Grammy Award, What's it worth?
By: Amanda Markell
Last updated December 15th , 2009

In 1958, a group of record executives, alarmed by the explosive success of rock 'n' roll - and the threat rock posed to "quality" pop - launched the Grammy Awards. Their aim: to cultivate a higher standard of popular taste.


Are the Grammys a marketing ploy to increase record sales? Back when the 70s rock bands were in their prime, they did not receive the awards. I'd say the award giveaways in the past decade (Carlos Santana getting eight for example) are a way to make up for ignoring them 25 years before.


The Grammy (and similar awards) has about as much to do with music as a convention of insurance agents, it's about money, exclusively. No musical criteria involved. It's a love-fest for the major label recording industry but has no relevance to the fragmented nature of people's actual musical tastes. In real-life, I see it as de-regulation in the form of iPods, MP3 downloads, and band-created niche markets.


The way the process is described doesn’t provide much detail. Record companies and individuals may submit recordings to be nominated. The entries are entered online and then a physical copy of the product must be sent to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 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.


Academy members in the nomination process and final voting process are to vote based upon quality alone. They are not supposed to be influenced by sales, chart performance, personal friendships, regional preferences or company loyalty. The acceptance of gifts is prohibited. Members are urged to vote in a manner that preserves the integrity of the academy. The nomination and final voting processes requires that members vote only in their fields of expertise.


Then why aren’t the members of the academy revealed? I would think that it might be beneficial to reveal the code of ethics a member takes everyday to enforce the legitimacy of a vote. How are these people selected?


Singer Maynard James Keenan of TOOL has refused to attend the Grammys in the past after receiving a nomination. He issued a statement against the award ceremony being legitimate:


“I think the Grammys are nothing more than some gigantic promotional machine for the music industry. They cater to a low intellect and they feed the masses. They don't honor the arts or the artist for what he created. It's the music business celebrating itself. That's basically what it's all about.”

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