As the organization behind the Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy has spent much of the last year and a half expanding the list of categories in which standout artists can earn an award—and this, in addition to solid programming, has led to increased viewership of the award show.
Five new awards were given out in 2023, including Songwriter of the Year, Nonclassical, and Best Spoken Word Poetry Album, as well as Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media. The February broadcast saw a 31% increase in viewership over the previous year’s, garnering a total audience of 12.55 million, including viewers watching live on streaming app Paramount+.
To build on that momentum, for the 2024 awards, the Academy added Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording. It also made the Nonclassical Producer of the Year and Nonclassical Songwriter of the Year awards open to input from all Grammy voters by moving them into the Grammys’ General Field. February 2024’s telecast, with a spate of top artists performing and the new categories, saw a 36% year-over-year increase in viewership, bringing in more than 17 million viewers.
As it embraced a more diverse approach to the music it recognizes, the Academy also spent 2023 reckoning with technological change—opening itself to the idea of AI-generated music but adopting the stance that only human creators can be nominated or win a Grammy, and noting that songs using AI still need a human component.
The Academy also lobbied lawmakers to adopt the RAP Act—which would limit the use of artists’ lyrics as evidence in their criminal trials, protecting them as creative or artistic expression.
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