Neil Portnow Discusses Grammys’ Award Consolidation
In the broadest reorganization of the Grammy Awards’ 53-year history, the Recording Academy has consolidated dozens of awards categories, altered eligibility requirements and rewritten the rule on how members may vote.
The impact will be immediate as next year’s 54th annual Grammy Awards will have only 78 categories, 31 fewer than presented at the 53rd ceremony held in February. Recording Academy president/CEO Neil Portnow, Academy chair emeritus Jimmy Jam and Academy VP of Awards, Bill Freimuth made the announcement Wednesday at the Academy’s headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif.
The most noticeable changes are in the stripping of gender-based categories in pop, R&B, rock and country. There will no longer be separate awards for male or female vocals, simply an award in each genre for a single “solo performance.” Several instrumental categories have been eliminated as well.
“Every year there are changes but we’ve never … stopped and stepped back to look at the whole thing,” Portnow told Billboard in an exclusive interview. “[We asked], is there an underlying infrastructure and rationale across all the awards as to how we’re (more…)













