Wednesday
Apr062011
Over 28% of GRAMMY Awards categories eliminated for 2012
Posted on 
April 6, 2011 at 3:51 PM
April 6, 2011 at 3:51 PM
The Recording Academy has determined that 109 GRAMMY categories were too many to have. They have now whittled the number of categories down to 78. The first thing that jumps out at me is that there is no longer gender-specific categories in the Pop, R&B, and Country categories.
As I mentioned on Tumblr, two categories were eliminated from the Jazz Field: The Best Contemporary Jazz Album and the Best Latin Jazz Album. Hopefully, the Best Latin Jazz Album category is being moved over to the Latin GRAMMY Awards.
What do you think about these changes? Do you think this is a good thing? Is it enough change or is it too drastic?
The video below is from the press conference where the changes were announced. You'll first hear from Neil Portnow (President of NARAS, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), Jimmy Jam (Chair Emeritus, The Recording Academy) and Bill Freimuth (Vice President of Awards, The Recording Academy). Bottom line - they indicated that these changes would help the GRAMMYs to become "a balanced and viable award". *sigh*
Here is the official link to all the information: GRAMMY Restructuring.
53rd GRAMMYs |
54th GRAMMYs |
| (109 categories) | (78 categories) |
| GENERAL FIELD | GENERAL FIELD |
| Record Of The Year | Record Of The Year |
| Album Of The Year | Album Of The Year |
| Song Of The Year | Song Of The Year |
| Best New Artist | Best New Artist |
| POP FIELD | POP FIELD |
| Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | Best Pop Solo Performance |
| Best Male Pop Vocal Performance | Best Pop Duo/Group Performance |
| Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals | Best Pop Instrumental Album |
| Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals | Best Pop Vocal Album |
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance | |
| Best Pop Instrumental Album | |
| Best Pop Vocal Album | |
| DANCE FIELD | DANCE/ELECTRONICA FIELD |
| Best Dance Recording | Best Dance Recording |
| Best Electronic/Dance Album | Best Dance/Electronica Album |
| TRADITIONAL POP FIELD | TRADITIONAL POP FIELD |
| Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album | Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album |
| ROCK FIELD | ROCK FIELD |
| Best Rock Solo Vocal Performance | Best Rock Performance |
| Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals | Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance |
| Best Hard Rock Performance | Best Rock Song |
| Best Metal Performance | Best Rock Album |
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance | |
| Best Rock Song | |
| Best Rock Album | |
| ALTERNATIVE FIELD | ALTERNATIVE FIELD |
| Best Alternative Music Album | Best Alternative Music Album |
| R&B FIELD | R&B FIELD |
| Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | Best R&B Performance |
| Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Best Traditional R&B Performance |
| Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals | Best R&B Song |
| Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance | Best R&B Album |
| Best Urban/Alternative Performance | |
| Best R&B Song | |
| Best R&B Album | |
| Best Contemporary R&B Album | |
| RAP FIELD | RAP FIELD |
| Best Rap Solo Performance | Best Rap Performance |
| Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group | Best Rap/Sung Collaboration |
| Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Best Rap Song |
| Best Rap Song | Best Rap Album |
| Best Rap Album | |
| COUNTRY FIELD | COUNTRY FIELD |
| Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Best Country Solo Performance |
| Best Male Country Vocal Performance | Best Country Duo/Group Performance |
| Best Country Perf. By A Duo Or Group With Vocals | Best Country Song |
| Best Country Collaboration With Vocals | Best Country Album |
| Best Country Instrumental Performance | |
| Best Country Song | |
| Best Country Album | |
| NEW AGE FIELD | NEW AGE FIELD |
| Best New Age Album | Best New Age Album |
| JAZZ FIELD | JAZZ FIELD |
| Best Contemporary Jazz Album | Best Improvised Jazz Solo |
| Best Jazz Vocal Album | Best Jazz Vocal Album |
| Best Improvised Jazz Solo | Best Jazz Instrumental Album |
| Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual Or Group | Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album |
| Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album | |
| Best Latin Jazz Album | |
| GOSPEL FIELD | GOSPEL/CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC FIELD |
| Best Gospel Performance | Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance |
| Best Gospel Song | Best Gospel Song |
| Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album | Best Contemporary Christian Music Song |
| Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album | Best Gospel Album |
| Best Southern, Country Or Bluegrass Gospel Album | Best Contemporary Christian Music Album |
| Best Traditional Gospel Album | |
| Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album | |
| LATIN FIELD | LATIN FIELD |
| Best Latin Pop Album | Best Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album |
| Best Latin Rock, Alternative Or Urban Album | Best Regional Mexican or Tejano Album |
| Best Tropical Latin Album | Best Banda or Norteño Album |
| Best Regional Mexican Album | Best Tropical Latin Album |
| Best Tejano Album | |
| Best Norteño Album | |
| Best Banda Album | |
| AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC FIELD | AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC FIELD |
| Best Americana Album | Best Americana Album |
| Best Bluegrass Album | Best Bluegrass Album |
| Best Traditional Blues Album | Best Blues Album |
| Best Contemporary Blues Album | Best Folk Album |
| Best Traditional Folk Album | Best Regional Roots Music Album |
| Best Contemporary Folk Album | |
| Best Hawaiian Music Album | |
| Best Native American Music Album | |
| Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album | |
| REGGAE FIELD | REGGAE FIELD |
| Best Reggae Album | Best Reggae Album |
| WORLD MUSIC FIELD | WORLD MUSIC FIELD |
| Best Traditional World Music Album | Best World Music Album |
| Best Contemporary World Music Album | |
| CHILDREN’S FIELD | CHILDREN’S FIELD |
| Best Children’s Musical Album | Best Children’s Album |
| Best Children’s Spoken Word Album | |
| SPOKEN WORD FIELD | SPOKEN WORD FIELD |
| Best Spoken Word Album | Best Spoken Word Album |
| COMEDY FIELD | COMEDY FIELD |
| Best Comedy Album | Best Comedy Album |
| MUSICAL SHOW FIELD | MUSICAL THEATER FIELD |
| Best Musical Show Album | Best Musical Theater Album |
| FILM, TELEVISION AND OTHER VISUAL MEDIA FIELD | MUSIC FOR VISUAL MEDIA FIELD |
| Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media | Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media |
| Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media | Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media |
| Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media | Best Song Written For Visual Media |
| COMPOSING/ARRANGING FIELD | COMPOSING/ARRANGING FIELD |
| Best Instrumental Composition | Best Instrumental Composition |
| Best Instrumental Arrangement | Best Instrumental Arrangement |
| Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals | Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals |
| PACKAGE FIELD | PACKAGE FIELD |
| Best Recording Package | Best Recording Package |
| Best Boxed/Special Limited Edition | Best Boxed/Special Limited Edition |
| NOTES FIELD | NOTES FIELD |
| Best Album Notes | Best Album Notes |
| HISTORICAL FIELD | HISTORICAL FIELD |
| Best Historical Album | Best Historical Album |
| PRODUCTION, NON-CLASSICAL FIELD | PRODUCTION |
| Best Engineered Album (Non-classical) | Best Engineered Album (Non-classical) |
| Producer Of The Year (Non-classical) | Producer Of The Year (Non-classical) |
| Best Remixed Recording | Best Remixed Recording |
| PRODUCTION, SURROUND SOUND FIELD | PRODUCTION, SURROUND SOUND FIELD |
| Best Surround Sound Album | Best Surround Sound Album |
| PRODUCTION, CLASSICAL FIELD | PRODUCTION, CLASSICAL FIELD |
| Best Engineered Album, Classical | Best Engineered Album, Classical |
| Producer Of The Year, Classical | Producer Of The Year, Classical |
| CLASSICAL FIELD | CLASSICAL FIELD |
| Best Classical Album | Best Orchestral Performance |
| Best Orchestral Performance | Best Opera Recording |
| Best Opera Recording | Best Choral Performance |
| Best Choral Performance | Best Small Ensemble Performance |
| Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance w/Orchestra | Best Classical Instrumental Solo |
| Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance w/o Orchestra | Best Classical Vocal Solo |
| Best Chamber Music Performance | Best Contemporary Classical Composition |
| Best Small Ensemble Performance | |
| Best Classical Vocal Performance | |
| Best Classical Contemporary Composition | |
| Best Classical Crossover Album | |
| MUSIC VIDEO FIELD | MUSIC VIDEO FIELD |
| Best Short Form Music Video | Best Short Form Music Video |
| Best Long Form Music Video | Best Long Form Music Video |
Reader Comments (10)
I would say get rid of the best jazz solo if you had to get rid of any of the jazz. When was Contemporary jazz added? That would make an interesting post (hint hint)
I think the Latin Jazz category should be reinstated. There is so little coverage of jazz as it is already.
Yours In Music,
Jim Cassell
Hi Wayne
The Contemporary Jazz Album was first awarded in 1992 to Manhattan Transfer. You can read its history here: GRAMMY Award For Best Contemporary Jazz Album
^DM
Hi Jim
I can't imagine the thought process behind eliminating "Best Latin Jazz Album" in lieu of keeping "Best Improvised Jazz Solo". 0_o Ridiculous.
If they wanted to "streamline" the categories, how can a substantial jazz category that stands on its own be dissed for a "solo"?
Keeping the "Best Improvised Jazz Solo" is empty symbolism.
Was anyone (with knowledge of modern day jazz) involved in the decision-making? I doubt it.
^DM
Hi Donna and all,
I agree with your comments. To me personally, Best Contemporary Jazz and Best Latin Jazz album were the two most interesting Grammy categories.
If they add a new category like Best Pancake or Best Afternoon Tea, they might as well rename the whole thing to Granny Awards.
Hi Z!
Thank you for your comment and your humor. :) I don't know what they were thinking when they made these across the board decisions to eliminate so many categories.
Have you seen the petition to get the Best Latin Jazz Album category reinstated?
DM
I dunno, these seem pretty reasonable to me for the most part. Looks like Classical took a much harder hit than did jazz, as did the pop category. Contemporary Jazz is code for smooth jazz, and is a field pretty much universally reviled among jazz players as elevator music so no great loss there. Latin Jazz is a harder call, but from what I have read, there were only 31 submissions for last year's event, so the competition was not exactly fierce, since folks had a 1 in 6 chance of getting a Grammy nomination. Hell, you don't even have a 1 in 6 chance of being hired at McDonald's, so kind of an empty honor. Also, I noticed that "Latin" jazz tended to mean Afro-Cuban, as there were far more nominees from there than from Brazilian, etc, and frankly, a lot of the nominees are rehashing styles that were fresh and innovative 40 years ago, repeating the same damn montunos and chord changes and melodies that were "hip" during the Cuban missile crisis
Looks like a lot of fields took a hit, and maybe they based it on submissions. Seems like the people most upset are the promoters and musicians in Latin Jazz who used the nominations to get bookings. I'd be fine with reinstating Latin Jazz, but I don't think it is a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. The Grammys has always been a joke, and an industry fix so what else is new? Just look at the fact that Winchester Cathedral beat out Eleanor Rigby for best song in 1966!
Donna, musicians who previously competed for "Best Latin Jazz Album" will now compete for "Best Jazz Instrumental Album" or "Best Jazz Vocal Album."
That's totally inadequate, I believe. I think that "Latin Jazz" is a unique genre, and will now lose any chance of competing fairly for the Grammy award by being rolled into such broad, general categories as "Best Jazz Instrumental" or "Best Jazz Vocal."
It's wrong. In the case of Latin Jazz, it's just plain wrong.
Hey Aviva!
Yes, I know about the category realignment. Thank you.
I agree with your comment. As the time draws nearer to the 2012 GRAMMYs, I will be keeping a close eye on the developments.
Donna
I understand and I agree with most of the Academy of Arts changes . But JAZZ? and R&B and COUNTRY? Well we need to review even more with new acts of songwriters and the way the online streaming radio. Have help boost more audiences around the world. We need not strain the bat but erase the non-essentials and go back to where the academy where best at discovering sound, images and clarity of music and sounds arrangements. I applaud them for a gutsy change but many companies need clarity.
What is acceptible and what is non accetible ? Many New acts of with cross of genre like the act of distribution on Pacific Coast Jazz and Universal Music Italia Strategic Publishing acts like, California Flight Project, in which have risen the bar into another era. That group or act, in which have help make that NEW genre a very popular genre called: J POP SOUL and now we need more clarity on new genres as well? But? for those category lsited for the 54th Grammys are ink in and since California Flight Project have set the bar higher and wide open for all to revol into genre's like Jazz, Popular music , soul influences,Blues funk Rock, latin, and many others that we are only touching the surface about them and what they have open this new genre
J POP SOUL into the academy. It makes sense for the novice. But we all need to be patience as well and lets see the reaction of the music Community reaction as a whole