...Issues in Diversity And The Grammy Goes To… Imagine that you are the president of the music industry’s biggest, most prestigious, and only peer-recognized award, the Grammy. For several years, you’ve received criticism that the number of Grammy awards dilutes the awards’ impact. How do you respond? If you’re Grammy president and CEO, Neil Portnow, the decision is rather straightforward—consolidate some award categories and eliminate others altogether. Portnow should have expected dissatisfaction from some artists about the decision, especially from those whose category would be eliminated. But what Portnow could not have anticipated was that the decision to restructure the awards would lead to threats of legal action, allegations of racism, and calls to boycott the telecast. The Grammy awards have undergone many changes over the years, from the expansion of award categories to changes in the nomination and voting process, most of the changes that are in response to a changing music industry. What began with 28 award categories in 1959 had increased 289% to 109 in 2010, leading to criticism that the increased number of categories not only confused consumers, it reduced the perceived value of winning a Grammy. The 2011 review of the Grammy award structure was its first-ever comprehensive evaluation. Some of the most highly publicized changes included the elimination of gender-specific subcategories in the R&B, pop and country fields; the elimination of the Zydeco...
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