The Grammy awards have downsized the categories from 109 to 78 by introducing changes in some 30 genre fields. Some of the categories have been removed from the list in a move to trim down the list, which has been criticised for being long.
The four top categories — album, record and song of the year and best new artist, in the so-called general field — remain as is, the Variety reported. Genre fields like Latin, jazz, gospel and Americana will see significant category trims.
The best Hawaiian music album category has been removed. Its submissions will be qualified for the newly instituted “best regional roots music album” category.
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) president Neil Portnow, however, assured that no artist will be affected by the category cuts. “Every submission will continue to have a home. It will just look a little different,” Portnow said.
Under new rules, each category will require at least 40 artist submissions, which is up from 25 in the past. Only three nods will be granted in the slot if 25-39 entries are received. Categories receiving less than 25 submissions will be put on immediate hiatus for the current year.
The academy’s 13,000 voting members will now be allowed to vote in 20 categories on both the preliminary and awards Grammy ballots, up from nine on the first ballot and eight on the second.