Los Angeles, CA (June 13, 2023)—In recent years, the Recording Academy has been slowly but surely overhauling many of the mechanics that go into the voting process behind its flagship annual Grammy Awards. Today, the organization announced a number of changes, including the revelation that it will substantially revamp how the Producer of the Year, Non-Classical award is determined.
That announcement came bundled along with the announcement of three new categories which will be added for the 66th annual Grammys next year, as well as a change to the Songwriter of the Year category.
Both the Producer of the Year, Non-Classical award and the Songwriter of the Year award will now be moved to the General Field. This means that all Grammy voters will be able to vote on them—a move that the organization said in a statement was in line with their position as “important, non-genre-specific Categories.”
“Relocating the Producer Of the Year and Songwriter Of The Year Categories to the General Field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognizing excellence in these fields,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy.
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Meanwhile, the Academy also added three new categories:
Best African Music Performance
A track and singles Category that recognizes recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent. Highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions, the Category includes but is not limited to the Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz genres.
Best Pop Dance Recording
Recognizes tracks and singles that feature up-tempo, danceable music that follows a pop arrangement. Eligible Pop Dance recordings also feature strong rhythmic beats and significant electronic-based instruments with an emphasis on the vocal performance, melody and hooks. Dance remixes are eligible in the Best Remixed Recording Category only and may not be entered in Best Pop Dance Recording.
Best Alternative Jazz Album
This Category recognizes artistic excellence in Alternative Jazz albums by individuals, duos and groups/ensembles, with or without vocals. Alternative Jazz may be defined as a genre-blending, envelope-pushing hybrid that mixes jazz (improvisation, interaction, harmony, rhythm, arrangements, composition, and style) with other genres, including R&B, Hip-Hop, Classical, Contemporary Improvisation, Experimental, Pop, Rap, Electronic/Dance music, and/or Spoken Word. It may also include the contemporary production techniques/instrumentation associated with other genres.
The Recording Academy accepts proposals from members of the music community throughout the year. The Awards & Nominations Committee, comprised of Academy Voting Members of diverse genres and backgrounds, meets annually to review proposals to update Awards categories, procedures and eligibility guidelines.
