Grammy award winners picked because of sales?

xrisx

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(Some of you might look at this and go "Of course, isn't this common knowledge?" )
But I just read the following article on Billboard.com:

"Eminem, Lady Antebellum Expected to Lead 2011 Grammy Nominations

The nominees for the 53rd annual Grammy Awards won't officially be revealed until Dec. 1. But with the eligibility period having closed on Sept. 30, the contenders are now clear, with early favorites and intriguing storylines already emerging.

According to our survey of record executives and industry observers, the 2011 Grammys will likely field its strongest and most competitive collection of record and song of the year nominees in recent memory. While this may lead to a Grammy night filled with memorable, over-the-top performances, it's bittersweet news for the industry, as it mirrors the shift in the marketplace away from albums and toward the less profitable commodity of singles.

Many experts project Eminem as this year's potential across-the-board winner, as his album sales remained strong in 2010. Here's a preview of possible nominees in the four main categories:

SONG AND RECORD OF THE YEAR

Nearly everyone surveyed agreed this was a superb year for singles, especially for pop. There was also consensus that four songs would face off on Feb. 13, 2011, for song and record of the year: Eminem and Rihanna's collaboration, "Love the Way You Lie"; Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now"; Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" and Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." "These are all formidable singles," says Warner Bros. senior VP of digital Jack Isquith, who hailed them as "meaty, impressive, career-defining records."

Other top tracks cited by multiple executives include Train's "Hey, Soul Sister" (eligible for record of the year but not for song), Katy Perry's "California Gurls," Usher's "OMG," Sade's "Soldier of Love," B.o.B's "Airplanes" and Florence & the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over."

Last year, Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" won song of the year while Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" took the record prize.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

In the album of the year category, Eminem's "Recovery" is the clear favorite in a subpar field. "This is Eminem's year," says Billy Mann, who co-wrote and produced last year's showstopping Pink hit, "Glitter in the Air." "He brought his best game and then some. The public can feel it, and the industry can feel it." To date, "Recovery" has sold 2.7 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Los Angeles Times chief pop critic Ann Powers says Eminem's comeback story, as well as the fact that his album was both commercially successful and critically acclaimed, will resonate with Grammy voters. "He's a major figure in pop history," she says, "and he seems to have really grown into himself."

Another leading contender is the Carole King/James Taylor album "Live at the Troubadour." While live sets traditionally fare poorly with voters (1994's "MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett" is the last in-concert title to win the category), "I would watch out for that record," Glassnote Records head Daniel Glass says. The album has sold 453,000 copies since its May release.

Other albums cited include Sade's "Soldier of Love," Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3," Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now," Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs," Usher's "Raymond v. Raymond" and two from recent Grammy winners: Herbie Hancock's "The Imagine Project" and Robert Plant's "Band of Joy."

Powers thinks Sade's album is a strong bet. "It's a gold-plated release," she says. "It sold well [1.3 million copies], it was well-received critically, and she's a classy artist."

Last year, Taylor Swift took home the statue for "Fearless."

BEST NEW ARTIST

Two breakout acts, B.o.B and Mumford & Sons, were mentioned on multiple occasions as strong contenders for best new artist, but most believe it'll be a battle between Drake and Justin Bieber, with Drake taking the award.

Emerging stars Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars are ineligible for nomination this year, as their album release dates fall outside of the eligibility period (Sept. 1, 2009-Sept. 30, 2010); in Mars' case, by one week. Other possible nominees this year include Florence & the Machine, who got a big boost out of their MTV Video Music Awards appearance, and reality TV superstars Susan Boyle and Adam Lambert.

Despite the success of Swift and the Zac Brown Band at last year's ceremony, many country observers say this year's crop of new artists is unlikely to garner many nods. Luke Bryan and Chris Young were both mentioned as long shots.

Grammy voters didn't suffer from a lack of options when it came to nominees; according to Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, the academy received almost 20,000 submissions this year, a new record.

The nominees will be announced Dec. 1 during the third annual "GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!!: Countdown to Music's Biggest Night" concert. The ceremony will air on CBS on Feb. 13, 2011 ""



It seems to be the case that the person who sells the most automatically gets nominated (and wins) the most.
This leads to several question for me.
1. Has it always been this way? I remember some years a go I would hear some of the grammy winners and had no idea who they were (because I hadn't een exposed to them yet) Afterwards this would catipult that artist in to the mainstream more and would lead to a lot more sales.
(Wasn't that what happend to Norah Jones for example?)

2.Does this mean that radioplay indicates who will get nominated nowadays? Since what gets more exposure will sell more than what doesn't get the chance.
Since it is known that record companies influence the radio stations in what to play (paying for songs to be played and so on) doesn't that mean the grammy's officially are losing their prestige?

I think if this is all the case than that just plain sucks. For instance Janelle Monae (just using her as an example) has made a highly critically aclaimed album, her live shows are praised,yet because she hasn't gotten the right exposure her record doesn't stand a chance to be nominated?
Am I the only one who thinks that's not right?

Or has everyone figured this out a long time a go and I'm just late on this lol.
I know most awardshows are aout popularity ut I always thought the grammy's were about more than that.
Just like the Oscars don't automatically pick the movies that made the most money but also had an impact one way or another.
 
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Sure, it has always been based on sales and popularity. At least in the major categories. Categories like best spoken word, tejano, blues, zydeco, or best traditional polka aren't based on sales, because they don't sell much. That's why they are never shown on the TV broadcast, the general public doesn't know or care about those acts. The network is trying to get ratings. :D One year in the 1970's Paul Simon said he was glad that Stevie Wonder didn't release an album that year, lol.
 
LOL best traditional polka. Now there's something worth listening to. The sad thing is, I'd rather listen to polka than listen to most of the above-mentioned songs. The Grammy Awards (and the whole industry, for that matter) have turned into such a joke as of late.
 
Do the public have a chance to vote/decide who should win once the nominations have been announced?
 
Do the public have a chance to vote/decide who should win once the nominations have been announced?
No, the nominees are picked and voted on by the Academy, which is mostly older people.
 
Sure, it has always been based on sales and popularity. At least in the major categories. Categories like best spoken word, tejano, blues, zydeco, or best traditional polka aren't based on sales, because they don't sell much. That's why they are never shown on the TV broadcast, the general public doesn't know or care about those acts. The network is trying to get ratings. :D One year in the 1970's Paul Simon said he was glad that Stevie Wonder didn't release an album that year, lol.

See the reason I wasn't really sure how long this has been the norm is because Michael complained about not getting many nominations for the "Off the Wall" album eventhough it was such a huge seller.
I thought maybe they were just being dumb for not realising what a great album it is and therefore didn't give it much credit. But if they do base it all on sales,he literally was just snubbed for no apparant reason? Same goes for the "Dangerous" album and so on. (Since they were huge sellers as well yet didn't get many if any grammy's)

I guess it was just my misunderstanding then really. I thought at some point the grammy's were about quality not just popularity. Maybe back in the day quality and popularity were just more in sync I guess so the nomimees made more sense or something ;)
 
See the reason I wasn't really sure how long this has been the norm is because Michael complained about not getting many nominations for the "Off the Wall" album eventhough it was such a huge seller.
I thought maybe they were just being dumb for not realising what a great album it is and therefore didn't give it much credit. But if they do base it all on sales,he literally was just snubbed for no apparant reason? Same goes for the "Dangerous" album and so on. (Since they were huge sellers as well yet didn't get many if any grammy's)

I guess it was just my misunderstanding then really. I thought at some point the grammy's were about quality not just popularity. Maybe back in the day quality and popularity were just more in sync I guess so the nomimees made more sense or something ;)
At that time Mike was considered a R&B act (in the USA) who just happened to have a few "crossover" hits. R&B wasn't taken seriously and ignored for the most part by the mainstream back then, it was considered music just for the black audience.
 
No, the nominees are picked and voted on by the Academy, which is mostly older people.

Well damn to be old they have horrible choice of picking music and music. You would think based on the winners and nominees they had teenagers on the Academy... crazy ish... but nobody really cares about the Grammys. :lol: There run has been LONNG over with like decades ago..
 
To me the Grammy Awards have no meaning...........

..........If you don't include Thriller, you'll see that Michael didn't get that many awards when compared to today's artists.........

..........Worse still.....legends like Beatles got way less then what even Michael got!!!!!
 
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