Recording Academy's 2023 new membership class will be 50% people of color

Yuri Hasegawa

update (December 1): Presented by Recording Academy signboard This includes more detailed demographic information about approximately 1,700 voting members in the new membership class (the total number of new members includes approximately 700 non-voting “professional members”).

Looking only at voting members of the new membership class, the gender breakdown is 58% male, 32% female, 9% unknown, 1% non-binary or gender nonconforming, and less than 1% self-identified. explain.

Looking only at new voting members, 45% are under 39 years old, 39% are over 40 years old, and 15% are unknown.

Again, looking only at new voting members, 37% are white or Caucasian and 27% are black or African American. 9% are Hispanic or Latino, 5% are Asian or Pacific Islander, 2% are South Asian, 1% are Middle Eastern or North African, and less than 1% are Native American or Alaska Native. To this question, 14% answered that they did not want to disclose, and 4% wanted to self-disclose.

In total, the Academy's new voting members will be 49% people of color, 37% white, and 14% unknown.

originally (Nov. 30): A record-breaking 2,400 people joined the Recording Academy as part of the organization's 2023 new member class. Half of the new class is made up of people of color, 46% are under 40 and 37% are women. The Academy calls these statistics “a demonstration of the Academy's commitment to rebuilding its membership as a whole.”

The Academy further said that the 2,400 new members include 1,700 new voting members and 700 new professional members (those who work in the industry but are not involved in the production of recordings). Stated. This brings the current membership to approximately 14,000 to 11,000 voting members and nearly 3,000 professional members.

The Recording Academy's membership model is community-driven and peer-reviewed to build a more diverse and engaged membership base. Since implementing this new membership model in 2019, people of color have increased from his 24% to 38% of the Academy's total membership. The proportion of women in Academy membership also increased, albeit more modestly, from 26% to 30%.

“We are proud that our organization continues to evolve and build a membership that reflects the diverse talent and backgrounds that make up our music community,” said Harvey Mason, CEO of the Recording Academy.・Junior said in a statement. “But our commitment to diversity and inclusion is an ongoing effort. While we celebrate progress, we also recognize that there is still work to be done. In everything we do, we Our members play an important role and representation is essential to our mission to support and uplift music makers.”

The Recording Academy reports that 50% of new members are people of color, 37% are white or Caucasian, and 13% are anonymous. Here's how the 50% statistic for people of color breaks down: 28% are Black or African American; Hispanic or Latino, 10%; Asian or Pacific Islander, 5%; South Asian, 2%; Middle East or North Africa, 1%. Less than 1% are Native American or Alaska Native. 4% said they preferred self-description.

In terms of gender, 54% of the new membership class is male, 37% female, 8% unknown, and 1% non-binary. Less than 1% of respondents said they preferred self-description.

Regarding age, 46% of the new class are under 40 years old, 40% are over 40 years old, and 14% are unknown.

All these numbers are total Members — Includes both voting members and professional members.

The Recording Academy also specifically asked voting members of the new membership class which genre they most identify with. (You can select multiple genres, so the total is over 100%.) As expected, pop leads the way at 41%, followed by R&B (29%), rock (23%), rap (22%), and jazz. (21%) and so on. %), Alternative (21%), Global Music (17%), Classical (15%), Dance/Electronic (15%), Contemporary Instrumental (13%), American Roots Music (12%), Gospel/Christ Latin (12%), Country (11%), Visual Media (10%), and seven other genres each had less than 10%.

Jazz and classical are ranked higher than their market share would suggest. His two most popular genres in recent years, Latin and Country, rank lower than their market share would suggest. In particular, the Grammy nominations announced on Nov. 10 were downplayed by Latin and country representation in the four major categories. Latin was completely shut out of these major categories, and country was represented only by two of the Best New Artist nominees, Jelly Roll and The War & Treaty (and the husband-and-wife duo is primarily associated with Americana). ing). This drew criticism from Latino and country people.

Complete statistics on the new class demographics can be found here.

The Recording Academy reports that it is 98% toward its goal of adding 2,500 women voters by 2025. She is on track to reach this milestone next year, a year ahead of schedule.

Final voting for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards begins December 14th and continues until January 4th, 2024. All voting members are eligible to vote, including those welcomed to the new Class of 2023.

In addition to voting in the Grammy process, members can submit products for Grammy consideration, propose amendments to Grammy rules, run for Recording Academy officers and committees, You can also vote in branch elections.

Learn more about the Recording Academy's membership process and requirements here.