Awards
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The Recording Academy is raising its annual membership fees from $100 to $150, its first increase since 2000. The Academy notified its members of the 50% increase in an email on Monday (July 10).
The increase takes effect on Aug. 1. Any dues submitted on or before July 31 will reflect the old rate.
Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. tells Billboard that if a member says that the fee increase would cause a hardship, they’ll make accommodations, just as they did during the pandemic.
Mason says “a small but significant” percentage of members claimed a hardship during the pandemic and were granted a fee waiver. “There were also some people that paid double dues during COVID to support people what weren’t able to pay dues,” he adds.
“If people do have hardships [with this fee increase], we’re going to continue that policy,” he said. “It’s not about trying to extract money from people that don’t have it. It’s just trying to make a fair value. So, when someone says we can’t afford to play $150, we’re going to say, ‘OK, what can you afford? Oh, you can’t afford it, No problem. We want you as a member regardless.’”
Asked if people take advantage of this lenient approach, Mason responded, “I’m sure there’s a small percentage of people that may take advantage of that, but for the most part the music community are good and fair people. If you’re involved in music and creativity and art, you’re not generally [looking for ways to cheat the system]. We’re not going to worry about the few who might have that in their heart.”
The Academy also has a waiver policy on entry fees. All professional and voting members of the Recording Academy receive five “courtesy entries” per year. If they choose to enter more than five entries, they must pay. This year, the fee is $40 for entries made between July 17-31, $75 for entries made between Aug. 1-23 and $125 for entries made between Aug. 24-31.
But the Academy notes, “Any member who would be burdened by the entry fees can request the fees be waived by reaching out to the awards department.”
The Academy justifies charging a fee for any member making more than five entries by saying, “The per-entry fee structure encourages entrants to consider the value of each entry and make mindful decisions to put forward work that they truly believe is Grammy-worthy.”
By way of justifying the membership fee increase, the Academy notes, “Since the last Recording Academy membership dues increase in 2000, the organization has organized more than 650 events across 12 Chapters, celebrated and recognized countless Grammy Award nominees and winners, provided $110 million in aid through MusiCares, and actively supported the passage of numerous bills at both the state and federal level to protect creators’ rights.”
The Recording Academy has always had rules and guidelines, dating back to its founding in 1957. In recent years, in a bid for greater transparency, and at the direction of Academy CEO Harvey Mason, jr., the Academy has posted its rules and guidelines online. It’s not a little digital pamphlet, either: It’s a 76-page document […]
Last month, the Recording Academy announced a series of changes to the Grammy Awards to better reflect an evolving music industry. Of those newly instituted guidelines, protocols involving technological advancements in machine learning sparked headlines: “Only human creators” could win the music industry’s highest honor in a decision aimed at the use of artificial intelligence in popular music.
“A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category,” the rules read in part.
As the music industry continues to come to terms with this new technology, so too will the Grammys, says Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr.
“Here’s the super easy, headline statement: AI, or music that contains AI-created elements is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period,” Mason told The Associated Press. “What’s not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion.”
If an AI or voice modeling program performs the lead vocal on a song, the track would be eligible in a songwriting category, for example, but not a performance category, because “what is performing is not human creation,” he explains. “Conversely, if a song was sung by an actual human in the studio, and they did all the performing, but AI wrote the lyric or the track, the song would not be eligible in a composition or a songwriting category.”
“As long as the human is contributing in a more than de minimis amount, which to us means a meaningful way, they are and will always be considered for a nomination or a win,” he continued. “We don’t want to see technology replace human creativity. We want to make sure technology is enhancing, embellishing, or additive to human creativity. So that’s why we took this particular stand in this award cycle.”
The Recording Academy has long considered setting rules related to AI following the popularity of new songs created alongside AI technology: David Guetta’s “Emin-AI-em”, the AI -compositions of TikTok user @ghostwriter977, Grimes’ voice modeling AI software.
In order to establish their AI guidelines, the Recording Academy engaged in extensive research, including holding tech summits.
“I’ve met with the copyright office. We’ve talked about the future and what that looks like on a federal level and the legislative level,” Mason said, adding that AI conversations “really came to a head in the last six months.”
The new Grammy AI protocols were announced three days after Paul McCartney shared that “the last Beatles record” had been composed using artificial intelligence to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo. Without knowing the extent of the technology, Mason couldn’t confirm or deny whether the song would be eligible for a Grammy nomination.
“We’ll see what it turns out to be,” he said. “But I would imagine from the early descriptions that I’ve heard there would be components of the creation that would be absolutely eligible.”
So, can Grammy viewers expect to see work at least partially created with AI nominated for an award as early as next year?
It’s impossible to predict what is submitted. But as Mason affirms, “people are using the technology. I’m imagining it’s going to be involved in a lot of records a lot of songs this year, so we’ll see if some of them get nominated or not, but I’m sure there’ll be some that will be submitted.”
The 2024 Grammy Awards will return to Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, airing live on CBS and livestreamed on Paramount+.
International independent pioneers Michel Lambot and Kenny Gates received IMPALA’s Outstanding Contribution award to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the [PIAS] group. The award was announced on Tuesday (July 4).
Over the last four decades, [PIAS] has grown from a vinyl record importer on behalf of UK independent record labels into a key European and global recording, marketing and distribution outlet. [PIAS] currently has 19 offices and 280 employees active globally.
Lambot and Gatesalso founded IMPALA in 2000 to develop a single voice for the independent music sector in Europe. They were instrumental in creating Merlin as well as Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), with a view to supporting and expanding the independent music ecosystem internationally.
Lambot and Gates were presented with their awards by Helen Smith, executive chair of IMPALA, at their BXL CENTRAL – CHEZ [PIAS] record shop and office located on Rue Saint Laurent in Brussels.
“Michel and Kenny’s story is an inspiration to all emerging independents starting out in the sector,” Smith said in a statement. “The contribution of [PIAS] to the European music sector is totally unique. [Their] amazing 40th-anniversary re-releases speak for the artists and great music, and IMPALA, Merlin and WIN speak for their approach on collaboration making everyone stronger.”
“Back some 25 years ago, we had the idea to combine forces of a handful of independent companies to increase our market leverage and playing field,” Lambot said in a statement. “That sounded crazy and naive: trying to unify independent companies owned and run by people fiercely independent was antinomic… And now getting an award by IMPALA which has become a kind of institution makes me feel so proud and so happy. The recognition by our peers of what we did all these years and are still doing, Kenny and myself, as [PIAS] on one hand, and for the independent world on the other hand, is very moving”.
Gates, who serves as CEO of [PIAS] added: “Our goal at [PIAS] has always been to expand our dreams by creating a company of holistic values that reflects a pan-European diversity. It’s been an incredible journey of constant adaptation, and we couldn’t receive this award without thanking all our staff and friends.”
IMPALA’s Outstanding Contribution Award is designed to put a spotlight on European independent music and those who drive it, as well as initiatives that deserve particular recognition. Previous recipients include Tony Duckworth, Didier Gosset, FONO, Kees Van Weijen, Keith Harris OBE, Tom Deakin, Love Record Stores, Music Declares Emergency, Markus Tobiassen and newspaper Dagens Næringsliv, Jonas Sjöström, Plus 1 Refugees welcome!, Alison Wenham, Label Love, Eurosonic Noorderslag, Sabine Verheyen MEP, Armada Music/Armin van Buuren, Martin Mills OBE, Mary Moneyball MEP, Charles Caldas and Mario Pacheco.
Lambot and Gates previously received the Indie Champion award at the AIM Music Awards 2022 in London.
Late British media journalist Juliana Koranteng previously invited Lambot and Gates to share their story on her 20MinutesWith podcast. In this episode, the two executives talked about their ambitions, successes and challenges in growing the [PIAS] network over the years. (Sadly, it turned out to the last episode Koranteng recorded. The journalist died in February at age 64.)
IMPALA was established in 2000 and now represents nearly 6,000 independent music companies. The organization’s mission is to grow the independent music sector sustainably, return more value to artists, promote diversity and entrepreneurship, improve political access, inspire change and increase access to finance.
CeCe Winans is set to receive the Aretha Franklin Icon Award at the 2023 Stellar Gospel Music Awards, which will be presented at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 15.
Winans has won 15 Grammy Awards, just three shy of the number received by Franklin, who died in 2018. Though Franklin will forever be known as the Queen of Soul, she also made a lasting impression with her gospel recordings, including the 1972 classic Amazing Grace and the 1987 album One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism. Both of those live, double-disk recordings won Grammys for best soul gospel album.
Dr. Bobby Jones will receive the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award. As previously announced, Rev. Dr. Milton Biggham will receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award. Biggham is pastor of the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., and founder of several mass choirs – The Miami Mass Choir, The Mississippi Mass Choir, the Dallas Fort Worth Mass Choir and the Georgia Mass Choir.
The show will be hosted by Jonathan McReynolds and Tasha Cobbs-Leonard for the second year in a row.
Performers set to appear on the show include Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Naomi Raine, Pastor Mike, Jr., Maranda Curtis, Tim Bowman, Jr. & Faith City Music, DOE, Dorothy Norwood and Zacardi Cortez. The emerging voices stage will showcase HLE and Lena Byrd Miles. Additional performers and presenters will be announced.
The Stellar Awards red carpet special pre-show will be televised on the newly launched Stellar TV Network on Sunday, July 30, at 5 p.m. ET, followed by the 38th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards telecast at 6 p.m. ET. The Stellar Network can be found on Charter Spectrum and Verizon Fios. Both shows will be available on-demand via Xumo Play at a later date. The ceremony will also air in national broadcast syndication from Aug. 7 through Sept. 10.
Tickets for the Stellar pre-show and main awards ceremony are now available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets range from $59 to $229.
In addition to the main awards ceremony, the Stellar Gospel Music Awards is introducing the Stellar+ Experience (Stellar+EXP), which will provide participants with a personalized experience, featuring concerts, discussions, master classes, and more. The Stellar+ Experience events will take place at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas from Wednesday, July 12, to Friday, July 14. Limited-edition passes are now available for purchase, ranging from $60 to $250, at www.eventbrite.com. For the full event schedule and more information, visit stellarplusexperience.com.
As previously reported, Pastor Mike, Jr. and Tye Tribbett are the leading nominees for the 2023 Stellar Gospel Music Awards, with 10 and nine nods, respectively.
Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin received six nominations for their collaborative album Kingdom Book One. Cobbs-Leonard, Zacardi Cortez and DOE each received five nominations. Tamela Mann is nominated in four categories for her album Overcomer Deluxe.
The 38th Stellar Gospel Music Awards show is executive produced by Don Jackson, with Jennifer J. Jackson serving as executive in charge of production and producer. Michael A. Johnson will produce and direct this year’s show.
For more information, visit www.stellarawards.com.
Little Big Town will host the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Sept. 28. The quartet, whose members were inducted into the Opry in 2014, will also perform a medley of their greatest hits during the show. The two-hour ceremony will air live on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and will stream on Peacock.
“We are honored to host the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards, especially on one of our most beloved stages in the entire world,” Little Big Town said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming so many of our talented peers to take the Opry stage for this magical night of music.”
The group – consisting of Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook – hosted the CMT Music Awards in 2018 and 2019 from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
They have also won many awards, including three Grammys for best country duo/group performance for “Pontoon,” “Girl Crush” and “Better Man.” They won vocal group of the year six years running (2012-17) at the CMA Awards and came out on top in that category four times at the ACM Awards.
The Grand Ole Opry House has hosted many awards shows through the years, including the CMA Awards (1974-2004) and the (TNN) Music City News Awards, forerunners to the CMT Music Awards, (1980-99). In 2020-21, the ACM Awards were staged at three landmark Nashville venues – the Grand Ole Opry House, the Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Café).
Little Big Town have had three No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart – “Pontoon,” “Girl Crush” and Taylor Swift‘s “Better Man” (the same songs that brought them their three Grammy Awards). They have amassed four No. 1 albums on Top Country Albums – The Reason Why, Tornado, The Breaker and Nightfall.
“Little Big Town is a force in country music and a beloved staple on Music Row,” Cassandra Tryon, senior vice president, entertainment live events, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a statement. “As Opry members, they’ve delighted fans for years on the world-famous stage and we’re honored to have them host, perform and bring this inaugural ceremony to life.”
The People’s Choice Country Awards is an outgrowth of the People’s Choice Awards, which originated on CBS in 1975 and remained on that network through 2017. (Little Big Town was the 2017 winner for favorite country group.) That show moved to E! in 2018 and has aired on both NBC and E! since 2021. It bills itself as “the only award show for the people and by the people,” a slogan that also applies to this spin-off.
The People’s Choice Country Awards is produced by Den of Thieves with Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski serving as executive producers, along with RAC Clark as executive producer and showrunner.
The show will extend to social platforms with Backstage Live, bringing fans at home behind the scenes as well as interactively connecting country’s most popular stars with their biggest fans.
This project is seen as an example of collaboration resulting from NBCUniversal’s equity investment in Opry Entertainment Group alongside Atairos, which was finalized last year.
Taylor Swift, SZA, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and more artists who are expected to dominate the 2024 Grammy nominations have a little more than four months to wait until the nods are announced on Friday Nov. 10. The awards will follow on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024.
The Recording Academy announced key dates for the 2024 Grammy Awards on Thursday (June 29). The show will be held at Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) in Los Angeles for the 21st time in the past 25 years. It will air live coast-to-coast, meaning music fans on the West Coast won’t have to wait three hours for a tape-delayed broadcast as they still do with some other shows.
The show is scheduled to run for 3 and a half hours, from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. PT. (It has been known to run over.) The show will air on CBS, its network home since 1973, and will stream on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the show airs).
Final-round voting ends on Jan. 4, 2024, a full month before the winners are revealed. Oscar voting has traditionally extended to five days before their telecast, though for the upcoming 96th annual Academy Awards, voting closes 12 days before the telecast. (Here are all the key dates for the upcoming Oscars.)
The Recording Academy last week announced an aggressive outreach to diversify and freshen its membership. It extended invitations to more than 2,800 new voting members and to more than 850 professional (non-voting) members. Last year, it offered membership to 2,000 new voting members, of whom more than 1,300 accepted. This is having a major impact on the composition of the Academy, which has more than 11,000 total voting members. To participate in the entire 66th annual Grammy Awards process, invitees must accept their invitations by July 14.
The Academy also recently released its annual rules and guidelines for the upcoming Grammy Awards. To access the rulebook, go here.
The Recording Academy has not yet announced who will host the Grammy telecast. Trevor Noah served as host the last three years. If he gets the nod again, he’ll become just the fifth person to host the Grammys four or more times. Andy Williams hosted the first seven live telecasts from 1971-77. John Denver hosted six times – in 1978-79 and again from 1982-85. LL Cool J hosted five years in a row from 2012-16. Garry Shandling hosted four times – in 1990-91 and again in 1993-94. (Here, LL reflects on his “amazing run” as Grammy host. Here are five fun facts about Noah.)
Here are key dates for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards season:
Product eligibility period:
Oct. 1, 2022 – Sept. 15, 2023
Online entry period:
July 17, 2023 – Aug. 31, 2023
First-round voting:
Oct. 11, 2023 – Oct. 20, 2023
Nominees announced:
Nov. 10, 2023
Final-round voting:
Dec. 14, 2023 – Jan. 4, 2024
66th annual Grammy Awards:
Feb. 4, 2024
Mahyar Abousaeedi – Turning Red, Incredibles 2
Tom Berkeley – An Irish Goodbye, Roy
Toni Bestard – Background, Foley Artist
Kimberley Browning – Certified, Waiting for Ronald
Alex Bulkley – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Hell and Back
Bruno Caetano – Ice Merchants, The Peculiar Crime of Oddball Mr. Jay
Dean Fleischer Camp – Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Catherine
Kenneth A. Carlson – Diner Formal, Dating Avi
Trent Correy – The Godfather of the Bride, Drop
Joel Bryan Crawford – Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Croods: A New Age
Claire Dodgson – Minions: The Rise of Gru, Despicable Me 3
Fabian Driehorst – Night, The Chimney Swift
David DuLac – Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Happy Feet Two
Maureen Fan – Namoo, Crow: The Legend
Tiffany Frances – Dot, Hello from Taiwan
João Gonzalez – Ice Merchants, Nestor
Sara Gunnarsdóttir – My Year of Dicks, The Pirate of Love
Mark Gustafson – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Travis Hathaway – Incredibles 2, Brave
David Jesteadt – Inu-oh, Belle
Daniel Mark Jeup – Finding Nemo, Toy Story 2
Thomas Jordan – Lightyear, Up
Charlie Mackesy – The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Ian Megibben – Lightyear, Soul
Cyrus Neshvad – The Red Suitcase, The Orchid
Jaime Ray Newman – Skin, Life, Unexpected.
Richard O’Connor – My Friend Nearly Killed Patti Smith, Marianne
Lachlan Pendragon – An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It, The Toll
Jesús Pimentel Melo – Miramelinda, Un Bel Morir
Emmanuel-Alain Raynal – Steakhouse, Easter Eggs
David Ryu – Luca, Coco
Nidia Santiago – Negative Space, Oh Willy…
Mónica Santos – Between the Shadows, Amélia & Duarte
Nelson Shin – Empress Chung, The Transformers: The Movie
Eirik Tveiten – Night Ride, Other Lives
Nathan Warner – Encanto, Zootopia
Ross White – An Irish Goodbye, Roy
Lucy Dickins, the highly respected agent of Adele, Mumford & Sons and Olivia Rodrigo who serves as global head of contemporary music and touring at William Morris Endeavor (WME), has been named this year’s recipient of the U.K.’s Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS).
Dickins — whose clients also include Stormzy, Rex Orange County, SAULT, Little Simz, James Blake, Jamie T, Hot Chip, Bryan Ferry, Mabel and Laura Marling — will receive the award on Nov. 6 at a gala ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. The event will benefit U.K. charities the BRIT Trust and Nordoff Robbins.
“I’m truly humbled by this recognition and honoured by the many colleagues and clients I’ve gotten to work with throughout my career and at WME,” Dickins said in a statement.
MITS Award committee co-chair Toby Leighton-Pope said Dickins’ “impact on the industry is undeniable and her contributions continue to shape the industry landscape.”
Dickins regularly appears on Billboard’s Women in Music, International Power Players and Power 100 lists.
Previous recipients of the annual MITS award include Lucian Grainge, Ahmet Ertegun, Simon Cowell, Michael Eavis, Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Annie Lennox, Roger Daltrey, Rob Stringer, Emma Banks, broadcaster and DJ Pete Tong and Dickins’ uncle, legendary British music executive Rob Dickins. Last year’s MITS award was given to entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, who had died earlier in the year at the age of 31. It was the first posthumous award given in the event’s 32-year history.
Dickins relocated to WME’s Beverly Hills office from London last year after being promoted to global head of contemporary music and touring at the agency, making her the first woman to lead a talent agency’s music division. Her responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of the agency’s contemporary live business.
Last year, Adele played two sold-out shows at London’s BST Hyde Park Festival in front of 130,000 fans. That was followed by her delayed Las Vegas residency, which began in November and has been extended to wrap this fall. In total, WME’s music division says it booked more than 40,000 live dates in 2022.
Prior to joining WME in 2019 — initially as head of its U.K. music division — Dickins spent more than 20 years at International Booking Talent (ITB), the London-based agency that was founded in 1978 by her father Barry Dickins and his business partner Rod MacSween.
Dickins’ lineage in the music business goes back to her grandfather, Percy Dickins, who created the weekly magazine New Music Express (NME). Her uncle Rob Dickins served as chairman of Warner Music UK for 15 years, while her brother, Jonathan Dickins, is chief executive of September Management, which counts Adele, Glass Animals and producer Rick Rubin among its clients.
Lil Wayne will receive the BMI icon award, the organization’s highest honor, at the 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Awards on Sept. 6. Hosted by BMI president & CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI vice president, creative, Atlanta, Catherine Brewton, the private event will be held at LIV Nightclub in Miami Beach. The event will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
“As a legend and superstar of hip-hop, Lil Wayne is synonymous with the genre,” Brewton said in a statement. “He’s been part of the BMI family since 2002, and we’re proud to name him a BMI Icon in keeping with his reputation as one of the most influential artists of all time. We’re also excited to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a celebration that reflects the genre’s legacy, which has infiltrated entertainment, fashion, sports and much more.”
Previous recipients of the BMI Icon award include Janet Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Nile Rodgers, Snoop Dogg, The Jacksons, LA Reid, Babyface, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, James Brown and Busta Rhymes.
BMI will also salute the songwriters, producers and music publishers of the past year’s 35 most-performed R&B/hip-hop songs in the U.S. from BMI’s repertoire. The BMI R&B/hip-hop song, songwriter, producer and publisher of the Year will also be named.
Lil Wayne has amassed five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 – for the third, fourth and fifth installments in his Tha Carter franchise as well as I Am Not a Human Being (2010) and Funeral (2020). He has notched three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – “Lollipop” (featuring Static Major) and as a featured artist on Jay Sean’s “Down” and DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One.”
The rapper won four Grammys in 2009, including best rap album for Tha Carter III and best rap song for “Lollipop.” He won a fifth Grammy in 2017 – best rap performance as a featured artist on Chance the Rapper’s “No Problem.” In addition, he recently received the global impact award at The Recording Academy Honors Presented by The Black Music Collective.
Wayne has received 52 BMI Awards as well as being named R&B/hip-hop songwriter of the year in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013. He also received college song of the year at the BMI London Awards in 2009 for “Down.” He has garnered 15 BET Hip-Hop Awards, 11 BET Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, four Soul Train Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards.
Wayne also owns and operates Young Money Entertainment, a company that has ignited the careers of such artists as Drake and Nicki Minaj. The philanthropist also founded The One Family Foundation – a charitable group focused on helping under-served youth.