Several years ago the Recording Academy decided the the 110 categories in the Grammys was way too many and cut it down to 78, the move caused a great deal of controversy among the artists and a few of the categories were added back.

Last year the Recording Academy added five brand new categories to the Grammy awards, bringing the total to 91. This year they are again adding a few new categories to the list.

Beginning with the 2024 Grammy awards, there will be a Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording categories added to the list. In addition, the non-classical producer and songwriter categories will be added to the general field genre.

Moving the Non-Classical Producer and Songwriter awards to the general field will allow all Grammy members to vote in the categories.

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason spoke on the new additions saying, “the Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our awards process.  These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape.  By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists – and relocating the Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year categories to the General Field ensure that all of our voters can participate in recognizing excellence in these fields.  We are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.”

The Best African Music Performance is a singles or track category for recordings that “utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent”.  The category will include music from Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz.  African music has long been a part of the World Music category; now it has a category all its own.

The Best Pop Dance Recording category is for tracks and singles is for “up-tempo danceable music” with a pop arrangement, strong rhythmic beats, significant electronic-based instruments, melody, hooks, and a vocal performance.  Remixes will not be a part of this category, just original recordings.

An album award, the Best Alternative Jazz Album award recognizes “artistic excellence in alternative jazz” for duos, groups, and ensembles.  Alternative Jazz is a hybrid of Jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, Classical, Contemporary Improvisation, Experimental, Pop, Rap, Electronic/Dance, and Spoken Word elements.  The alternate forms of Jazz has outgrown the catch-all Jazz category and the time has come to expand the awards.

Virtual reality and artificial intelligence are quickly becoming a part of our daily lives; however, when it comes to the Grammy Awards, “only human creators” will be eligible for an award.  A work that was created by human with the aid of AI can be included; but, a work wholly created by AI cannot be included.

Earlier this week, Sir Paul McCartney announced that the new “final” Beatles album was created with the aid of AI to created John Lennon’s voice.  It remains to be seen whether the amount of human creativity in the album is “meaningful” enough to be eligible for an award by the Recording Academy.

While she holds the record for the most Grammys won in the Academy’s history, Beyonce stirred up some controversy when Harry Styles won the Album of the Year award over her.  Going forward, a person involved with creating the album must have contributed at least 20 percent of the album to be included in the nominations.  (For example, if a songwriter contributed to just one song on the 10 song album, then they would not meet the 20 percent requirement to be included in the list of nominees.)

Previously there were a total of 10 nominees in each of
the big four” categories – Best Album, Best Song, Best Record, and Best New Artist -; going forward that number will be reduced to just eight nominees each.

The Recording Academy has lifted the requirement that 50 percent of a documentary’s footage must be performance based.  “Visual Albums” – audio and videos in a single package – will also be allowed.

Renamed the Best Musica Mexicana Album category, the album must contain at least 50 percent Spanish lyrics or a majority of the music itself must reflect the traditions of Mexican music.