Today (April 17), the Latin Grammys announced their return to Miami to celebrate the award's 25th anniversary, which will take place on Thursday, November 14.
It is the second major announcement by the Latin Academy in recent weeks. In late March, the Academy announced it was adding new categories to the awards: best contemporary Mexican music album and best Latin electronic music performance.
The addition of Best Contemporary Mexican Music album was heralded by many as a positive response to longstanding criticism that the Latin Grammys do not fairly represent local Mexican artists and music, particularly in the “Big Four” categories: album, record and song. of the year and best new artist.
The new category also highlights how the Academy can respond quickly to changes in the market. Over the past 12 months, local Mexican music (or Música Mexicana), as many use to refer to the many genres of Mexican music, has taken the Advertising sign charts (including the Hot 100). Much of the activity comes from particularly young and often very young artists whose brand of music reflects a more “modern” artistic and personal outlook.
The Academy made another major change, stating that if a category doesn't receive enough entries, its status can change. This aligns the Latin Grammys with the regular Grammys, which have long had such a rule.
To have the standard five nominations, each category needs at least 40 separate artist entries. “If a category receives between 25 and 39 entries, only three recordings will receive nominations that year,” the rules now say. “If there are less than 25 entries in a category, that category will immediately be put on hiatus for the current year and entries will be screened in the next most reasonable category. If a category receives fewer than 25 entries for three consecutive years, the category will be discontinued and submissions will be entered into the next most appropriate category.”
This change, hidden under the news of the new categories, is essentially critical, as it ensures competitiveness for the entire field of candidates. With that in mind, here are three other areas where Latin Academy would benefit from additional changes.
1. Reduce the number of nominations in the “Big Four” categories.
In 2012, the Latin Grammys increased the number of nominees in each Big Four category from five to 10. We see little value in this increase. The result is a bloated list of candidates that often reads like a try-to-please list, which effectively dilutes the strengths of the great candidates. The Latin Grammys' jump from five to 10 was emulated by the Recording Academy in 2022, when it also increased the number of Big Four nominees from eight to 10 (the categories had only five nominees until 2017). That experiment lasted all of two years: In 2023, the Academy announced it was returning eight nominees in each of the major categories — still too many, but better than the 10 that dazzle our eyes at the Latin Grammys.
2. How about those nominating committees?
In 2021, the Grammys did away with their controversial nominations review committees, leaving them in place only for “craft” categories that require special expertise (think categories like Best Musical Film or Best album).
But the Latin Grammys haven't eliminated the vast majority of their committees, leaving the fate of many nominations in the hands of a select few. The Latin Academy website states that “in craft and other specialty categories, final nominations are determined by national nomination review committees composed of voting members in the United States. and in the International”. If the criteria for a nominating committee is “specialty,” why are there still committees that decide the fate of the Big Four categories?
With very limited exceptions (ie very specific categories like flamenco or vallenato), voter rank and record should decide who the final candidates are.
3. Change the requirements for the Best Classical album category.
Classical music is universal, with the same repertoire performed by accomplished musicians around the world. And yet, the requirements for this category state: “For the Latin Recording Academy, Classical Music albums are those featuring primarily Latin composers, directors or performers in any of its forms: composition, performance, direction.” The Academy should modify this description, dropping the requirement that the performers or directors be primarily Latino, and instead focus on the significance of the composition itself as being of Hispanic origin.
Limiting this award to artists of Latino descent, regardless of repertoire, diminishes the importance of both the award and its recipients. Latin artists should compete on equal terms — as, for example, Gustavo Dudamel, the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has successfully done at the Grammy Awards.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/latin-grammys-suggestions-improve-awards-1235658763/