Not that I expect anything less from an organization as perennially out of touch as the Recording Academy — I’m looking at you, Herbie — but the new eligibility calendar they just announced for the Grammys is a puzzler. Next year’s ceremony will take place in January, a bit earlier than usual, and only music released between Oct. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009 will be counted for awards. Who cares about those dates? Well, as others have noticed, the new cut-off will basically eliminate the whole fourth quarter of 2009 from consideration. Considering how labels traditionally stack the fall and winter with high-profile releases to maximize holiday sales, it’s hard to see how this makes sense. Worst of all, that’s one less month that M.I.A. has to get pregnant in time to steal the show again. Not considerate, Grammys.
But hey, maybe this will lead to a 2010 Grammys broadcast that’s packed with wonderful (months-old) summer jams, and we’ll all agree that this was a good idea after all. Do you care about this change in the rules?
More on the Grammys:
EW Gallery: Best and Worst Grammy Performances ’09
EW Gallery: Best and Worst Grammy Style ’09
Live blogging the 2009 Grammys
Seems like a silly change. Just have it be a calendar year already, like the Oscars. Makes more sense.
Didn’t they just change it by a month? Normally it goes until the end of September.
I like the reference to Herbie Hancock, still can’t believe that won Album of the Year. Pretty bad, even by Grammy standards.
Oh yeah, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss won Album of the Year this year, weak.
Hmmm…mixed feelings on this one, Simon. On the one hand, losing a month means that the Grammys will appear more passe’ as the nominated music will be even older. On the other, a little more distance from the music might help to illuminate those songs and albums which are truly deserving of accolades.
Of course, part of me thinks the whole thing is moot, anyway, after many of the safe, boring, and eye-roll inducing choices the Academy made this year (and last year…and the year before that…).
The Grammys just never stop getting funnier.
I think the point of giving it to Herbie was that there has been nothing new or genius (musically) for so long. Radio isn’t REAL radio (I don’t even listen anymore.) So here is a musical genius just paying homage – an old technique – but more refreshing than what’s available.
I really don’t care for the change but never really cared for the grammys setup either. I don’t know any person in America who bouhgt this Robert Plant fellow’s cd. I heard the live preformance and the song, and it wasn’t exciting or good at all. I’v concluded that over the years the grammy’s and billboard charts has been rigged. you have people who you’ve never heard on any radio station more than once on the top of the charts. I’v yet to hear Right Round (Flo-rider) on any radio station’s airwave, and I listen to all generas of radio stations (especially hip-hop). Nor had I heard Robert’s song at all last year. I personally think the grammys goes off your past seccess instead of your current standing in the music industry. Real surprise to see Lil Wayne considered for best album but I knew he would fell to win to a pop loving committie of tune&tone def pompus morons. but hay what can you do. And please fire Aikael Woods because Love vs Money was phenomenal.
I really don’t care for the change but never really cared for the grammys setup either. I don’t know any person in America who bouhgt this Robert Plant fellow’s cd. I heard the live preformance and the song, and it wasn’t exciting or good at all. I’v concluded that over the years the grammy’s and billboard charts has been rigged. you have people who you’ve never heard on any radio station more than once on the top of the charts. I’v yet to hear Right Round (Flo-rider) on any radio station’s airwave, and I listen to all generas of radio stations (especially hip-hop). Nor had I heard Robert’s song at all last year. I personally think the grammys goes off your past seccess instead of your current standing in the music industry. Real surprise to see Lil Wayne considered for best album but I knew he would fell to win to a pop loving committie of tune&tone def pompus morons. but hay what can you do. And please fire Aikael Woods because Love vs Money was phenomenal.
I think that most of the biggest hits of the year come out of the first 8 months of the year (January to August). I think that they don’t want something like this year, when a 2007 album won for Album of the Year at a 2009 Grammy show. That’s like skipping 2008 altogether. They want something from the year itself to win it. They don’t want something that came out too early in the eligibility period to win it. They want something that reflects the music of that year. And more new artists put their albums out and they want those artists nominated for best new artist instead of someone that’s been in a few years in the business. January’s a good idea. I think that they don’t want to have conflict with the Oscars’ show.
The problem with this decision is that the ceremony occurs FIVE MONTHS after the most recent eligible music is released. Are you serious? The Grammys is becoming more and more irrelevant faster than ever.
But this is just another puzzling decision to make people not care. Remember how they make people take all the YouTube videos of performance off the site, but then never make them available themselves, thereby losing any potential buzz over the show? Their decisions make absolutely no sense.
EW, you seriously need to call them up, find out why they do these weird things, and then write and article about it.
Doesn’t matter to me being that I haven’t watched the Grammys in years. It’s more of a performance show than an awards show these days and most of the performances are either mediocre or just plain bad, so when you want to know who won what category, you either have to strain your eyeballs to see the winner listed in the corner or wait till the whole list appears online. I chose the latter. Also, their picks lately have been lame, especially in Album of the Year. Herbie has put out some good stuff but that piece of crap didn’t deserve it over Amy Winehouse or Kanye. And most recently, the Plant/Krauss was okay but not THAT deserving of Album of the Year. And don’t get me started on the Ray Charles one. They might as well change the name of the award from Album of the Year to Tribute Album of the Year, because essentially that’s what’s been winning over the past few years.