The struggling Grammy Awards are attempting yet another revamp of their awards schedule to achieve better balance.
Battling low ratings, a pandemic-induced industry downturn, and recovering from executive turmoil, the Grammys are now turning toward a natural constituency: songwriters, instituting a Songwriter of the Year (non-classical) award. It will be given to a single songwriter or songwriting team for a given body of work.
The move reflects the growing influence of the songwriters lobby, who have been asking for more recognition from the Recording Academy. In 2021, a Songwriters and Composers Wing was created. The coveted Album of the Year was also tweaked to allow greater songwriter participation.
“The intent with this new category is to recognize the professional songwriters who write songs for other artists to make a living,” said Harvey Mason Jr., the chief executive of the Recording Academy. “This dedicated award highlights the importance of songwriting’s significant contribution to the musical process, and as a non-performing songwriter myself, I’m thrilled to see this award come to life.”
The Grammys will have four other new categories, including best alternative music performance, Americana music performance, spoken word poetry album, and score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media.
There will also be a new merit award for best song for social change, as chosen by a special committee.
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