The Recording Academy, the body responsible for the annual Grammy Awards ceremony, has announced that they have made a number of major changes to the formatting of the Awards. The Academy have announced that they will be reducing the number of categories and also attempting to make gender less of a factor in future ceremonies.
Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles, The Recording Academy president and CEO Neil Portnow stated that the number of categories would be lowered from the current 109 to 78 for the 2012 ceremony. He said: "We have restructured the number of categories to 78 to remain a balanced and viable awards process. Every submission will continue to have a home; it just may look a little different."
"We believe this is an exciting time for music and its creators and we are honoured to continue the Grammy legacy of recognising excellence in recorded music."
He went on to clarify exactly what the changes will entail. The Academy will be making the awards less gender-specific, removing individual male/female categories in the country, pop, rock and R&B fields. The awards will now be open to both genders, with more nomination spaces allowed for each category.
Portnow also indicated that each category will have at least 40 distinct artist entries in future: a dramatic change from the current limit of 25.
Four of the most prestigious categories - 'Album of the Year', 'Song of the Year', 'Record of the Year' and 'Best New Artist' will all remain the same.
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