"56th Grammy Awards Red Carpet" by ltenney1225 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Year after year, people tune in to the Grammy Awards to see a gathering of the industry elite & star-studded performances. Whether it be out of sheer curiosity, boredom, FOMO, or water cooler talk for the next day at the office, it seems to be a habit that some people don’t want to break. But what are the Grammys in reality?

The Recording Academy has self-declared and marketed the Grammy Awards as “music’s biggest night”. At first glance this doesn’t seem like a far-fetched claim until you question “biggest night” by whose standards? The general public aka consumers of music aren’t asked for their opinions on any of the categories to be awarded. The general public can’t even attend, yet are coaxed into watching to be told what to like and generate ad revenue. Their opinions and presence is unwanted but their attention is needed to allow the ceremony to maintain its aura of prestige.

So if the public can’t vote for the music and artists they like, who’s calling the shots? Voting members of the Recording Academy. How does one become a voting member of the Recording Academy? You must be invited. How does one get invited? By getting approved by the Peer Review panel that reviews new member submissions annually in the spring. How do you submit to become a new member? By receiving two “strong” recommendations from music industry peers and completing a profile.

This rigorous process is in place for a reason. An academy by definition is a group that promotes and maintains standards in its specific field. So the membership process is designed to sustain exclusivity. By keeping a tight rein on membership, the Recording Academy can maintain control over what they deem to be music industry standards.

Inevitably there are artists and songs that don’t hit the undisclosed mark and don’t win or weren’t even nominated. Once this occurs, the news outlets and blogs begin touting “Grammy snubs” as if the public should be upset that an award with no quantifiable metrics wasn’t given by a bunch of people who aren’t even in touch with what the masses appreciate. The outrage alone increases the feigned relevance of the award ceremony.

In 1989 they decided to add a Hip Hop category, but decided to not televise it. This led to a boycott by many in the Hip Hop community including then nominated Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff. In 1990, they decided to televise it but some continued to boycott.

Back then those who boycotted understood what many may have forgotten. The people hold the power. The Grammys only hold the relevance that we give it.

Take a look at the categories for which they offer awards.

Four primary categories:

Record of the Year
Song of the Year
Album of the Year
Best New Artist

Remaining categories:

Think of how many unsung heroes could be missing from any of those categories. Yet, we are told that they’re choosing from the best of the best and we tune in to propagate their elitism. In the midst of their painfully obvious efforts to keep their club from being infiltrated, we buy into being angry about a “snub” as if a Grammy actually equates to success. We ignore what the Grammys are— mass marketing to the public their chosen media darlings— and we keep helping them maintain the facade that it’s about talent. It’s equivalent to choosing to sit through skippable YouTube ads for hours at a time.