Amid transformative times for the Grammy Awards, The Recording Academy has announced a slew of rule changes to be implemented in 2022.
Following criticism of the organization’s controversial Nominations Review Committee, the metamorphosis of the Grammys took another step forward today after The Recording Academy shared a laundry list of updates to the award ceremony’s annual guidelines, including a change to the Dance/Electronic category.
Billboard reports that the category formerly known as Best Dance Recording has now been renamed Best Dance/Electronic Recording. The change was reportedly made to align with its corresponding category related to albums, which has been called Best Dance/Electronic Album.
Kaytranada won the Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronic Album in 2021.
The Recording Academy
Perhaps the most pivotal change was the one made to the category of Album of the Year. Starting in 2022 any musician—such as a songwriter, producer or engineer—who appears on a record nominated for Album of the Year will also earn a nomination. The update was made to expand the eligibility of an album’s personnel, who can now be nominated even if they were credited on one song from an album. Prior to 2022, musicians were only eligible if they contributed to a minimum of 33% of an album, according to NME.
The news of the changes arrives during a tumultuous time for The Recording Academy, who have been the target of severe criticism from Zayn, The Weeknd, and other major recording artists. After the latter artist called for increased transparency surrounding the Academy’s nomination process, the organization went on to abolish the use of anonymous review committees to determine its nominees.
You can read the full list of rule changes that The Recording Academy will instate for the Grammy Awards in 2022 here.
