Why the Grammys Suck
The Grammy Awards is a pinnacle event in the music industry, presenting itself as the ultimate celebration of musical achievement. Celebrities gather from far and wide to witness the recognition of the so-called best of the best, donning “iconic” outfits that you’d probably laugh at if you saw on an average person. As glamorous and exciting as the event may be, it’s nothing more than a soiree for music’s elite to celebrate their figurative employees of the month.
Every year, we’re informed of the latest nominees for the various categories where the committee gets us going with false hope. Take 2024’s Album Of The Year award – from Jon Batiste’s riveting World Music Radio to Lana Del Rey’s haunting Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, we were sure to be satisfied with the winner. So, who got the nod? None other than Taylor Swift’s $230 million-generating Midnights.
There’s absolutely an argument to be made that the highest-grossing project out of the bunch may have been the best project. After all, the cash cow is the cash cow for a reason, right? But there’s more to it than that. Sure, Taylor is an icon of the industry and will be remembered for generations to come, but what about the other icons here? Lana Del Rey is about as influential as they come. Jon Batiste is a pioneer in re-popularizing gospel and jazz. Janelle Monáe is one of the most talented people on the planet and uses that talent to make real change in society.
What has Taylor Swift done that these people haven’t? I’ll give you a hint: it probably has something to do with the fact that she generated around 3% of all of UMG’s revenue. There's a glaring discrepancy between what's popular among listeners and what the Recording Academy deems worthy of recognition. Many groundbreaking artists and genres are overlooked in favor of more mainstream, commercially viable acts. This narrow focus fails to capture the true diversity and richness of the music landscape.
Beyond the money, the Grammy Awards are notorious for being influenced by industry politics rather than sheer talent. It's not always about who made the best music; it's about who has the most influence, connections, and who can campaign the hardest. This results in many deserving artists being snubbed while others, who may not necessarily represent the pinnacle of musical achievement, walk away with the coveted award.
The nomination process itself is shrouded in mystery and has faced allegations of bias and favoritism. The voting members of the Recording Academy, who ultimately decide the winners, are a select group that don’t even come close to accurately representing the broader music community. This lack of transparency raises questions about the integrity of the awards and whether they truly reflect the best in music.
Furthermore, the Grammy Awards often fail to recognize the contributions of independent and underground artists who operate outside the mainstream music industry. These artists may lack the resources or connections to campaign for nominations, leaving their groundbreaking work unrecognized on one of music's biggest stages.
The Grammy Awards also suffer from a lack of diversity, both in terms of race/gender and genre. Despite albeit weak efforts to address this issue in recent years, the awards still predominantly honor white, male, pop/rock artists. I mean, shit, there hasn’t been a black female winner of the Album of the Year award since Lauryn Hill in 1999. The last time a rapper won the award was in 2004, when Outkast’s Speakerboxx/The Love Below got the nod. This underrepresentation of women, people of color, LGBTQ+ artists, and otherwise extremely well-received genres not only fails to reflect the true diversity of the music industry but also reinforces existing power imbalances.
As you can probably infer by now, I have a personal vendetta against the Grammys and its committees. While they do get it right on occasion, they seem to have a hankering for getting it wrong. Beyond their infamous snubs, they clearly have no intention of giving less commercially successful acts the credit they deserve. I seriously hope it gets better, but I don’t see that happening in the near future.
So, if you ask me, “Will you be watching the Grammys this year,” I’ll give you the same response that Eminem gave in an interview about the award show in 2018: “My answer is no for a hundred million years.”
