Recording Academy Awaits Your RSVP
• The Recording Academy® has extended membership invitations to 2,710 established music pros from wide-ranging backgrounds, genres and disciplines. As the release so eloquently states, “The invitations are a reflection of the Recording Academy’s commitment to excellence and further growing its robust membership body. The invitations also reaffirm the Recording Academy’s recognition of the important contributions of music people to influence progressive changes within the music industry.”
The 2021 class of invitees is 48% female, 32% Black or African American, 13% Hispanic or Latino/a/x, and 4% Asian or Pacific Islander. The Academy’s existing membership represents 26% female and 27% from traditionally underrepresented groups. Since setting the goal of adding 2,500 women voting members by 2025, 831 women have joined the Academy’s voting membership, putting the organization 33% closer to reaching that milestone. And so ends the math portion of this story.
“Membership is the Academy’s change agent — our members drive everything we do,” said Ruby Marchand, Chief Industry Officer at the Recording Academy. “I’m inspired by the potential for each invited music creator and business professional to lend their creativity and passion to our organization. We are immensely proud of our accomplishments and the strides we’ve made toward equitable representation. We look forward to welcoming our new invitees as they help us shape the future of the Academy and the music industry.”
Kelley Purcell, VP of Membership and Industry Relations at the Recording Academy, commented, “This is an incredibly exciting time to join the Academy and play a part in accelerating change, progress and evolution within the music industry. Our membership body is the driving force behind our actions, and we value the contributions of our members that help ensure the Academy’s practices authentically represent the current state of music. We’re excited to see what this new group brings to the table as we enter a new era at the Academy.”
In order to participate in the process for the upcoming GRAMMY Awards®, new members have to accept their invitations by Sept. 15, 2021. The first voting ballot opens Oct. 22 and closes on Nov. 5. The 64th Grammy Awards are will take place on Jan. 31, 2022, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
