How To Become a Member of the Recording Academy (and attend the Grammys!)
The Grammys are approaching, will you be attending? Do you want to attend, but don’t know how? Do you want to vote for music’s best, and think you’re qualified to do so? Joining the Recording Academy is the way in to music’s biggest award show of the year, and also having the privilege to vote for its winners. Being accepted into the Recording Academy is more challenging than it used to be, but if you’re a music professional, a lot of the challenge is simply knowing what the Recording Academy is looking for, and making sure they can find it. Let’s dig in:
Start here. It begins by being willing to read, and reading carefully. Here is what NARAS (the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences now known as The Recording Academy) tells you about the process of joining: https://members.recordingacademy.com/s/?language=en_US
You will note that the very first step in the process is to get two recommendations by peers in the music industry, preferably peers who are already members of the Academy. My word of advice on this subject: don’t reach out to people you have no connection with for a recommendation. How can you expect someone to give you a glowing review, if they don’t even know you? If you don’t know two members of the Academy, but know two full-time music professionals, they can submit a recommendation form for you (info at the above link). But chances are, you do already know two members of the Academy. Start sending personal messages to people you know who have attended the Grammys, have mentioned they submitted their work for consideration for a Grammy, or seem to be very active in the music industry. If they cannot recommend you, ask them if they know anyone who might be willing to do so on your behalf.
Once you have your recommendations in place, you’ll need to show the Academy that you too, are present and active in the music industry. They are not interested in “has been”s, they want to see that you are creating music today. They want to be able to see that you are “out there.” If they search your name on Google, and nothing comes up that is music related, you’re in trouble. You need to be searchable. You might have one hundred songs on Spotify, but if they don’t show up in Google, they might miss you. Some actions you can take: Get a website! Get press! Win an award (an honorable mention or nomination will do)! Get followers! And my biggest tip: Get your credits posted! The Academy states that you must provide “twelve verifiable credits in a single creative profession,” (meaning, 12 credits as a songwriter, or 12 as an artist, or 12 as a producer, etc). Post your album credits on Allmusic and/or Discogs. This can be a time consuming process, and in the case of Allmusic, can take months to get posted to the website, so start doing this well in advance of your application. Make sure to share public links on your application to where the Academy can find out about you - your website, your Discogs page, your wikipedia page, your imdb, etc.
If you don’t make the cut this year, try again next year. Use the year to create and publish more music (distributing your music digitally on Spotify and Apple Music music totally counts as “publishing”), and really build your online presence and your “verifiable credits.”
Once you have been accepted to the Recording Academy, what should you do? This is where the fun, the privilege, and the honor all happen!
Vote! You’re now part of the decision-making. Vote for the music you believe is worthy of a Grammy.
Attend the Grammys! My word of advice on this one: buy tickets immediately. Be logged in, have your credit card ready, and dive in asap. It is not uncommon for the show to sell out immediately, so don’t miss your moment.
Consider joining advocacy groups or be a Grammy U Mentor. The Recording Academy is a lot more than the Grammy Awards. Advocacy, education, and giving back are a huge part of its mission. You can be part of its greater goals by taking part in District Advocate Day or Grammy U mentoring.
FYC (for your consideration) for your own project -but follow the rules carefully!!! This might be the part you’ve waited for - yes, now you can submit your own project for Grammy consideration! There are very strict rules in place about campaigning for your project, updated and distributed every year. Make sure to read the rules and follow them. If you violate the rules, your project could get disqualified, or even worse, you could lose your membership. You’ve worked hard to become a member of the Academy, it’s important to stay a member in good standing.
Pay it forward and recommend peers. We’ve completed the circle and are back to the beginning: two recommendations. Now it’s your turn to recommend two peers yearly. The Academy is actively focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, that’s something to consider when you make your recommendations. Ultimately if you recommend great people with great music, you’ve done your job!