The Latin Recording Academy has announced changes to the Latin Grammy Awards including the addition of the best songwriter of the year honor, best singer-songwriter song and best Portuguese-language Urban performance.
There’s also a series of revisions for song submissions, including changes to the album of the year and best engineered album categories that specify the percentage of playing time and credits for artists, producers, engineers, mixers, mastering engineers and songwriters. All updates go into effect immediately for the upcoming 24th annual Latin Grammys taking place in November.
These changes come just as the Grammys experienced similar modifications, including the addition of the songwriter of the year award along with several new performance categories that were first applied at the 65th annual show in February.
With the addition of the best Portuguese-language Urban performance category, the Academy is responding to the rise of music in Brazil and Portugal where such artists as Anitta and Pabllo Vittar have gained global recognition. Meanwhile, the album of the year and best engineered album awards now require honorees to have 33% playing time on an album to receive the honor.
“Our priority is to effectively represent all the Latin music creators that we serve,” said Manuel Abud, CEO of the Latin Recording Academy. “We are excited to present these new categories that reflect the constant evolution of our music.”
Last month, Abud also announced the Latin Recording Academy’s intentions to move the Latin Grammys to Spain as part of a “three-year sponsorship deal” with the tourist-attracting region of Andalusia. The partnership laid out a plan to host the Latin Grammys and “two major concerts hosted by the Academy in 2023, and another major concert in 2024 and in 2025.”
At the time, Abud said the Academy was “still working through the logistics with our partners TelevisaUnivision,” but confirmed the date and location of the Latin Grammys would be revealed soon.
The online entry process for this year’s Latin Grammys opens on March 23. For full details on the updates, see LatinGRAMMY.
Per the announcement, new categories and changes include:
Best Singer-Songwriter Song
To be eligible for this new category within the Singer-Songwriter Field, the singles or tracks must contain at least 51% of the lyrics in Spanish, Portuguese or any native regional dialect, and must be from a Singer-Songwriter Album competing in the Singer-Songwriter Album Category that year.
Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance
This new category within the Portuguese Language Field recognizes the enormous amount of Urban music that is being created in Brazil and Portugal. The singles or tracks can include a fusion mix of Urban styles with other genres as long as the Urban character predominates.
Album Of The Year
Albums within the General Field must contain at least 51% playing time of newly recorded material. Award to the Artist, Producer(s), Engineer(s), Mixer(s), Mastering Engineer(s) and Songwriter(s) of 33% playing time of the album if other than the Artist will receive the award.
Song Categories
It is now required to include the date of composition when submitting product for all of the Song categories.
New Criteria For Best Engineered Album
Award goes to the Recording Engineer(s) and Mixing Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% of the album and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 51% of the album within the Production Field.
