State Champ Radio recording academy
Page: 4
The Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective (BMC) and Amazon Music selected five students as the recipients of the Your Future Is Now scholarship, designed to give students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) the opportunity to learn and explore all facets of the music industry.
The scholarship, first launched in February 2021, offers students the chance to receive $10,000 for the 2023-24 school year and the opportunity to be part of an immersive rotation program with Amazon Music and Recording Academy department leads, providing each student a detailed look at their particular field of work within the music industry.
The five students chosen are Joseph Michael Abiakam (Norfolk State University), Langston Jackson (Hampton University), Kennedi Amari Johnson (Clark Atlanta University), Courtney Roberts (Texas Southern University), and Caleb Wilkerson (Florida A&M University).
“We are immensely proud to collaborate with Amazon Music in renewing this exceptional scholarship program for the third consecutive year,” Ryan Butler, vp of DEI at the Recording Academy said in a statement. “The imperative of Black representation in the music industry cannot be overstated, and this scholarship is a tangible manifestation of our unwavering commitment to promoting the aspirations of future Black music leaders.”
“The Your Future Is Now scholarship was created to foster an inclusive environment where Black creators can realize their career objectives,” Phylicia Fant, head of music industry and culture collaborations at Amazon Music, said in a statement. “…This year’s class of students represents the next generation of Black musicians and executives, and it’s an honor to play a part in their development as individuals and future leaders.”
The BMC and Amazon Music will also award two HBCUs a $10,000 grant each for equipment for their music programs to be announced later this summer.
In addition, as part of Your Future Is Now, Amazon Music, The Same House and the Recording Academy are coming together to host the Your Future is Now Business Development Seminar for select members of the 2023 graduating class of Morris Brown College. Revealed this past weekend at Morris Brown’s commencement by the Recording Academy’s chief DEI officer, Zing Shaw, this new, half-day music business seminar taking place on June 17 will offer professional development expertise in music business, publishing and music production. Facilitators at the event will include Recording Academy’s Atlanta chapter president Justin Henderson and Frankie Yaptinchay of Amazon Music.
Following the music business seminar, graduates will be treated to a suite experience at State Farm Arena in Atlanta for the annual ATL Birthday Bash Concert where they will have the opportunity to network with representatives from the Recording Academy and Amazon Music, as well as other key music industry executives.
For more information on the Black Music Collective and the Your Future Is Now scholarship, visit here.
The Recording Academy held is second annual Black Music Collective event Thursday (Feb. 2) at the Hollywood Palladium, where Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne and Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone were this year’s honorees during an evening honoring hip-hop and the past, present and future of Black music.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Established in 2020, the Black Music Collective “is a hub for power players in Black music, across all genres, under the Grammy roof, bringing together creative geniuses and business leaders to set unified goals, align on a shared agenda, and build community.” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Billboard on the black carpet that he hopes this event, which was first held in Las Vegas last year, “continues to be a place people want to gather and want to celebrate Black excellence. I want this to be known as a place where we honor and respect Black music, and I hope that people will realize that the Academy is paying close attention to what’s happening in our music industry in every genre, but specifically in Black music.”
There were as many examples of Black excellence in the audience as there were on stage, including Lil’ Kim, Lucky Daye, Joey Bada$$, Ebonie Ward and many more, who were all deliciously treated to a menu dedicated to the honorees’ craft, including the “Carter III (Triple C’s)” (cornbread with crab and caviar), “Up in Smoke” (free range chicken with truffle BBQ sauce and pineapple), “California Love” (crispy cauliflower with BBQ miso glaze and benne) and “Sock It 2 Me” (chocolate wavy waffle with roasted plantain gelato). Among all the glitz and glam, Swizz Beatz praised “Queen” “Sylvia Rhone the Great” before commanding the audience to give her a standing ovation and twirling the executive on stage before presenting her with the Recording Academy Global Impact Award.
“It’s been a lot of years for me in hip-hop, and it’s even more special to me amongst this elite group of artists with Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne, each of whom I’ve had the privilege of working with throughout my career,” she said, adding how she was “excited for the future of Epic Records. And yes, that includes Future, but Future’s not in his seat yet, but I must say Future has had an amazing year…. And then along with Travis Scott and 21 Savage, we are starting to build a really strong hip-hop roster. But it’s nights like these that keep me revitalized. They serve as a powerful reminder that hip-hop was a calling. As we celebrate its 50th anniversary, it’s gratifying to see how far we actually have come. Rising from the embers of the Civil Rights Movement, hip-hop emerged as a revolutionary art form. What was once thought to be a momentary effect is now embedded in the fabrics of our daily lives, from fashion and shoes to film to fine art to television to technology and beyond. We have made history. We have changed lives. We are mighty. And we are worldwide.”
Busta Rhymes praised Rhone for believing in his vision when it came to filming outrageous, multimillion-dollar music videos and encouraged everyone at the Palladium to “f–k the cool sh–” and “undo your little bowtie” as he performed “Put Your Hands Where Your Eyes Can See,” “I Know What You Want,” his verse from Chris Brown‘s “Look at Me Now” and “Pass the Courvoisier, Part II” with Jermaine Dupri on stage.
Ciara and Mona Scott-Young then introduced Missy, with Ci Ci hailing her as “the true definition of a legend, an icon, an ultimate rockstar” and Scott-Young recalling a phone call she received from Rhone 26 years ago about managing Missy, a fruitful relationship that continues to this day. “You have changed the world, changed the way we see ourselves, changed the way we experience music. And for that, I thank you,” she said before the “Work It” MC tearfully accepted her award on stage while Wayne bowed down to her in the audience.
“This will never get old to me. I’ve won a lot of awards and I feel the same way,” she said while choking back sobs. “People don’t understand that this is a Global Impact Award. It’s not just neighborhood, it’s global. So it hits different when you stand up here, knowing that when you get something like this, you gotta know that you’ve been through a lot.”
Chloe Bailey paid homage to Missy’s production credits by performing a cover of Aaliyah‘s “One in a Million” as well as “One Minute Man,” while Tweet sang “Oops (Oh My)” and Ciara returned to the stage to perform double duty on their hit singles “1, 2 Step” and “Lose Control.”
Mason Jr. then introduced Dr. Dre, whom he called “one of the founding fathers of modern music” and a super producer he looked up to. “To tell you the truth, I was a little bit nervous when Harvey called me about this award because I was wondering if he knew something I didn’t. I was thinking to myself that they usually give this type of sh– to dead people,” he wisecracked, the venue erupting with laughter and later applause when prompted by Dre to “make some noise for hip-hop” in honor of the genre’s 50th anniversary. “The birth of hip-hop completely changed the course of my life. Just imagine where a lot of Black men, including myself, would be without hip-hop. I was in junior high school when I had ever heard hip-hop for the first time. I heard mixing and scratching, I couldn’t get enough of that sound. And once I got my hands on the turntables, I knew I had found my wings and I was determined to know how to fly.”
Snoop Dogg took it back to the ’90s with a performance of Dre’s debut solo single “Deep Cover” and continued the West Coast hip-hop celebration by bringing up Kurupt for “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” and Ty Dolla $ign, who was wearing a Nate Dogg T-shirt, for “Ain’t No Fun (if the Homies Can’t Have None).”
DJ Khaled repeatedly proclaimed, “They didn’t believe in us, but Lil Wayne did!” as a revised mantra from their three-time Grammy-nominated song “God Did.” He proceeded to tell the story about how he witnessed Wayne meet Birdman at Odyssey, a record store in New Orleans that Khaled used to work at and DJ behind the counter. “The reason why I want to tell you that story is the consistency is Lil Wayne. The word ‘winner’ is Lil Wayne,” he said, exalting him for signing the next generation of superstars Drake and Nicki Minaj, the former of whom appeared via video and took a subtle dig at the Recording Academy by falsely presenting the Global Impact Award to Ed Sheeran.
“Good evening, Grammys. Wow, I haven’t said that since about 2016. My name’s Drake and I’m here tonight on behalf of the Black Music Collective,” he smirked while pulling his glasses down to wink at the camera, “to present the Global Impact Award to Ed Sheeran.” Then a man appears to Drake’s right and whispers in his ear. “Lil Wayne? Lil Wayne. Oh, makes sense,” Drizzy corrects himself sarcastically. “My brother — that’s a lot better, by the way — I love you so much. And I don’t want to make this personal because the Global Impact Award would be about how you affected everybody not just me. I know I probably get annoying with saying how much you mean to me and my family. I speak on behalf of everybody when I say our careers, our cadences, our melodies, maybe our face tats or our outfits or our decisions in general would not have been the same without your natural gift to just be yourself.”
Wayne’s daughter Reginae Carter contributed to the outpouring of love for Wayne, telling Billboard on the carpet earlier that evening, “I’ve been texting my daddy like every other day like, ‘I’m so proud of you. Congrats.’ You see the rapper, you don’t see the father much,” she explained. “He’s always been big on my education, big on just how I carry myself. I thank him and my mom for the woman that I became today.”
But while 2 Chainz performed their “Duffle Bag Boyz” collab, Swizz got back on the mic to rap their “Uproar” joint and former Young Money signee Tyga paid tribute to him by performing “A Milli” with a full band courtesy of the night’s musical director Adam Blackstone, Wayne remained in disbelief at the recognition.
“I want y’all to know that I don’t get honored. Where I’m from, New Orleans, you’re not supposed to do this,” the “Lollipop” rapper cautioned the audience sincerely before running down a long list of thank you’s, including his children and their mothers, his manager and Young Money Entertainment president Mack Maine, his former manager and Blueprint Group CEO Cortez Bryant and Cash Money Records. “Coming from New Orleans, Cash Money Records was if you was from Dallas and you just got signed to the Cowboys. They signed me when I was 12. I put out my first album when I was 13. This man Khaled had to tell you about that record store. The reason why I would be in that record store was because we didn’t have a picture on the front of the album cover, so to prove to my homies and to my friends at school that it’s really me, we had to go to the record store, I have to show them the album, flip it around and show them it says ‘Dwayne Carter.’ That man Khaled was in there every time, he witnessed that. Ladies and gentlemen, again, we don’t get honored.”
In 2018, the Recording Academy increased the number of nominees in the Big Four Grammy categories — album, song and record of the year and best new artist — from five to eight. Then, three years later, it boosted the pool from eight to 10.
These expansions were made to recognize more music creators and to represent more genres, according to the academy — yet for country artists, the benefits have thus far been nonexistent.
For the five Grammy Award nomination cycles (for ceremonies taking place in 2019-2023) since the first increase, there have been 196 total Big Four nominations, yet only six have gone to mainstream country artists or projects, with only one victory: Kacey Musgraves’ album of the year trophy for Golden Hour in 2019. In the five cycles before the increase (2014-2018), country artists scored seven nominations of the far smaller 125 total nods.
For the 65th Grammys, which will take place Feb. 5 in Los Angeles, country music is completely absent from the Big Four.
Genre classification can be blurry, but for this story, Billboard counted nominations that went to an artist or music that appears on Billboard’s Country Airplay, Hot Country Songs and Top Country Albums charts or is traditionally considered country. For 2023, that means Brandi Carlile’s album and record of the year nods don’t count in the country tally (though her 2020 song of the year nomination for co-writing Tanya Tucker’s “Bring Me My Flowers Now” did); same with song of the year nominee Taylor Swift, who is now considered a pop artist despite her country start. Best new artist nominee Molly Tuttle plays bluegrass, and while the genre is a branch of country music, her music doesn’t appear on those Billboard charts.
Previous years also have not-quite-country outliers: Maren Morris’ record of the year nomination for appearing with Zedd and Grey on “The Middle” didn’t count in the 2019-2023 tally since it was a pop hit. Though Sturgill Simpson doesn’t receive mainstream country radio play, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth debuted at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart and the set won the Grammy for best country album in 2017, so its album of the year nomination counts in the 2014-2018 tally. Similarly, Margo Price, whose albums chart on Top Country Albums, counts for her 2019 best new artist nomination.
Shelly Maree, the Recording Academy’s country awards manager, considers the low recent total cyclical, in part. “Right now, we’re in another lull period where you’re not hearing country played on top 40 [radio], so you’re not really hearing anybody break through like that, [while] rap and hip-hop and dance are having huge moments,” she says. “You can really kind of plop down into any decade or any five-year period in our top four nominations and you’re going to see reflected what is of the era at that moment.”
But for the country community, the absence of representation in the general field illuminates a bigger concern: that the genre doesn’t receive the broader attention it deserves, hurting its chances at nominations for those trophies. While the academy deems all Grammys equal, the four general-field categories carry more prestige and receive greater media attention.
“Generally speaking, country music remains outside of the large pop music tent, which includes many of the contemporary genres like pop and hip-hop and rock,” says Beverly Keel, Middle Tennessee State University dean of the College of Media and Entertainment and a former MCA Records Nashville executive. “I think a lot of Grammy voters may not even listen to country, and I think there is, in many voters’ minds, still a stigma about country that it’s not as sophisticated, hokey, the music of the conservatives.”
Additionally, despite the notable rise in streaming among younger country artists, the music lacks the global reach some pop-oriented genres enjoy. “Most country stars are not international stars like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Bruno Mars,” Keel says. “Country is largely limited to the United States and Canada, so it doesn’t have the reach, whereas a pop song may be No. 1 in 20 countries.”
As Mary Hilliard Harrington, manager for Dierks Bentley and Elle King, notes by email: “Even prior to 2019, country has been grossly underrepresented in the main categories. It has always been a problem.” The three mainstream country artists with the most career nominations are Willie Nelson (56), Dolly Parton (53) and Vince Gill (47) — but Nelson and Gill have each landed only one Big Four nomination (in 1983 and 2008, respectively), while Parton has earned two (most recently in 1988).
The current generation of country hit-makers hasn’t fared much better. Miranda Lambert, who is nominated in all four country categories this year, has never received a Big Four nomination despite 27 career nods. Only one of Chris Stapleton’s 17 nominations has been in the general field, when Traveller received an album of the year nod for the 2016 Grammys. And one of country’s biggest new stars, Morgan Wallen, didn’t compete at all in 2022: He was shut out from Grammy nominations after his 2021 smash Dangerous: The Double Album was mired in controversy.
Country music has recently fared best in the new artist category, with Price, Luke Combs, Ingrid Andress and Jimmie Allen nabbing nominations since 2019. For the 2023 awards, Zach Bryan, the top new country artist on Billboard’s year-end charts, and rising star Lainey Wilson were both considered leading contenders for best new artist, and their respective labels (Warner Records and BBR Music Group) ran campaigns accordingly. But when nominations were announced in November, neither earned a best new artist nod, nor did anyone else from the genre. Though Wilson made significant press and TV appearances in an effort to reach as broad an audience as possible, Bryan made almost none, which sources say may have limited his exposure to Grammy voters.
Significantly, the overall voting pool lacks enough country advocates to consistently propel the genre into the Big Four without strong support from allies. Of the current 12,000-plus voting members, less than 10% identify with the country genre, according to the academy, compared with pop (23%), jazz (16%), rock (15%), R&B (15%), American roots (13%), alternative (10%) and classical (10%). (Voters can identify with as many genres as they want.) All voting members can cast ballots for the Big Four.
While qualifying creators can still apply to join the academy, following the recommendation of its Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion, in 2018 the academy began inviting creators to join as voting members. The move was meant to make the voting pool more reflective of the diverse creative community and initially focused on women, people of color and those under 40.
In recent years, however, potential new members who identify as country have received fewer invitations than peers in other popular genres. Of the 2,710 invitations extended in 2021, 9% of recipients identified with the country genre, with 13 other genres ranking higher. The highest percentage of invited voters identified as pop (29%), followed by R&B (23%), jazz (18%), alternative (18%), rock (16%) and rap (15%). In 2022, the academy welcomed nearly 2,000 new voting members; 9% cited country as their focus, compared with pop (33%), R&B (22%), alternative (19%) and rap (15%).
The country community’s easiest way to increase its odds would be by boosting its presence in the voting membership. “A really good place to start is talk to your friends and [ask], ‘Are you a Recording Academy member?’ And then step two is, ‘Are you voting?,’ ” Maree says. “This year, we were really encouraging our active members to fulfill that responsibility and use their voices, especially [since] the first round of voting directly dictates our nominations now that we no longer have nominating committees. ‘Are they voting?’ is the first thing we always ask people when they have any kind of questions about what they see when it comes to nominations day.”
Although Keel says a Grammy is “what people grow up dreaming about winning,” for country artists, the conversation doesn’t begin and end with one awards ceremony. More so than many other genres, country music has numerous awards shows to fete its own accomplishments, including the Country Music Association Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and the CMT Music Awards. Those ample additional opportunities to bring home trophies could help lessen the sting of a Grammy snub, Harrington says.
“At this point — because it’s nothing new — [the omissions are] more of an eye roll than outrage,” she says. “The country community is truly the best in terms of supporting its artists, celebrating great music and producing our own network television award shows. Being part of the Grammys is cool and a bucket list dream for a lot of artists, but we have it pretty good in Nashville. If we aren’t invited to that party, we’ll just throw our own.”
This story will appear in the Feb. 4, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Karen Bass, newly elected mayor of Los Angeles, will give the keynote speech at the Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative’s Grammy Week Event on Friday, Feb. 3 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
“We are honored to welcome Mayor Karen Bass to the Entertainment Law Initiative [ELI] Grammy Week Event as we gather and celebrate with the trailblazing professionals and students who are paving the way forward in the entertainment law industry,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement.
“Mayor Bass has been a longtime supporter of music creators’ rights in her legislative roles, and she has a unique understanding of how the creative industries intersect with law and policy that we look forward to hearing at this year’s event.”
Said Mayor Bass: “I’m proud to support Grammy Week because of the role that our entertainment industry plays in powering our local economy and to encourage efforts to increase equity and opportunities for Angelenos to break into the music business.”
Mayor Bass took office on Dec. 11, 2022, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2022. Between 2004 and 2010, she served in the California State Assembly, where she was elected Speaker in 2008.
The Entertainment Law Initiative’s Grammy Week Event will also honor the winner and runners-up of the ELI Writing Contest, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association, which challenges students in Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws programs at U.S. law schools to research a pressing legal issue facing the modern music industry and outline a proposed solution in a 3,000-word essay.
The winner of this year’s Writing Contest is Aron Lichtschein, a JD student at NYU School of Law, for his essay, “Tickets to Ride: NFTs and the Future of Concert Ticketing.” Lichtschein will receive a $10,000 scholarship as well as tickets to the 65th Grammy Awards and other Grammy Week events. His essay will be published in the ABA’s journal, Entertainment & Sports Lawyer. Two runners-up, Gina Maeng and Amanda Sharp, students at Georgetown Law School and University of San Diego School of Law, respectively, will each receive $2,500 scholarships for their essays.
The Recording Academy announced last month that Peter T. Paterno, partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP, will receive the 2023 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award at the ELI Grammy Week Event.
Grammy-winning artists Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott and Lil Wayne, and music executive Sylvia Rhone, will be honored during the second annual Recording Academy Honors Presented by The Black Music Collective event at the Hollywood Palladium on Thursday, Feb. 2. The event will take place three days before the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
All four honorees will receive the Recording Academy Global Impact Award for their personal and professional achievements in the music industry.
“I am so thrilled to honor and celebrate these four giants in the music industry,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said in a statement. “Last year’s inaugural event was such a highlight during Grammy Week and now with Dre, Missy, Wayne and Sylvia there to pay tribute to this year, it’s definitely going to be another night to remember. I continue to be proud of the work of our Black Music Collective as it’s a vital part of what we do here at the Academy.”
Rico Love, vice chair of the Recording Academy’s board of trustees, will return to chair the event. Adam Blackstone will also return as musical director. Blackstone won his first Primetime Emmy last year — outstanding music direction for The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent. Blackstone is nominated for a Grammy this year for best traditional R&B performance for his recording of the jazz standard “‘Round Midnight” featuring Jazmine Sullivan.
MVD Inc will produce the event for the second year.
Here’s a closer look at this year’s four honorees:
In June, the Recording Academy announced five new competitive categories for the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, 2023, hosted by Trevor Noah. The additions spotlight performers, songwriters, video game soundtrack composers and more, with CEO Harvey Mason Jr. telling Billboard at the time, “We’re doing it in a way to make sure we’re representing music and that’s ultimately our goal.”
With the music industry always evolving, Billboard asked artists spanning several genres,What category would you like to see the Recording Academy add to the Grammys next and why? See their responses below:
Omar Apollo: I’d love for the Recording Academy to add an engineer of the year award. Engineers are so important to the musical process and should get as much shine as producers and writers. Thank you to my engineer, Nathan Phillips — he was a big part of the process for my album, Ivory.
Taylor Bennett: I would love to see hip-hop join the Grammy categories. For years now, I’ve seen record stores, digital streaming platforms and awards shows branding “hip-hop/rap.” Although hip-hop and rap can be considered close cousins, I do believe there is great distinction between the two.
Priscilla Block: Best new (genre) artist: As a new artist, it means the entire world to get recognized by an association as prestigious as the [Recording Academy]. There is so much new talent in every genre, so I think it would add a lot to the Grammys to recognize each one’s best new artist. These are the rising stars that will turn into music’s next superstars.
Robert Glasper: Best mixed genre album: This category doesn’t exist. It’s for the people who make albums that represent and speak to more than one genre of music!
Gryffin: I would like to see the Recording Academy add best electronic/dance producer. Due to the nature of dance/electronic music, most artists [nominated] are producers, and it would be incredible for the Recording Academy to recognize the producers in the space who are innovating and pushing the genre forward. I believe that there are so many incredible producers who are pushing the boundaries of electronic dance music whose songs may not qualify under the best dance/electronic song or album categories.
Wet Leg: Best lo-fi recording. Our track “Angelica” was recorded on the Isle of Wight in our living room on a laptop with just a few mics. It would be great to have a category that highlights other artists who are making music in this way despite not having access to many resources.
Lolo Zouaï: It would be cool to have a special bilingual album category — not language-specific — to highlight all the multilingual artists out right now mixing English with other languages. Either that or a category awarding independently released albums that doesn’t focus on genre necessarily.
Kim Petras: The category I would add to the Grammys would be “the biggest slay,” of course. Woo-ah!
A version of this story originally appeared in the Dec. 17, 2022, issue of Billboard.
The Recording Academy is celebrating a “major global victory” for music as the PEACE For Music Diplomacy Act passes through the House and the Senate as part of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The Senate voted Thursday (Dec. 15) to approve the massive defense bill, which includes The PEACE (Promoting Peace, Education, and Cultural Exchange) Act. This follows the House’s bipartisan passage of the paperwork last week.
The Recording Academy has thrown its advocacy efforts behind the bill since it was first introduced January in the House by 2022 Grammys on the Hill honorees Rep. Michael McCaul and former Rep. Ted Deutch.
The act, it has been said, would use music and music-related global exchange programs as a tool to build cross-cultural understanding.
Specifically, the Recording Academy notes, the bill leverages partnerships with the private sector when designing and implementing its music-related exchange programs, and authorizes music-related exchanges that “advance peace abroad.”
At October’s District Advocate Day, almost 2,000 Recording Academy members met with Congressional reps to discuss pending legislation affecting creators, including the PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act.
The behind-the-scenes advocacy work and passage of the bipartisan $858 billion defense bill is a reminder of “the power of music and its capacity to increase understanding between diverse cultures and people around the world,” comments Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr.
The legislation is now on President Joe Biden’s desk awaiting his signature.
“The Recording Academy is grateful to Rep. McCaul, former Rep. Deutch, and Senators Leahy and Tillis for their support of this important legislation, and we look forward to championing future cross-sector partnerships that will allow music creators to promote peace across the globe.”
Read more here on the NDAA.
Christine Farnon, the Recording Academy’s first full-time employee and one of its longest-serving, died on Monday Oct. 24 in the Los Angeles area of natural causes. She was 97.
Farnon started as an unpaid volunteer in May 1957 – when the Academy was just in its formative stages — and rose to become executive vice president. From 1957 through 1987, she worked alongside a succession of 18 elected, volunteer presidents. These men — and yes, they were all men — served their terms and moved on. Farnon provided continuity and stability. In early 1988, Michael Greene became the Academy’s first paid, permanent president. Farnon stayed on through 1992, to ensure a smooth transition.
Farnon received a trustees award from the Academy upon her retirement. An appreciation in that year’s Grammy program book was fittingly titled “The Recording Academy’s Guiding Light.”
In announcing the honor for Farnon earlier in 1992, Greene said, “The Recording Academy owes much of what it is today to the selfless, conscientious dedication that Christine has exhibited in her years of contributions to the Recording Academy. Chris is a vital member of our [Academy] family and is most deserving of the trustees award.”
The late musicologist George T. Simon, who wrote the aforementioned appreciation, noted, “Chris has always been an integral part of the organization – a seemingly impossible combination of guiding light and steady anchor. Deeply involved from the start in all the Academy’s activities, this warm, intelligent, soft-spoken, sensitive lady has helped tremendously, often leading the way, in chartering and steering the course of [the Academy].”
Simon’s piece quoted Farnon as saying “This has been a rare opportunity, to have one of the most challenging and rewarding careers anyone could wish for, and to work with and for some of the finest people in the recording field.”
Billboard included Farnon in a gallery of groundbreaking female executives that appeared in the Feb. 26, 2022 issue, noting “Decades before Deborah Dugan became the Recording Academy’s first female president/CEO in 2019, Farnon was the top executive at the organization — and while she never held the big title, there was no question of who was in charge.”
Farnon’s responsibilities at the Academy included maintaining contact with disc jockeys and radio personnel and development of annual mailers and special albums designed for radio stations highlighting Grammy nominees. Farnon was a talent coordinator for most of the seven Grammy-branded Best on Record TV shows that aired on NBC. From 1971, when the Grammy Awards became a live telecast, until 1992, when Farnon retired, she was an integral part of the Academy’s TV committee, which oversaw format development, contract negotiations and TV scripts. She eventually received on-screen credit in the crawl at the end of the telecast.
Folklorist and author Bill Ivey, the only person in Academy history to serve two, non-consecutive stints as chairman of the board of trustees (1981-83 and 1989-91), gave Farnon a great deal of credit in an interview with this writer a decade ago for a Grammy.com piece on the Academy’s early days.
“Chris Farnon was central to the Academy’s success,” he said. “She was quite ferocious in protecting the integrity of Grammy and the telecast. …In large part because she was so conservative and protective, Chris handed future leaders an asset of tremendous potential value that converted to earning power as sponsorships and TV revenues really took off in the ’90s.”
In an interview for that same piece, Farnon said that she was “gratified and delighted” to have played a role in the Academy’s growth, though, characteristically, she shared the credit. “The Academy’s present achievements are something that everyone, past and present, can be very proud of,” she said.
“The original vision of what the Academy was meant to be and do hasn’t changed,” Farnon added. “Many of its significant programs had their roots in the Academy’s original goals, although they operate on a much wider and grander scale today.”
Farnon was still able to tick off the Academy’s early goals. “In the early years its goals included the annual Grammy Awards on live TV, scholarships, university courses on the recording arts and sciences, open membership meetings where leading recording individuals explored developments in the recording field, and magazines and/or newsletters to members. Unfortunately, some years most of these programs didn’t come off because there wasn’t enough money or support staff to produce them.”
The Academy was able to realize more of its goals after it struck a better deal with CBS, the long-time network of the Grammy Awards. “By the time I ended my 35-year career at the Recording Academy, the increasing income made it possible for the Academy to be taken to another level,” Farnon said.
Farnon held various positions with the Recording Academy. In the early 1960’s she was named executive director of the Los Angeles chapter. In 1971, she was promoted to national executive director, and in 1986 was appointed executive vice president, a position she held until her retirement.
Farnon also belonged to the local chapter of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE); the California Copyright Conference; and was a co-founder of the first Toastmistress Chapter in Hollywood – the very name of the latter organization is a sign of the times in which Farnon came up.
Farnon died three years after her ex-husband, Dennis Farnon, who had been the last surviving founder of the Recording Academy. Dennis Farnon died in May 2019 at age 95. Christine Farnon and Dennis Farnon were divorced in 1960.
Dennis Farnon co-founded the Academy in 1957 with Sonny Burke, who died in 1980; Lloyd W. Dunn, who died in 1991; Paul Weston, who died in 1996; and Jesse Kaye, whose date of death is unknown. All five founders were top executives at leading record companies of the period. Farnon was from RCA; Burke, from Decca; Dunn, from Capitol; Weston, from Columbia; and Kaye, from MGM.
Following her retirement, Farnon spent more than 20 years studying painting and was given three commissions of her paintings, plus recognition by the Chatsworth (Calif.) Fine Arts Council for her work.
Farnon is survived by one daughter, Joanna, as well as nieces, nephews and cousins.
A gathering of family and friends will be held at a future date. Condolences to her family may be sent to P.O. Box 150, Ripton VT 05766.
