Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
What Is a Grammy Win Worth in 2019?
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/what-is-a-grammy-win-worth-in-2019/?Last year, fewer than 20 million viewers tuned in to the Grammys—the award show’s smallest audience since 2009. But no matter how many remotes end up flipping to this year’s ceremony on February 10, people will still buzz over who won, who got snubbed, who killed it onstage, who bombed, and who did that one thing that became a meme.
At a time when monocultural events are scant and streaming is rapidly reshaping the music industry, the question of what a Grammy means for an artist’s career still sparks a debate among artists, managers, booking agents, label executives, publicists, and industry observers. A few experts question the Grammys’ ability to cut through the clutter, both in terms of audience attention and as a source of prestige—particularly now that unheralded artists can simply point to their social followings and streaming play counts. But other insiders counter such skepticism, maintaining that a Grammy can be such a game changer, the award sounds almost priceless.
Although Richard James Burgess, CEO of indie-label trade group A2IM, takes note of the Grammy bump, he acknowledges that some independent artists “are not fans of the Grammys—to the point that they have declined to perform. Artists who occupy a specialized niche might feel that the gloss and glitz diminish their credibility with their fan bases.” One 20-plus-year veteran in the music industry, who has performed on Grammy-nominated albums, is a voting member of the Recording Academy, and currently works in an executive capacity at an indie label, puts it more bluntly: “A Grammy, more than ever, is worthless.”
At a time when monocultural events are scant and streaming is rapidly reshaping the music industry, the question of what a Grammy means for an artist’s career still sparks a debate among artists, managers, booking agents, label executives, publicists, and industry observers. A few experts question the Grammys’ ability to cut through the clutter, both in terms of audience attention and as a source of prestige—particularly now that unheralded artists can simply point to their social followings and streaming play counts. But other insiders counter such skepticism, maintaining that a Grammy can be such a game changer, the award sounds almost priceless.
Although Richard James Burgess, CEO of indie-label trade group A2IM, takes note of the Grammy bump, he acknowledges that some independent artists “are not fans of the Grammys—to the point that they have declined to perform. Artists who occupy a specialized niche might feel that the gloss and glitz diminish their credibility with their fan bases.” One 20-plus-year veteran in the music industry, who has performed on Grammy-nominated albums, is a voting member of the Recording Academy, and currently works in an executive capacity at an indie label, puts it more bluntly: “A Grammy, more than ever, is worthless.”
.......
From a spectator’s view, what a Grammy means may not be all that complicated. “It’s a way for the industry to remind people that music is still there, and to get a boost to their sales and streams,” says Brandon Clark, a music copyright lawyer and Recording Academy member who regularly attends the Grammys. “It’s something that most artists would like to have, but if they don’t, it’s not a big deal. It’s like homecoming court for high school kids: It’s cool but it doesn’t really matter in the whole scheme of things.”
For the most part I ignore it, too much fuckery at times.
