Much maligned American ceremony The Grammy Awards is set to shrink in 2010, with organisers due to shuffle the categories.
The Grammy Awards are the biggest night in the American music industry – literally! With its vast categories the ceremony aims to celebrate a broad base of creativity, yet with well over one hundred awards many attendees have drifted off by the finale.
That could be set to change next year with organisers announcing that several categories will be dropped or merged with similar forms of music. Always a controversial decision, next year could see some awards being given the chop altogether.
Sadly, the award for ‘Best Polka Album’ has been ditched for the 2010 ceremony. The category suffers alongside both the ‘Latin Urban Album’ slot and the ‘Latin Rock Or Alternative’ award. These will now be merged into one, named ‘Latin Rock, Alternative Or Urban Album’.
However it’s good news for fans of ‘Contemporary Folk / Americana’ with that award now being split into two: ‘Contemporary Folk Album’ and ‘Americana Album’. All of which is good news for Alison Krauss, who could well add to her total of over twenty Grammy awards.
Due to be a highly controversial decision, the Grammys already have a reputation as being slow to recognise music made by artists from ethnic minorities. In total 109 awards will be handed out at the 2010 event, with the glitzy ceremony set to take place in Los Angeles on January 31st.
Meanwhile the Recording Academy’s ruling body also saw some changes, reports Variety Magazine. George Flanigen was made chair of of the board of trustees, while Doug Frank was elected vice chair.
This year’s Grammy awards saw British acts take home a stunning haul. In addition to big winners such as Coldplay the night was dominated by unexpected surprises.
One time Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant claimed an award for his album of duets with Alison Krauss, while Radiohead picked up ‘Best Alternative Album’ for their ‘In Rainbows’ set. Newcomers such as Adele and Duffy were also recognised, on a night that saw British artists make their biggest impact on America in years.
The ceremony gives a massive sales boost to victorious acts, with British talent sailing up the Billboard charts in the aftermath of the awards night.
