In a Letter to Recording Academy Members, CEO Harvey Mason Jr. Urges Them to ‘Vote with Purpose’

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. sent a letter via email on Friday (July 26) to the Academy’s 12,000 voting members urging them to take their job as voting members seriously. The Subject Line: “Vote with Purpose This Grammy Season.”

“The trajectory of people’s careers and lives are altered by your choices,” Mason wrote in the letter obtained by Billboard. “As such, you owe it to your peers to vote intentionally, deliberately, with pride and with purpose.”

Mason added a personal aside to bring the point home. “Last Grammy season, I heard a Grammy voter say they hadn’t taken a specific artist seriously since a performance they saw more than 10 years ago. I was shocked and disturbed by that. There is no place in our organization for such bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting. It’s about the current year and the quality of the work, period!

“There should be no other rationale for voting. If you are taking into account an artist’s older work, or their reputation, or race, or gender, what label they are on, who their manager is, how many friends participated in the project, or anything else like that, you’re not doing your job.”

Mason also implored Grammy voting members to start thinking about their choices now. “I hope that you begin prioritizing your responsibility now, and not wait until Grammy season is here.” The first-round voting period runs from Oct. 4-15. Final-round voting extends from Dec. 12 to Jan. 3, 2025.

Mason is wise to advise members to start thinking about their picks now. The Grammy entry list is long. This year, there will be 94 categories (same as last year). Many categories have large numbers of entries. On last year’s entry list, there were 615 candidates for record of the year, 476 for album of the year, 642 for song of the year and 405 for best new artist. To conscientiously wade through such long lists and thoughtfully make your selections would take hours. That is one reason that “brand name” artists – long-time Grammy favorites – often lead the nominations year after year. Mason is trying to get members to break that habit of just checking off names of artists who are top-of-mind.

On the line “The trajectory of people’s careers and lives are altered by your choices,” Mason linked to this Grammy.com post from May 1, which includes a section titled “What Is the True Value of a Grammy?” It gives more than a dozen examples of artists whose careers were boosted by Grammy wins.

The Academy’s tally of 12,000+ voting members doesn’t include the 3,000+ potential new voting members that it has invited as part of this year’s new member class. (It has also invited 900 professional (non-voting) members, for a total of 3,900+ new members.)

Here is Mason’s letter to voting members, in full:

Dear Grammy voters,

Normally you don’t hear from me about Grammy voting until our ballot is live but this year is different. I want to make sure you understand how critically important it is for you to vote, and to vote with intention and integrity.

We all know the Grammy is music’s most coveted award because it is an honor that comes from one’s peers. It’s not a popularity contest. The nominees and winners are not chosen by the critics, fans, or the staff of the Academy. They are chosen by you—the 12,000+ music creators who are the voting members of the Recording Academy.

You are the Grammy electorate. Your votes are tallied by Deloitte, and then announced publicly, celebrated, and recorded by history as the very best in music for that year. The trajectory of people’s careers and lives are altered by your choices. As such, you owe it to your peers to vote intentionally, deliberately, with pride and with purpose.

Last Grammy season, I heard a Grammy voter say they hadn’t taken a specific artist seriously since a performance they saw more than 10 years ago. I was shocked and disturbed by that. There is no place in our organization for such bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting. It’s about the current year and the quality of the work, period!

There should be no other rationale for voting. If you are taking into account an artist’s older work, or their reputation, or race, or gender, what label they are on, who their manager is, how many friends participated in the project, or anything else like that, you’re not doing your job. I know most of you already do but please, just listen to the music, and evaluate it! You are the reason the Grammy Award is so special.

Music is a force for good in the world. It changes moods, opens hearts and minds and unites the world. It moves us to act. And the Grammy is the way to honor the people who work so hard to make it. Next February, all across the globe, the people who make music and all the people who love music will be watching to see who the Grammy voters have chosen to honor. All eyes will be on you, on us.

I hope you view your vote as important. I hope that you begin prioritizing your responsibility now, and not wait until Grammy season is here. I hope that you evaluate the music carefully, and prepare yourself to vote with care and purpose, and that you encourage your fellow voting members to do the same. Your peers in music are counting on you.

Respectfully yours,

Harvey