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Grammy Award

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Grammy Award



 
 
The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. is known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS. Established in 1957, it is a U.S....
 of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 for outstanding achievements in the music industry. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony.

The awards were established in 1958.






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The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. is known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS. Established in 1957, it is a U.S....
 of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 for outstanding achievements in the music industry. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony.

The awards were established in 1958. Prior to the first live Grammys telecast in 1971 on ABC, a series of taped annual specials in the 1960s called The Best on Record were broadcast on NBC. The first Grammy Award telecast took place on the night of November 29, 1959, as an episode of the NBC anthology series Sunday Showcase, which was normally devoted to plays, original TV dramas, and variety shows. Until 1971, awards ceremonies were held in both New York and Los Angeles, with winners accepting at one of the two. Pierre Cossette
Pierre Cossette

Pierre Cossette is a TV executive producer and Broadway theatre Theatrical producer who brought the Grammy Awards to television. Cossette was inducted into in 2005....
 bought the rights to broadcast the ceremony from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. is known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS. Established in 1957, it is a U.S....
 and organized the first live telecast. CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
 bought the rights in 1973 after moving the ceremony to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the Capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis, Tennessee....
; the American Music Awards were created for ABC as a result.

The award ceremony is generally held in February. The 51st Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2009, and was broadcast in HD on CBS in the United States at 8 pm EST/PST. The nominations were announced on a special concert airing on CBS on December 3, 2008, and were then posted on the official website....
 ceremony was held on February 8, 2009, and was held at Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
' Staples Center
Staples Center

Staples Center is a multi-purpose arena in Downtown Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex....
 for the sixth consecutive year.

Gramophone trophy

The actual trophy is manufactured exclusively by in Ridgway, Colorado
Ridgway, Colorado

The City of Ridgway is a Colorado municipalities#Home Rule Municipality in Ouray County, Colorado, Colorado, in the United States. The population was 713 at the United States Census, 2000....
. The trophies are all hand made and assembled. Years ago, the old smaller gramophone had to be revamped because the metals were too soft and there were many problems with the trophy breaking. The trophy was made bigger and grander. The Grammy is assembled in pieces and finally finished off in gold plating. The trophies used for the broadcast are called "stunt" Grammys.

As of 2007, 7,578 Grammy trophies have been awarded.

Categories

The "General Field" are four awards which are not restricted by genre.
  • Record of the Year
    Grammy Award for Record of the Year

    The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959. The honorees through its history have been:...
     is awarded to the performer and the production team of a single song.
  • Album of the Year
    Grammy Award for Album of the Year

    The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer....
     is awarded to the performer and the production team of a full album.
  • Song of the Year
    Grammy Award for Song of the Year

    The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Award, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 to the composer of the song in question....
     is awarded to the writer(s)/composer(s) of a single song.
  • Best New Artist
    Grammy Award for Best New Artist

    The Grammy for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1960. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year....
     is awarded to a performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist (which may not necessarily be their first proper release).


Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other contributions such as artwork and video. Special awards are also given out for more long-lasting contributions to the music industry.

Nomination process

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. is known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS. Established in 1957, it is a U.S....
 and record companies are responsible for entering into nomination the works that they deem most deserving. Once a work is entered, reviewing sessions are held by over 150 experts from the recording industry. This is done only to determine whether or not a work is eligible or entered into the proper category for official nomination. The nomination process requires that members vote only in their fields of expertise. They may nominate in the four general categories (Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year

The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959. The honorees through its history have been:...
, Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year

The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer....
, Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year

The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Award, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 to the composer of the song in question....
 and Best New Artist
Grammy Award for Best New Artist

The Grammy for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1960. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year....
) and in no more than nine out of 31 fields on their ballots. Once the nominations are secured, Recording Academy members may then vote in the four general categories and in no more than eight of the 31 fields. Ballots are tabulated secretly by the major independent accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is one of the largest professional services firms in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG....
. As of 2006, the eligibility period for the Grammy Awards begins October 1.

Criticism

Certain musical artists have voiced personal issues with the nature of the Grammys. Singer Maynard James Keenan, of progressive metal
Progressive metal

Progressive metal is a Fusion ; a mixture of progressive rock and Heavy metal music. Progressive metal blends the powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock....
 band Tool
Tool (band)

Tool is an American Grammy Award-winning Rock music band that was formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones , and vocalist Maynard James Keenan....
 did not attend the Grammys ceremony to receive their award. He explained his reasons:

The Grammys are often criticized for failure to represent adequately the sentiments of the public. Some critics have argued that major award shows like the Grammys are merely the recording industry's attempt to congratulate themselves while advertising their products and ideas through the use of selection bias
Selection bias

Selection bias is a distortion of evidence or data that arises from the way that the data are collected. It is sometimes referred to as the selection effect....
 in the nomination and award process. Some critics argue that winners naturally reflect "the social, political and artistic preferences of the nominating and voting members."

Additionally, many have criticized the Grammys for distributing many more awards than necessary, and that a large portion of the ceremony is "filler" to result in a longer engagement.

Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor

Trent Reznor is an American musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He operates under the studio name Nine Inch Nails, and was previously associated with the bands Option 30, Exotic Birds, and Tapeworm , among others....
 (Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock music group, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio. As its main Producer , singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction....
) wrote on his blog December 6, 2007, "While the music industry is doing everything they possibly can to go out of business, can we all make sure to rid ourselves of the Grammys, too? Out of touch old men jacking each other off. ENOUGH! Have a nice day."

Bono
Bono

Paul David Hewson , also known by his stage name Bono, is the main vocalist of the Ireland rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2....
 (U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
) did not admit to having felt this way in the past:
He was wearing sunglasses when he stated "We called them 'The Grannys'. Snobs, we did not want to hear anything about music from anyone older than us." But, he continues, he changed his mind, not because of the awards themselves, but the telecast's inclusivity: "And then the Staple Singers
The Staple Singers

The Staple Singers were an United States Gospel music, soul music, and R&B singing group. Pops Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis Staples ....
 came on... It was all there: anger, love, forgiveness, family, community, and the deepest sense of history... Here was the full power of American music challenging my arrogance. I watched the rest of the show with new eyes. The Grammys invited jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, country
Country music

Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
, rock
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
, soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
 and classical
Classical music

Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western art history Religious music and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times....
 into the same hall. No regard for demographic studies of what would deliver ratings, no radio call-out research-- a mad amalgam of the profound and the absurd and the creeping realization that one man's Mozart is another man's Vegas."


Award ceremony locations


External links