Status: 09.06.2022 5:57 p.m
There will be five new categories at the Grammys in the future. The “Songwriter of the Year”, for example, is then awarded. In addition, a decoupled special price is planned.
From the upcoming Grammy Awards, there will be five more categories. This was announced by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. The additional prizes should be awarded in the following categories:
- Songwriter of the Year
- Best Spoken Poetry Album
- Best alternative performance
- Best Americana Performance
- Best Soundtrack for Video Games and Interactive Media
Special tribute to songwriters
The chairman of the board particularly emphasized the new category “Songwriter of the Year”. This should honor the creative people whose work is at the center of “our business and our industry”.
Nothing happens without a songwriter.
For the Recording Academy, the new category is “an adaptation to all the changes”. The fundamental question was how to represent more people and be more inclusive across genres, Mason Jr. said. further.
The prize is intended exclusively for composers who write music for others. Musicians who write and perform their own songs are excluded from this category.
Categories for different styles
In a Recording Academy press release it was explained that the award in the category “Best Album with Spoken Poetry” should go to an artist with an album that stands out with excellent spoken word. It doesn’t matter whether the album is with or without music.
There should also be prizes for musicians in the styles “Alternative” and “Americana”. Furthermore, a soundtrack that was released for a current video game or as an accompaniment to other interactive media will be honored in an additional category.
Special prize outside of the categories
Record Academy also announced a special award for “Best Social Change Song”. This should be awarded for music with lyrical content – and thus for a song that is peace-making and promotes understanding and empathy. Mason Jr. said it was “always a good time to honor music that changes the world”. This deserves special recognition.
The special feature of this award: The awardee is selected by a special committee – the “Blue Ribbon Committee”. It is then awarded by the Record Academy.