Record Academy Sets Up New System for Grammy Nods

In a revolutionary move to combat mounting criticism of its voting process, the governing body of the Grammy Awards has decided that final nominees in key categories will no longer be based strictly on a vote of its 8,000 members.

Under the new system announced Tuesday by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the top 20 or so overall vote-getters in the fields of best album, record, song and new artist will be submitted to a blue-ribbon panel, which will then determine the five nominees.

“We’re looking to eliminate the popularity element of those awards and get back to nominating and seeing Grammys awarded on grounds of excellence,” says Michael Greene, president and CEO of the recording academy.

“These are the only four categories in the [Grammy] process that all of the members may vote in,” Greene says. “You’ve got polka people and gangsta rappers and everyone voting together, and we were ending up with some very homogenized nominations, and the academy membership didn’t like it either.”

The system will be in effect for the 1996 awards, whose site--the Shrine Auditorium--will be formally announced today at a City Hall press conference.

Although the Grammy voting has long been criticized for favoring mainstream commercial acts over such radical pop-rock innovators as Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, the complaints were especially loud this year, both in and out of the industry. That’s largely because “The 3 Tenors in Concert 1994” was nominated as one of the five best albums of the year, while works by such widely heralded artists as R.E.M., Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails and Hole were ignored in the category.

Some top record executives felt the awards were often so irrelevant that they threatened in recent months to withdraw corporate support from future Grammy events--meaning a potential loss in revenue for the academy. There have even been discussions with a major television network about launching a competing awards show.

Reaction to the rule change Tuesday was positive among industry executives.

“I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said Doug Morris, chairman of Warner Music U.S. “From the sounds of it, NARAS is paying attention to recent criticisms and is taking some action to resolve them. I’m glad to hear it.”

Al Teller, chairman and CEO of MCA Music Entertainment Group, agreed.

“Any change that brings the Grammys closer to the true heart of what is occurring creatively in the music community is all for the good.”

Greene said that the blue-ribbon committee will be selected from the academy membership--which includes musicians, producers, writers and executives--with an emphasis on people with a “wide breadth” of musical knowledge and taste.

The blue-ribbon concept has already been employed in recent years in the areas of classical music, music video and jazz.

In another move designed to address recent criticisms, the academy also announced the addition of an award for best rap album. Rap, despite nearly a decade of cultural and commercial dominance, had so far been represented by only two categories for performances by solo and duo/group.

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Times staff writer Chuck Philips contributed to this story.