The Grammy Nomination & Voting Process Explained For Independent Artists
How to get nominated for a GRAMMY Award
There are a few music awards that stand out above the rest for artists to achieve. In the music industry, of the many music awards that exist, none stand above the GRAMMY Awards. But, how do you actually get nominated for a GRAMMY award?
Your Release Must Be Within the Awards’ Requirements to be nominated for a GRAMMY.
To be get nominated for a Grammy award, your release must fit several criteria.
The first is that it was distributed during September of the previous calendar year. To qualify as being distributed, your album or single needs to be sold in stores or available for download, with proper metadata credits.
To be considered an album, your recording needs to be at least a half-hour-long, or be over fifteen minutes with five or more tracks.
Your material also needs to be original, meaning coverswon’t be considered.
How Entries and Nominations Differ
You can be entered into the GRAMMY Awards without being nominated to win one, because in this context these mean two different things. An entry is a work that has been submitted for consideration. That entry is sent to members of the Recording Academy, assuming it meets criteria, to be voted on. From those votes, nominations for each category are derived.
Being Grammy-nominated is a prestigious achievement but simply being entered is not.
How to Submit an Entry To The Grammys
To submit an entry, a professional or voting member of the Recording Academy must enter the submission. Many record labels become members of the Recording Academy so that they can make submissions to the Academy through their online portal.
Simply joining the Recording Academy, so that you can submit a recording, doesn’t give you a vote, however. Professional members don’t get a vote. Instead, as their name implies, only voting members get to vote. To be a voter in the Recording Academy, you need to be a creator in the music industry, which refers to someone who has some creative process in the industry, whether that is writing, performing, or producing.
If the voting members choose your work for nomination, even if you don’t ultimately win, it can be a life-changing process that makes your work more widely known. So, take the process as seriously as possible, and make sure not to overlook any step!
For full information on the GRAMMYS and the voting/nominations process visit the official website, here.
What Other Awards Is My Music Eligible For?
If you have a song with thousands of streams or sales, you may be eligible for a plaque or Music Streaming Award. Check out our Music Plaques Eligibility checker toolto learn more.
