A FEW GRAMMY RULES GET REWRITTEN

The Recording Academy has again altered the eligibility requirements for the Best New Artist category and addressed potential conflicts of interest on the nominations review committees.

Additionally, certain R&B, rap and Latin categories have been given makeovers in order to better reflect the current musical landscape. And they’ve canned the term “Urban” in R&B.

For the Best New Artist Grammy, there is no longer a specified maximum number of releases prohibiting artists from entering the category. Screening committees "will be charged with determining whether the artist had attained a breakthrough or prominence" during the eligibility period. If the artist had broken through earlier, they would be disqualified.

For invited participants on a Nominations Review Committee, each individual will be asked to disclose whether they have work being considered for a nomination; have direct or indirect financial ties to recordings or creators under consideration; have immediate familial ties to any of the artists in the top voter selections; and/or any other conflict of interest, actual or perceived.

If a recording listed by the invitee presents a conflict of interest, the Academy will notify the committee member that they cannot participate on the committee that year. If a conflict is discovered during the committee meeting, that person will be notified and recused from the meeting. Failure to voluntarily disclose any conflict of interest will result in the person being barred from future Nominations Review Committee participation.

In addition, committee members must take a year off after serving for three straight years. Chairpersons must take two years off after serving for three. A person can serve five consecutive years only if they are committee members for three and then chairs for two.

"The Academy accepts proposals for rule changes from members of the music community throughout the year that are carefully reviewed and, if accepted, ultimately ratified at our annual Board meeting, a process that we are proud to have continued in this challenging year," said Harvey Mason Jr., Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy.

The board has also approved changes in the Latin, R&B and Rap Fields for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards.

Best Urban Contemporary Album has been renamed Best Progressive R&B Album, while Best Rap/Sung Performance has been renamed Best Melodic Rap Performance and expanded to include "dialects, lyrics or performance elements from non-rap genres."

Best Latin Pop Album has been renamed Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, and Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album has been renamed Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album.

"Each year, we receive a number of rule change proposals from artists, producers and songwriters asking us to reevaluate our process to better reflect the current state of the music industry and how it's evolved over the past 12 months,” Chief Awards Officer Bill Freimuth said of the thinking behind these alterations.