Streaming-Exclusive Albums Are Now Officially Eligible For Grammys Consideration
The Grammys have officially changed their tune on streaming-only projects. According to a press release from the Recording Academy, this year, for the first time in its history, albums and mixtapes released via "paid subscription, full catalogue, [and] on-demand/limited download platforms" are now eligible to receive little golden statuettes with their names inscribed.
The amendment comes on the heels of Chance The Rapper's (kind of) free new mixtape Coloring Book, which was released last month as an Apple Music-exclusive and was rallied behind in the form of a widely-circulated petition that sought to have this change made. To be clear, the new policy does not apply to those Soundcloud sorcerers and Times Square mixtape peddlers of the world, as the "being for sale" aspect of the change is stressed. But that does mean that Chano and any other artists that choses to release music through streaming-exclusive platforms can finally get theirs, and we couldn't be happier to see it so.
Other changes stated in the press release include a decrease in the number of categories voters may vote in (20 to 15,) guidelines for determining "Best New Artist" nominees and the inclusion of two new blues categories. The 59th annual Grammy Awards are slated for February 12th, 2017, with nominations due on December 6th of this year.
