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"A Vote Is A Voice. A Voice Is Power:" Sony Music Launches New Artist-Supported Voting Campaign

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The initiative features Sony musicians encouraging eligible U.S. voters to make their voice heard in the 2020 Presidential Election
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 13, 2020 - 1:38 pm

Today, Oct. 13, 20 days until the 2020 Presidential Election, Sony Music launched the "Your Voice, Your Power, Your Vote" bipartisan voting initiative to encourage civic participation. Until Nov. 3, the campaign will roll out a series of short films and PSAs in English and Spanish featuring artists from their star-studded roster.

"A vote is a voice. A voice is power. A voice not spoken cannot be heard," the artists say collectively in the clip, featuring P!NK, Shakira, DJ Khaled, Pharrell Williams, Vic Mensa, Chole X Halle, Meghan Trainor, Jennifer Hudson, Camila Cabello, G-Eazy, will.i.am and others.

Read: Rhyme & Punishment: How NPR's "Louder Than A Riot" Podcast Traces The Interconnected Rise Of Hip-Hop And Mass Incarceration

Mensa also shared his motivation for voting in a new Pitchfork feature that also included words from David Byrne of Talking Heads, Billie Eilish, Margo Price, Chuck D of Public Enemy and 28 other artists.

"[Activist/scholar] Angela Davis stated that this election is less about putting a candidate in the White House who shares our ideals or can be trusted to lead us in the right direction, because that individual doesn't exist. Our motive here must be to elect the ticket with which we have the most potential to pressure an anti-racist agenda into legislation," Mensa wrote.

Learn more about Sony Music's voting campaign at knowyourworth.community, where you can check your registration and more.

From Aretha Franklin To Public Enemy, Here's How Artists Have Amplified Social Justice Movements Through Music

Saweetie at 2020 Pre-GRAMMY Gala

Saweetie at 2020 Pre-GRAMMY Gala

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Billie Eilish, Saweetie, Selena Gomez, John Legend & More Will Share "Why I'm Voting"

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The iHeartMedia campaign is focused on sharing the personal stories on why people are voting in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election, and is also offering listeners the chance to submit their own message
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 10, 2020 - 12:40 pm

Saweetie, Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Selena Gomez, John Legend, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons and others will be encouraging their massive fan bases to vote in iHeartMedia's "Why I'm Voting" campaign, Billboard revealed today.

The 2020 non-partisan voter initiative has kicked off with a new podcast—sharing the same name and also launched today—with the first four episodes featuring 2020 Producer Of The Year FINNEAS, Jewel and comedians Will Ferrell and Baratunde Thurston.

Dive In: Cardi B And Megan Thee Stallion Deliver A Juicy Collaboration With "WAP"

The campaign is focused on sharing the personal stories on why people are voting in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election, and is also offering listeners the chance to submit their own 20-second message.

Other artists set to participate include Dan + Shay, Michelle Williams, DJ Khaled and Diplo. Pitbull, Melissa Etheridge and comedian Chelsea Handler will be featured in upcoming podcast episodes.

Another important part of the campaign, iHeartMedia is asking people to text the word "VOTER" to 26797 to learn about election info in their area, voter registration deadlines and more.

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DaBaby Talks 'BLAME IT ON BABY (DELUXE),' Black Lives Matter Remix Of "ROCKSTAR" And Rap's Obsession With Deluxe Albums

Tamika Mallory

Tamika Mallory

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Tamika Mallory To Host Pull Up & Vote Party Livestream Featuring Barack Obama, Questlove & More

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The star-studded online party will feature a DJ set from Questlove and conversations on important issues surrounding the 2020 Presidential Election ballots
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 19, 2020 - 2:12 pm

Tomorrow, Tues., Oct. 20, Complex is throwing a "Pull Up & Vote Party" livestream hosted by activist and Women's March co-founder Tamika Mallory. The 90-minute virtual voter engagement event will feature appearances from Barack Obama and artists A$AP Ferg, Jack Harlow, Chloe x Halle and SAINt JHN. Questlove will keep things groovy with a DJ set.

As Complex explains, "the event serves as a celebration of the importance of participating in the upcoming election while firmly understanding the variety of issues that could shape American life for years to come." It is part of their 2020 Pull Up & Vote voting campaign—the website has resources to check registration, vote by mail, find a polling place and more.

"They said they wanted a revolutionary to have a seat at the table so I'm pulling up," Mallory wrote in her Instagram post about the event.

Read: Soul Clap Wants You To Rave The Vote This 2020 Election

Former President Obama also spoke about Pull Up & Vote, as well as the vital importance of civic engagement, via Complex:

"One of the most inspiring things about this year has been to see so many young Americans fired up, organizing, marching and fighting for change. In times as polarized as these, your vote doesn't just matter, it matters more than ever before… Participate and vote; it's not always pretty—trust me, I know—but it's how bit by bit, we've made progress over the generations."

You can catch the Pull Up & Vote Party live on Oct. 20 at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on Complex's channels on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and the Pull Up & Vote site.

Deep Asymmetries Of Power: How The Recording Industry Spent Decades Denying Fair Payment To Black Artists

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Good Splits Debuts Free Music Royalty Calculator

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The free artist-centric tool was launched in beta in 2019 and is now available accepting sign ups for new users on a rolling basis
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 25, 2020 - 1:15 pm

Last week, on Aug. 19, Good Splits officially launched their free music royalty calculator for artists, after a 2019 beta round. The new tool was created by Nashville-based music manager Jordan Mattison, who founded Good Folk Management, and New York-based digital agency Coalesce.

"The music industry has a terrible history of serving the artist last. Good Splits was built to help artists do their royalty accounting in a super accessible way—and I hope it's one step toward a more equitable music business," Mattison recently told Billboard. "Not only does it save time, it actually helps more artists get paid what they're owed, which in turn actually lets them plan for the future—something musicians feel is often out of their reach."

Watch: How The Watts Summer Festival Created Community And Offered Healing | History Of

Good Splits' target users are independent artists or, as their website states, "working musicians who don't have access to fancy accounting teams." With the artist in mind, the team created "a new, simple tool that would allow musicians to bid farewell to their unwieldy spreadsheets, calculate payments faster, and provide more reliability and transparency to their collaborators."

"We saw a problem in the music business and knew that some smart strategy, simple tech and savvy design could help fill the gap in a real, tangible way," Tucker Margulies of Coalesce said to Billboard. "It shouldn't take crazy technology to be able to know how much a song has made or how much you owe a collaborator."

Good Splits was designed to work with all major aggregators and distributors, including self-distributor models like Tunecore or serviced-distributors like AWAL. The only data the user needs to provide is a CSV file from whichever music service they use, along with the splits. The tool will offer "a clean, easy-to-understand earnings breakdown by song, album and collaborator" to help users make payouts simpler and more transparent.

Good Splits is accepting new users for the free service on a rolling basis—visit their website for more info and to sign up.

Engineer Evan LaRay Brunson Goes Inside Cardi B’s Pandemic Recording Routine, The "WAP" Backstory & More

GRAMMYs

Kristolyn Lloyd at 2018 GRAMMYs

 

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The 63rd GRAMMY Awards: Looking Ahead To The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show

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Need something to look forward to? Here's what you'll want to know about the 2021 GRAMMYs, including nominations, timelines, rule changes, possible formats, voting and more...
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 19, 2020 - 9:37 am

Updated March 7, 2021.

Given how this year has gone, perhaps you're ready to fast-forward to 2021 (we're almost there!). Beyond it no longer being 2020, next year has some other big things going for it, including Music's Biggest Night, a.k.a. the 2021 GRAMMYs. Airing Sunday, March 14, 2021, on CBS, the 63rd GRAMMY Awards recognize excellence in music released in late 2019 and 2020. Hopefully, you're as excited about the show as we are! 

To help make sure you stay in the loop, read on to learn more important dates and details about GRAMMY nominations (they were announced on Nov. 24), the Recording Academy member voting process and everything else 2021 GRAMMY Awards show!

It's Here! 2021 GRAMMYs: Complete Nominees List

When Is It?

On Sunday, March 14, 2021, the 63rd GRAMMY Awards will be happening. The health and safety of the artists, guests, crew and staff is always front of mind during every GRAMMYs, so, logistically, things will be a little different this year.

62nd GRAMMY Awards Wrap Up Show

How To Watch The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show

Ahead of Music's Biggest Night, GRAMMY.com has put together a useful guide about the different ways you can watch the show and experience the 2021 GRAMMY season in full. Check out our official Watch The 2021 GRAMMYs Live page and read below for more details.

Meet The New Class: Meet This Year's Best New Artist Nominees | 2021 GRAMMYs

Who Is Nominated?!

One of the biggest days in music outside of the show itself is the nominations announcement, when hundreds of artists learn they're in the running for a golden gramophone. For the upcoming 63rd GRAMMY Awards, the nominees were announced on Nov. 24. You can peruse the complete 2021 nominees list here and rewatch the star-studded nominations annoucement livestream here. You can also find out who are the most-nominated artists this year here.

GRAMMY nominations are always a very celebratory day for those nominated. It is truly a moment when all the love, long hours and hard work that was put into the music feels worth it. Celebrate with the 2021 nominees in this joyful reactions roundup. 

Revisit The Magic Noms Moment: "This doesn’t feel real:" 2021 GRAMMY Nominees Celebrate On Social Media

Who Is Performing?!

Performers for the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show include Bad Bunny, Black Pumas, Cardi B, BTS, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Mickey Guyton, Haim, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Dua Lipa, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Post Malone, Roddy Ricch, Harry Styles, and Taylor Swift.

To view a list of current nominations per artist, please visit our GRAMMY Awards performer and presenter page here.

What About The Premiere Ceremony?

Preceding the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show, the 63rd GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony will take place Sunday, March 14, at noon PT, and will be streamed live internationally via GRAMMY.com.

Hosted by current three-time GRAMMY nominee Jhené Aiko, the Premiere Ceremony will feature a number of performances by current GRAMMY nominees, including: Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper Burna Boy, jazz band Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science, blues musician Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, classical pianist Igor Levit, Latin electropop musician Lido Pimienta, singer, songwriter and performance artist Poppy, and singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright. 

Learn more about the 63rd GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony.

What Releases Are Eligible?

The Product Eligibility Period for the 63rd GRAMMY Awards is Sept. 1, 2019—Aug. 31, 2020.

Read: 62nd GRAMMY Awards & "Let's Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute To Prince" Earn Emmy Nominations

What Will The Show Look Like?

Just ahead of the nominees announcement on Nov. 24, the Recording Academy revealed GRAMMY-nominated South African comedian Trevor Noah will host the 2021 GRAMMYs.

While the format of next year's GRAMMY Awards has not been announced, Harvey Mason jr., the Recording Academy Interim President/CEO, offered some insight on what to expect at the 2021 show back in June during an interview with Variety. "We are simultaneously developing three plans for what the show would look like: One is the traditional show with the full crowd, two is a limited crowd, and three is no crowd, and there's creative around all three of those ideas: how and where we would film it. But none of them involve changing or postponing the date," said Mason. 

"I've spent a lot of time talking to artists, managers and labels and getting a feel for how the pandemic is affecting the release of music—and as I'm sure you've noticed, the amount of music released has actually increased during the pandemic, so we would not want to delay our date with so much great music coming out," he continued.

"But I also think it's important and helpful to have shows like this, when there's been so much uncertainty and unrest—to have something you know is coming around every year and to know there's a time when we all sit down together and watch great entertainment and art… We're trying to build the next evolution of the Academy, and the show will go hand-in-hand with that. Whether it's with a crowd or not, we're going to try to take things to the next level," Mason added.

Let's Add It Up: Find Out Who Has The Most GRAMMY Nominations, Which Categories Are All-Female & More: 2021 GRAMMYs By The Numbers

More recently, on Sept. 30, he spoke to Variety again and added that no matter what, the show will be executed fully live, with no pre-recorded segments.

"We're looking at Staples [Center] with a limited audience, although that seems increasingly unlikely; Staples with live performances and no audience; or something a little more virtual, with some elements from different locations," Mason said. "We're still waiting to hear back from our partners at the network and the venue and our medical experts, because obviously we want this to be safe for everyone ...

"Obviously, this is a very unique year. We've been looking at all of the [2020 awards] shows really closely and I've been talking with some of the people who put them together—the creative and also the business side. I think there have been some great examples of how to present music and awards at these shows, and I think there's some other things that we're gonna do pretty differently. The civic and social unrest deserves to be addressed, and we always encourage artists to voice their opinions, so I expect we'll see messages both from the artists' side and the Academy side."

Behind The Board: Harvey Mason Jr.

We can't wait for all the magical GRAMMY moments, epic performances and moving speeches—it's exactly what we need to start 2021 off on an inspirational note. While you'll have to wait to closer to the show to find out who the performers and presenters are (which are always announced in multiple waves), what's certain is things will be off the chain.

Read: The Recording Academy Announces Changes For 63rd Annual GRAMMYs, Releases Rules And Guidelines

What's New For 2021?

There are quite a few exciting changes going into effect with the 63rd GRAMMY Awards! Following Ken Ehrlich's celebrated 40-year run as the show's executive producer, Emmy Award-winning producer Ben Winston is taking over the reins. The highly experienced TV/film writer/director/producer has worked on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," co-creating Corden's beloved "Carpool Karaoke" show with the comedian himself.

James Corden Subway Carpool Karaoke | 2018 GRAMMYs

Additionally, several major changes to the voting guidelines and rules, the latter which affects five award categories, go into effect this year. These updates, announced in June, reflect the Recording Academy's ongoing commitment to evolve with the musical landscape and to ensure that the nomination process and rules are more transparent and fair. More details on the changes can be found in the above link, but, the rule/category updates are highlighted below.

  • Best Urban Contemporary Album has been renamed Best Progressive R&B Album to include a more accurate definition to describe the merit or characteristics of music compositions or performances within the genre of R&B.
  • Best Rap/Sung Performance has been renamed Best Melodic Rap Performance to represent the growing hybrid performance trends within the rap genre.
  • Latin Pop Album has been renamed Best Latin Pop Or Urban Album AND Latin Rock, Urban Or Alternative Album has been renamed Best Latin Rock Or Alternative Album to represent the current state and prominent representation in the Latin urban genres.
  • There is no longer a specified maximum number of releases prohibiting artists from entering the Best New Artist category. The screening committees will determinine whether the artist had attained a breakthrough or prominence prior to the eligibility year, with such a determination would result in disqualification.

Another exciting category update occured in November, when Best World Music Album changed to the more inclusive Best Global Music Album. While this might appear subtle to those not familiar with the baggage the term "world music" carries, it represents an important honoring of its past and movement towards a more inclusive, adaptive future.

The new name was decided after extensive conversations with artists, ethnomusicologists and linguists from around the world, who decided it was time to rename it with "a more relevant, modern, and inclusive term," an email sent to Recording Academy members explained. "The change symbolizes a departure from the connotations of colonialism, folk and 'non-American' that the former term embodied while adapting to current listening trends and cultural evolution among the diverse communities it may represent."

Related: Travel Around The World With The Best Global Music Album Nominees | 2021 GRAMMYs

Key Voting Dates

As the only peer-recognized music award, the GRAMMY is the music industry’s highest honor. This means GRAMMY nominations and winners are determined by the music professionals who are voting members of the Recording Academy. 

  • Sept. 1, 2019—Aug. 31, 2020: Product Eligibility Period
  • Sept. 30—Oct. 12, 2020: First-Round Voting—eligible members vote to determine the 2021 nominees!
  • Nov. 24: Nominations Announcement!
  • Dec. 7, 2020—Jan. 4, 202: Final-Round Voting—this round determines the GRAMMY winners!
  • Sunday, March 14, 2021: 63rd GRAMMY Awards & Premiere Ceremony

Your Academy: Welcoming The 2020 New Member Class

Find more at the GRAMMY Awards FAQ page here, including on the voting process.

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2021 GRAMMYs: Complete Nominees List

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