the Grammy Awards and why they suck!

I don’t know about you but I hate the Grammy Awards. I am not a big fan of most awards shows but I hate the Grammy awards because like most awards shows the Grammy’s do nothing but kiss industry ass. The Grammy awards are nothing but the music industry self-gratifying itself.

 

Here are some of my arguments.

 

The Non-Winners Argument - Sure, there is nothing wrong with a good debate about who wins awards and who doesn’t, why or how the award is won and so forth but here is a list of bands/artists that have never won a Grammy.

 

Led Zeppelin

Diana Ross

Queen

Neil Young (including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)

Bob Marley

Grateful Dead

The Doors

Lynyrd Skynyrd

The Who

Tupac

The Smiths

Sly and the Family Stone

Public Enemy

 

            Pretty impressive list, isn’t it? Also consider that the Clash hadn’t won a grammy until 2002, long after their career as a band was over. It took Steely Dan almost 30 years of recording to win their first grammy. Jimmy Cliff has only one Grammy. David Bowie has just one Grammy Award for best music video in 1984. Nirvana and Black Sabbath have only one victory while The Kinks, New Order, and the Cure don’t have any Grammy wins.

 

            Just Because You Win Doesn’t Mean You Are Any Good Argument – yes, winning might mean something like it was your year or you didn’t offend too many people with your music but there is a bias to these things. The Beatles, for instance is considered by many to be the greatest band of all time and they have only 7 Grammy awards. Sting, with or without the Police has almost double that at 13, which is the same amount of awards that Michael Jackson has won. Paul Simon has 12. Sheryl Crow has 9. Eric Clapton has 17. Norah Jones has 9. Not to discredit my two favorite artists, U2 and Bruce Springsteen but combined the two acts have 40 Grammy awards. Are any of these artists greater or more important than The Beatles? I am sure some of the artists above deserve some of their awards but I find it hard to believe that those who have never won, great acts like Sly and the Family Stone or the Who could not get any love.

 

            The Best New Artist Argument – Winning the Best New Artists can be a blessing or a curse. Since 1960 there have been artists like Jose Feliciano, Marvin Hamlisch, A Taste of Honey, Marc Cohn, Hootie and The Blowfish, and Shelby Lynne that have faded into obscurity since winning the award. Many of the nominees over the years have not fared very well either… do you remember Timi Yuro or Morris Albert? How about Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band? Nu Shooz? The Kentucky Headhunters? The Tony Rich Project? Heck, believe it or not Robin Williams was nominated for a Best New Artists Grammy.

Let us not forget that some artists when nominated weren’t exactly new. Fountains of Wayne were nominated for the award in 2004 after they had released their third album. Feist had won fans across the country and a Grammy nomination for best new artists in 2008 even though her debut album was released in 1999 with another album released in 2004 and a remix album in 2006.

 

 

            110 winners Argument- This year awards will be given out for 110 categories. Wow, can you even think of that many genres of music? I cannot. Is there really a necessity for an award given to the Best Surround Sound Album or an award for Best Album Notes? Is it necessary to have two spoken word categories, one for children and the other for adults? And do not get me started on why there are separate awards for contemporary and traditional world music, contemporary and traditional folk music and contemporary and traditional blues. What is the difference between the best R8B album and the best contemporary R&B album? The same question could be asked for best pop vocal and best traditional pop vocal. I don’t know why there is a separate award for Tropical Latin album and Urban Latin Album? Why is there a separate award for best Rock/Rap gospel album, best pop contemporary gospel album, best southern, country or bluegrass gospel album, best traditional gospel album and best contemporary R&B gospel album?  Oh I think I know why there are so many separate categories and nominations…. It is because with more nominees comes more winners and quite possibly bigger record sales. If you didn’t know, Grammy awards promote records sales and if you don’t believe me just keep reading.

 

Maybe these arguments don’t convince you at all. Maybe you love the Grammy Awards that much and could care less whether or not a mistake is made here or there. Maybe you think all those artists who never won a Grammy should not have won any. Maybe you think that the Grammy Awards are free from error.

 

If you are like me then you think the Grammy’s suck and they are nothing but a giant advert and campaign to sell more records. USA Today reported in 2007 that Grammy winners and performers had a boost in their record sales the week after the ceremony. Some artists had a small but still noticeable bump of 19% while acts like the Dixie Chicks had an increase in sales by 714%. That is no laughing matter. The Red Hot Chili Peppers had 194% increase. John Mayer had 182% increase. Artists like John Legend, Gnarls Barkley, Tony Bennet and Mary J. Blige all experienced increased sales of over 100%. Digital sales and radio audiences also increased following the 2007 Grammys.

 

I don’t know how much faith you put in the Grammy’s but maybe, just maybe after this or after your own careful examination you will think twice about the value of a Grammy award.