Category & Eligibility Changes Announced For The 57th GRAMMY Awards®

NEW CATEGORY & ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINE CHANGES

CATEGORY CHANGES

American Roots Field

A new category, Best American Roots Performance, has been established. This award encompasses all of the subgenres of the field (Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk, and regional roots) and puts the field in line with the pop, dance/electronic, rock, rap, R&B, country, gospel/CCM fields, all of which recognize performances on singles/tracks.

• The category is for singles/tracks only.
• The award goes to the artist(s), and a certificates go to the producer(s), engineer(s) and, if a new song, the songwriter(s).

Arranging Categories
These categories have been reconceived and renamed in such a way that vocal arrangers/arrangements are now eligible to compete (changes in italics):
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
Award to: Arranger(s)
Eligible

• Singles or tracks only. (Exception: If an album is one complete work (composition) it is eligible.)
• An instrumental arrangement on an instrumental recording or an a cappella arrangement on a vocal recording.
• Arrangement must be new, released for the first time on any recording during the eligibility year.
• An instrumental recording with “vocal coloring” is eligible. A vocal arrangement with “instrumental coloring” is eligible.

Not Eligible

• Singles or tracks from a previous year’s album
• Instrumental recordings with vocals or vocal recordings with instruments

NOTE: An arranger should not be entered more than twice in the same arranging category, whether for instrumental or vocal arrangement, if the artist is the same.
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
Award to: Arranger(s)
Eligible

• Singles or tracks only.
• An arrangement including instruments and vocals in any combination.
• Arrangement must be new, released for the first time on any recording during the eligibility year.
• If an album is one complete work (composition) it is eligible.

Not Eligible

• Singles or tracks from a previous year’s album

NOTE: An arranger should not be entered more than twice in the same arranging category, whether for instrumental or vocal arrangement, if the artist is the same.

Best New Artist
The eligibility rules for this category have been amended such that a previous songwriting GRAMMY nomination will disqualify the artist if the nominated song had gained its prominence through a performance by the songwriter as the primary artist.

Classical Field
The category formerly known as Best Classical Vocal Solo has been renamed as Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. The category’s definition and award recipients have been changed as well:
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album (Albums Only)
For newly-recorded vocal albums. Eligible albums must contain 51% newly recorded material. Albums may contain song literature, operatic arias, vocal cycles (i.e. multi-movement works) and/or other types of vocal music, with one or more collaborating artists such as accompanists, chamber ensembles, choruses & orchestras, with or without conductor. Multiple soloists are eligible in this category. Arias, operatic or otherwise, qualify only if they are recorded as separate productions and not extracted from a complete work.
Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
Certificates to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with less than 51% or more playing time of new material.

Dance/Electronica Field
The name of this field and its album category have been changed to Dance/Electronic Music Field and Best Dance/Electronic Album, respectively.

Gospel/CCM Field
The categories of this field have been restructured as follows:
Best Gospel Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best traditional Christian, roots gospel or contemporary gospel single or track.
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best contemporary Christian pop, Christian rap/hip hop, or Christian rock single or track.
Best Gospel Album
This award is given to the artist(s) and any producer(s) or engineer(s) responsible for at least 51% playing time of an album containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
This award is given to the artist(s) and any producer(s) or engineer(s) responsible for at least 51% playing time of an album containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian Music, including pop, rap/hip hop, or rock recordings.

Best Roots Gospel Album
This award is given to the artist(s) and any producer(s) or engineer(s) responsible for at least 51% playing time of an album containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional/roots gospel music, including country, southern gospel, bluegrass, and Americana recordings.

Instrumental Albums
The Best Pop Instrumental Album category has been moved from the pop field into a new field, renamed and redefined:
FIELD: Contemporary Instrumental Music
CATEGORY: Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
This award is given to the artist(s) and any producer(s) or engineer(s) responsible for at least 51% playing time of an album containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded music of a contemporary nature (other than American roots, classical, jazz, new age, world music, and purely traditional styles) and incorporating elements of modern music and/or production techniques. Albums must contain approximately 75% or more playing time of instrumental material.
ALSO: The Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category has been moved into the Pop Field, but remains otherwise unchanged.

Songwriting Categories
Samples or interpolations of previously written songs are now allowed in all songwriting categories.
Previously, The Academy allowed samples or interpolations in only one songwriting category: Best Rap Song, in recognition of the unique craft of writing rap songs. To better reflect current trends in all genres of songwriting, that allowance has been extended to all songwriting categories (Song Of The Year, Best Rock Song, Best R&B Song, Best Country Song, Best Gospel Performance/Song, Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, Best American Roots Song, and Best Song Written For Visual Media).

GUIDELINE CHANGES

Alternative Music Field

New guidelines have been adopted for the Best Alternative Music Album category:

This Best Alternative Music Album category is intended for recordings that take as a starting point any existing musical genre or combination of genres, and expand and redefine the boundaries of those genres.

(Though there may be considerable overlap with the Alternative radio format, this category is not intended to mirror it.)

Best Classical Compendium
New guidelines have been adopted for this category:
For an album developed and united by an artist, composer, tribute, thematic idea, musical or other unifying concept. Albums may embody historic, spoken, and/or documentary material, as long these are in service of the album concept and do not exceed 49% of total playing time. Albums entered in Classical Compendium may not be entered in other classical categories, but individual tracks from Compendium albums may be eligible as entries in other classical categories. Crossover albums, containing 51% or more classical material, may be eligible and entered in this category.

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
New guidelines have been adopted for this category:
Award to the artist(s) and/or ‘in studio’ producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album. In the absence of both, award to the one or two individuals proactively responsible for the concept and musical direction of the album and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable. Award also goes to appropriately credited music supervisor(s).

Best Musical Theater Album
New eligibility guidelines have been adopted for this category:
This category is for recordings of the score of a musical theater work created to support an underlying dramatic intention or theme.

• Albums containing 51% or more playing time of newly recorded (previously unreleased) musical theater performances.
• Recordings of the score of a musical theater work that originally appeared on stage; recordings by studio and/or stage casts, road show revivals, etc.
• Recordings of the score of a musical theater work created for a stage production, as evidenced by the work’s book, libretto, and/or other submitted materials deemed acceptable.
• Revues that reflect a dramatic theme, including those consisting of songs from the score of a specific musical theater work and those with scores comprised of pre-existing material re-purposed for said revue.