Accusations of racial bias in Grammy Awards

The Gramophone

Alleged racism in the Grammy Awards, as expressed in award selections, has repeatedly been the target of criticism. These accusations have been highlighted by several controversial voting results, and the controversial voting process itself.

Background[]

The Grammy Award, as presented by the Recording Academy, is an award that recognizes achievement within all facets of the music industry. It covers all major genres and recognizes performances of albums and songs, songwriting, and new artists. Criticism of the Grammys has covered various aspects, with accusations of racism having been brought up for decades.^{[further explanation needed]}

Controversy[]

Since the inception of the Grammys in 1957, only ten black artists have won the Album of the Year Award: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston, Lauryn Hill, Outkast, Ray Charles, and Herbie Hancock.^[1] From 2012 to 2020, statistics showed that black artists received only 26.7% of nominations for the awards show while they represented over 38% of all artists on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[2]

There have been several best album wins that have been questioned including Beyoncé's loss in 2015 to Beck for Album of the Year and her subsequent 2017 Album of the Year loss to Adele. Other cited examples, include Michael Jackson's Off the Wall and Prince's 1999 failing to be nominated, Frank Ocean's Channel Orange losing to Mumford and Sons, Kendrick Lamar losing Album of the Year and Best Hip Hop Album to Daft Punk and Macklemore in 2014, his defeat to Taylor Swift in 2016^[3] and Bruno Mars in 2018.^[4]

Others have argued that non-white artists mostly win in smaller "racialized" categories. Beyoncé has 18 of her 22 within genre-specific categories, such as rap and R&B, categories that are primarily dominated by people of color. Ann Powers, an accredited writer for the National Public Radio, accused the 2017 Grammy Awards of systematic racism due to Chance the Rapper and Beyoncé being the only black artists who won televised awards. According to Powers, there is a general notion that music made with "real" instrumentation is superior to synth or sampled music, or that "stand-still" performances are superior to performances that incorporate dance.^[5]

The Grammys has also been criticized in the past for failing to nominate popular artists of color, such as The Weeknd. The Academy's failure to nominate The Weeknd's work came as a major surprise considering the widespread success of his 2020 album After Hours and its single, "Blinding Lights". The track set numerous records, including spending 40 weeks within the top 10 in the US, 4 of which the song was at number one, and for spending 28 weeks in the top 5.^[6] After it received no nominations from the Recording Academy, The Weeknd wrote "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency".^[7]

Voting Process[]

The voting process for the Grammy Awards has endured much criticism over the years. The voting committees are made up of hundreds of musical experts, including musicians, producers, engineers, and songwriters. Members of the Recording Academy will submit their picks for nomination, which will then be screened by 350 individuals to ensure that the nominee is placed in the correct category and eligible for a potential award. Members are then asked to vote in up to 15 genre categories and 4 general categories. The votes are sent to independent accounting firm Deloitte to be tallied, and a comprehensive list is sent back to the Recording Academy to be voted upon for a final time. These ballots are again counted by Deloitte and the winners are sealed until the night of the awards.^[8]

Controversy has been raised over the fact that members vote for works in categories outside of their expertise, and this occurs because they are required to vote on a certain number of categories to maintain membership. Rob Kenner, a Grammy screener, described an "unwritten rule" among committee members to be cautious nominating an album by an already well-known artist if they did not want that album to eventually win an award. Kenner claims that voting members are more likely to select an album based on its popularity and name recognition, even if they have never heard the music before.^[9]

Another controversial aspect of the voting process focuses on the lack of transparency regarding the composition of voting committees. The nominations for a wide variety of categories are shaped by many committees, but little is known about who are on these committees, how they are formed, or who puts them together. Looking on the official Grammy website provides no further clarity, thus obscuring the process further.^[10]

References[]