Recording Academy’s Task Force for Diversity Was a ‘Disheartening,’ ‘Stifling’ Experience, Say Members

While the media and industry have been focused on the turmoil at the Recording Academy sparked by the organization putting its President/CEO, Deborah Dugan, on administrative leave Jan. 16, academy staffers have been working toward meeting the recommendations made by the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.The Academy put the task force recommendations on its website Dec.

While the media and industry have been focused on the turmoil at the Recording Academy sparked by the organization putting its President/CEO, Deborah Dugan, on administrative leave on Jan. 16, academy staffers have been working toward meeting the recommendations made by the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force.The Academy put the task force recommendations on its website on Dec.

Did you know only 2% of popular music is produced by women? The disconcerting statistic from a 2019 Annenberg Initiative study is the focus of a powerful new video from the Recording Academy and She Is the Music, in conjunction with the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force, and it's premiering exclusively on Billboard above.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has received several complaints about the Recording Academy’s governance structure and his office is now taking a closer look at the Grammys organization, multiple sources tell Billboard.

The Recording Academy has denied embattled president/CEO Deborah Dugan’s request for release from the arbitration agreement she signed before joining the nonprofit organization in August 2019, but says it is willing to waive its confidentiality provision -- meaning the process can play out publicly. As part of her employment contract, Dugan had agreed to arbitrate any future disputes between herself and the academy confidentially and in private.

In response to ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan’s request last week to be released from the arbitration agreement she signed when she took the job, the Academy has agreed to have the dispute heard publicly — however, that agreement is not as liberating as it at first sounds.

It’s been one week since the Grammy Awards, and for many people it’s taken a week even to begin to process all the things that happened in the deranged ten days leading up to the show, let alone try to figure out where things currently stand.

Dugan was placed on administrative leave earlier this month

On Sunday, the biggest of the biggest stars from the music industry descended to attend the popular Grammys. The 71st edition of the award show was attended by many celebs to celebrate the year's achievements in music.

Fresh off his win at the2020 GRAMMY Awards, DJ Khaled shared his reaction to Sean «Diddy» Combs calling out the Recording Academy’s lack of diversity. 

Rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs took aim at the beleaguered Recording Academy bosses for their treatment of hip-hop acts as he accepted one of the organisation’s top prizes on Saturday (25Jan20).

Many who tuned into Sunday's Grammy Awards did so with anticipation to see how music's biggest night would handle the scandal that has embroiled the Recording Academy in the week leading up to its annual telecast.With the awards show kicking off only hours after the tragic news that NBA legend Kobe Bryant — along with his 13-yeard-old daughter Gianna, and seven others — had died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, Alicia Keys opened the ceremony with an emotional tribute to the

By Bruce Haring

Even before Grammy Salute to Icons Award honoree Sean “Diddy” Combs took the troubled Recording Academy to task at the Pre-Grammy Gala Saturday night (Jan. 25), the evening had made its mark as one of the most memorable in the history of the prestigious Clive Davis and Academy-hosted event.

Diddy was recognized with the 2020 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons Award during the Recording Academy and Clive Davis’ annual Pre-GRAMMY Gala on Saturday. 

The Recording Academy Task Force for Diversity and Inclusion, which issued a blistering statement Friday criticizing the Academy for failing to act on the recommendations put forward in its report last month, on Sunday morning issued a statement saying that it will “continue to work with the leadership at the Academy to urgently enact reforms that will last, including those outlined this morning by Board Chair Harvey Mason, Jr., which are a first step toward this renewed effort.”

The morning afterSean “Diddy” Combsadmonished the Recording Academyto “get this shit together” at Saturday night’s Clive Davisand Recording Academy’s Pre-Grammy Gala, the 25,000 members of the organization woke to a missive from interim CEO and board chairHarvey Mason Jr.detailing specific steps to become more inclusive and diverse.In the memo, released the Sunday of the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, songwriter/producer Mason announced five initiatives, many of them based on recommendations from

The morning after Sean “Diddy” Combs admonished the Recording Academy to “get this shit together” at Saturday night’s (Jan. 25) Clive Davis and Recording Academy’s Pre-Grammy Gala, the 25,000 members of the organization woke to a missive from interim CEO and board chair Harvey Mason Jr.

By Bruce Haring

WhenSean “Diddy” Combsaccepted the Salute to Industry Icons Award at the Clive Davis and Recording Academy’s Pre-Grammy Gala Saturday evening, he brought the elephant in the room — the broiling controversy surrounding the Academy — front and center.