While the national television audience was fixated on activities going on inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night — Adele capturing six Grammy awards, heartfelt tributes to Whitney Houston who died on Saturday, and performances from various artists from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, to Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, the Foo Fighters and Paul McCartney — a different kind of show was playing outside the center.
Various media outlet report about 70 artists protested outside the center against the decision by the presenters of the Grammy Awards to eliminate 31 musical categories — categories primarily dominated by ethnic artists. The protesters and their supporters were asking for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to reinstate the categories.
“We’re creating public awareness more than anything else,” Bobby Matos, a longtime Latin jazz musician, was quoted in a post on www.billboard.biz “We’re not here to stop here anybody from entering the Grammys. We’re just hoping that NARAS realizes that they made a mistake. In a perfect world they would reverse their decision today, do it on the air and announce a (special) concert for those categories.”
Categories eliminated include Latin jazz, comtemporary jazz, native American, zydeco, Cajun, classical, Hawaiian, polka, regional Mexican and world music, the Christian Science Monitor reported on Sunday.
“Without notifying any of the membership, NARAS set up a secret committee to cut back these categories,” Robert Sax, a spokesman for Grammy Watch, a coalition of musicians that is fighting to reinstate the categories, was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor post.
At least 15 of the categories are usually won by people of color and by those with independent labels and the removal of such categories takes away one of the great tools for lesser-known musicians and labels, Sax said.
“Grammy Awards are incredibly useful in helping an artist build a career,” he said. “Sales go up, bookings go up, and careers lift off with the aid of a Grammy recognition.”
A total of 23,000 signatures in support of bringing back the categories were delivered to the academy offices on Feb. 9. Lawsuits have also been filed by four Latin Jazz artists who claim dropping the categories has hurt their careers since they are members of the academy.
Academy president Neil Portnow has come out against the protests and lawsuits as alternatives to work out the issue.
“For those who take a hard line with lawsuits and protests, that’s their choice. It wouldn’t be my preference as a way to work together,” Portnow stated in a Billboard Magazine article.
Protest organizers have said they would be willing to find a way to work with the academy to keep the Grammy show from being bogged down by having to present winners in all these categories during the television broadcast.
“Having the awards in these other categories off camera is not a problem to us,” Sax said in the Christian Science Monitor post.
Click on the following links for more information:
Billboard.biz: Latin Jazz Musicians Protest Grammy Awards, L.A. Mayor Supportive Of Artists
Christian Science Monitor: Why some musicians are protesting this year’s Grammy Awards show
Mediabisro.com: Musicians Protest Outside Grammy Awards Over Ethnic Category Eliminations
Los Angeles Times: Grammy Awards: Musicians will protest category reductions
Click here to contact the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences about the issue.
— Latino Links provides a periodic update of trends in digital media, education, lifestyle, marketing and politics impacting the Latino community. Compiled by Amigos805.com