Grammy Awards drop ‘urban’ in Recording Academy language

The Recording Academy has announced a summer 2020 call-to-action initiative to help provide pandemic and tax relief for music creators and music businesses, and to promote social change through legislation. The seven-week effort will culminate with the academy's seventh annual District Advocate event on Aug. 12.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterThe Recording Academy has announced a summer 2020 call-to-action initiative to help provide pandemic relief for music creators and music businesses, and to promote positive social change through legislation.

Anytime there is a royalty for the use of a sound recording in the U.S., the music creator is entitled to receive it, regardless of the creator's nationality and their copyright laws back home. The same is not true around the world -- but rights management agency SoundExchange is trying to change that. SoundExchange today (June 24) launches Fair Trade of Music, an education and

The board includes two former best new artist winners.

The number of women on the Recording Academy’s 40-member board of trustees jumped from 14 to 17 following the recent trustees elections, which included, for the first time in academy history, four “at large” trustee seats. In three of those four two-person contests, two women faced off, ensuring that a female would fill that seat.Trustees are primarily selected by the governors of each of the academy’s 12 chapters.

Slowthai has spoken out on his controversial behaviour at the NME Awards 2020, admitting that his actions were “inexcusable” and that he’s “learning every single day”.During the ceremony at London’s O2 Academy Brixton back in February, an interaction between Slowthai (real name Tyron Frampton) and comedian Katherine Ryan (who was co-hosting with Julie Adenuga) escalated to what he describes as “to a point of shameful actions on my part”.

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The Recording Academy has addressed the conflicts of interest in the Grammy Awards nomination committee and made several changes to the awards categories.

The Grammy Awards have decided to drop the word “Urban” from three of its award categories.

Cuz I Love You won earlier this year—is now going to be called the Best Progressive R&B Album category in an effort to "appropriately categorize and describe this subgenre," as well as acknowledge albums that feature song and production elements of hip-hop, rap, dance, pop, euro-pop, country, rock, folk and alternative music.The Best Rap/Sung Performance category is now being changed to Best Melodic Rap Performance to "represent the inclusivity of the growing hybrid trends" within the genre.

The Recording Academy has announced new changes that will impact the 2021 Grammy Awards. In a press released obtained by E! News, The Academy announced updates to the Best New Artist category, Latin, R&B and Rap Fields, Nominations Review Committees and more.

The Recording Academy announced nine key changes to its awards and nominations process on Wednesday morning (June 10). These changes were ratified at the semiannual Trustees Meeting in May.

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorThe Recording Academy has announced several rule changes for the 63rd Grammy Awards, including omitting the term “urban” from its awards categories and language.The academy is changing the name of the urban contemporary album category to progressive R&B album. The word “urban” has been subject to increasing criticism, most recently by Tyler, the Creator, who called it “a politically correct way to say the N-word” at the January ceremony.

said Wednesday.

GRAMMY Awards are undergoing some changes. The Recording Academy announced on Wednesday that they've voted to rename four categories ahead of the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards.The first of the categories to change is Best Urban Contemporary Album, an award that Lizzo won at this year's ceremony for her album, .

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTo say that interim Recording Academy president/CEO Harvey Mason jr. has had a challenging first few months on the job is an understatement of epic proportions.

Billboard discussed the changes with Harvey Mason, Jr., Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy.1. In best new artist, the Academy dropped the rule that an artist may have released no more than 30 tracks prior to the start of the current eligibility year: The Academy had sought to quantify its definition of best new artist, but found that it’s almost impossible to come up with numbers that are fair in every situation.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Grammy Awards will cease using the term “urban” in its awards and language as part of the latest round of annual changes to its rules and guidelines, the Recording Academy announced Wednesday (June 10).

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorBonnie Pointer, a member of Grammy-winning vocal group The Pointer Sisters, died Monday. She was 69.