Harvey Explains: Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason shares what it takes to win a Grammy Award
The Recording Academy’s CEO offers insight into the process of winning a Grammy.
The 66th Grammy Awards which was held on February 5, 2024, in Los Angeles generated massive interest among Nigerian music fans who were looking forward to the Nigerian contingent bringing home the award.
Disappointments have followed the aftermath of the 66th Grammy Awards as Burna Boy, Davido, Asake & Olamide, and Ayra Starr lost the 10 nominations between them.
According to the President of the Recording Academy Board of Trustees Harvey Mason, the Academy evaluates each song on its quality and it’s the opinions of the Academy members each year that determine the winners.
While answering questions from journalists on the process that goes on behind the scenes to determine the winner, Mason said that the Academy only considers the quality of each submitted song and that alone informs the choice of the winner.
The members of the Academy are made up of professionals working in music in the United States and it’s their votes that determine the winner of every category.
“It’s not the streams, not how many fans, not how many followers, but purely on the opinion of the membership in that particular year, that is how you win a Grammy,” Mason told Journalist.
He further said that there are no committees, no journalists, no labels but just music professionals voting for their peers.
There continue to be conversations surrounding the outcome of the 66th Grammy Awards after Nigerian artists failed to register any wins.
Davido’s ‘Unavailable’, Asake & Olamide’s ‘Amapiano’, Ayra Starr’s ‘Rush’, and Burna Boy’s ‘City Boy’ lost the Best African Music Performance category to Tyla’s ‘Water’.
Davido’s ‘Feel’ and Burna Boy’s ‘Alone’ lost the Best Global Music Performance to ‘Pashto’ by Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia. Davido’s ‘Timeless’ and Burna Boy’s ‘I Told Them’ also lost the Best Global Album to Shakti’s ‘The Moment’.
