The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr Talks The Grammy Awards
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What role do the Grammys play in the music industry?
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts, radio, news. Joining us right now is the CEO of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr. Harvey, great to see you again here. Obviously, a lot of excitement given some of the nominees who, of course, really stole a lot of the attention over the last year or so. Before we get to that, though, Harvey, I do just want to kind of start off about the importance of the Grammys, not just as a television event, but also as a live event, specifically a live event in Los Angeles, one year removed from those devastating fires. And whether you're This is going to be sort of back to normal, if you will, this year relative to what you put on last year.
I won't say back to normal because I don't think any of these shows are normal. The size and scale and scope of the artists and the staging and all the things that happen to put the show together is always unique and exciting. Last year was extra challenging, but we've not been short in challenges. We had COVID, we've had other issues, we've had fires, we've had rains. So this show will be different. It will be focused on the music and celebrating music. I'm really proud about last year's show though, to be honest. We raised almost $25 million for music people who needed help around the fires and their loss.
How do Grammy nominations impact artists' careers?
That money's all been distributed short of just a very small amount. So proud of what we were able to do last year. Excited about this year's show. It's going to be very different and fun.
How important are the Grammys to the artists themselves? I mean, obviously most of the people who win, they're already wildly successful, which is usually why they won. But do artists sort of really get a big boost by carrying home those awards after the night's over?
Just a nomination, to be honest, can create a really large boost for them on their streaming numbers, for their touring numbers. We've done some different economic studies, and the numbers range, so I won't say a figure. But the fact is, is the attention, the notice, and the excitement around different artists is evident, and it's definitely extending their opportunity to do other performances, monetize their streaming. And it's not just the stars, to be honest. You mentioned all the famous people. You see Kendrick Lamar there. It's 95 categories across multiple genres. We're honoring hundreds of people that are, and it's subjective, but they're being deemed the best in their class for any given year.
What makes this year's Grammy nominations unique?
All those people, classical, jazz, rock, pop, reggae, jazz, we have awards for all of them. And they're all receiving the awards. They're all getting the benefit of receiving the awards and getting the respect of their peers in the community. And that's the difference. These are peer-to-peer voted awards.
Well, you know, you mentioned that there's a lot of newcomers and certainly I want to get to those. But let's talk about some of those stars. Kendrick Lamar leading the nominations. I believe he has nine nominations in total. Lady Gaga also, of course, a household name here. So there's a lot of familiar faces when it comes to, you know, the leaderboard when it at least when it comes to the nominations.
Definitely, and that's what makes it so exciting. You're seeing a lot of really great diversity in the general field categories. You mentioned a couple of them, but with Bad Bunny and others, there's a wide range of different styles of music. You also have great, fresh newcomers.
How does diversity in nominations reflect the current music scene?
We have some icons and some legends, today's superstars. That's a beautiful combination that's going to make for a great show.
And, you know, you think about some of the newcomers here just going through the list. I see Addison Rae there, Cat's Eye, Sombra. I also see the Marias here.
What is the significance of the Grammy Awards for new artists?
So when it comes to, you know, the best new artist nominees, how does this field compare to maybe years past?
I think it's incredibly exciting. Again, you have different types of music, and you have different types of artists. To me, that's gonna be a spectacular thing to see on our show, and whoever wins this category will be so well-deserving, but the other nominees, I think, are incredible stars going into the future.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What role do the Grammys play in the music industry?
0:02–1:10
2
How do Grammy nominations impact artists' careers?
1:10–2:12
3
What makes this year's Grammy nominations unique?
2:12–3:03
4
How does diversity in nominations reflect the current music scene?
3:03–3:19
5
What is the significance of the Grammy Awards for new artists?
3:19–4:07
6
How is the Grammy Awards adapting to new broadcasting trends?
4:07–4:42
Speakers
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