at least 75% playing time of new recordings and previously unreleased material.
The Recording Academy defines “new recordings” as material that has been recorded within five years of the release date and not previously released. The only categories that allow entries that are not newly recorded are best historical album, best compilation soundtrack album, best immersive audio album (if the multichannel mix is new), best remixed recording (if the remix is new), best recording package (if the package is new), best album notes (if the notes are new), and certain multidisc set releases in the classical field.
An album must meet minimum content requirements.
For purposes of eligibility, an album must contain at least five tracks (different songs, not different mixes), and have a total playing time of at least 15 minutes — or it may have any number of tracks if the total playing time is at least 30 minutes.
An album may be entered in only one genre album category.
An album may be entered in only one album category in the specialized genre fields (such as best pop vocal album and best rock album). The screening committee will make the final determination on whether it has been entered in the most appropriate category. Albums entered in most categories in a specialized genre field must consist of 50% or more playing time of the specified genre. If an album doesn’t meet that threshold – if it is so varied that it isn’t 50% or more of any one genre – it can only be entered in album of the year.
We saw an example of that at the ceremony held earlier this year when Jon Batiste’s wide-ranging World Music Radio was entered and nominated for album of the year, even though it wasn’t entered in any specific genre categories.
Sampler or compilation albums are not eligible.
Sampler albums, or albums that are a compilation of tracks from other currently released albums, are not eligible. Various artists albums (tribute albums, field recordings, etc.) are eligible in appropriate album categories.
Remixes of recordings released in a previous eligibility year are eligible in only one category.
Image Credit: JM Enternational/Redferns
Remixes of recordings released in a previous eligibility year are not eligible in any category except best remixed recording.
We saw an example of this rule at work in 2014, when Cedric Gervais’ hit remix of Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” won for best remixed recording, though it wasn’t eligible in other categories, such as record of the year. Del Rey’s original version of the song was released on her Born to Die album in January 2012, and as a single that June. The remix, credited as “Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais,” was a smash, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2013.
Common reasons for disqualification.
The Academy receives many thousands of entries each year, some of which are disqualified. To help reduce the number of entries that are booted out, the Academy lists five “common reasons for disqualification”: The same album/track/single was entered in a previous year. • The product is not a new recording. • Required commercially released product (when applicable) or streaming link not received by the Recording Academy by the deadline. • Product was released outside of the current eligibility year. • Product was not released in the U.S. (imports are not eligible).
