Grammys CEO Harvey Mason jr. issued an urgent letter on Friday dedicated to the 12,000 voting members of the Recording Academy.
With just a month to go in the eligibility period for the Feb. 2, 2025 awards, Mason’s message urged Academy voters to cast their votes with “intention and integrity,” and without “bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting.”
“The trajectory of people’s careers and lives are altered by your choices,” Mason wrote in the letter published by Billboard. “If you are taking into account an artist’s older work, or their reputation, or race, or gender, what label they are on, who their manager is, how many friends participated in the project, or anything else like that, you’re not doing your job.”
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Mason started his letter by addressing that he usually doesn’t speak on Grammy voting “until our ballot is live,” he wrote, adding “this year is different.” He candidly explained he felt “shocked” and “disturbed” after hearing what a Grammy voter had said about an artist for last year’s Grammy season, leading him to write the PSA for the next show.
“Last Grammy season, I heard a Grammy voter say they hadn’t taken a specific artist seriously since a performance they saw more than ten years ago. I was shocked and disturbed by that,” Mason said. “There is no place in our organization for such bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting. It’s about the current year and the quality of the work, period!”
The first-round voting for the 67th annual Grammy Awards will commence Oct. 4 through Oct. 15, and final voting will run between Dec. 12 and Jan. 3, 2025.
He continued, “I hope that you begin prioritizing your responsibility now, and not wait until Grammy season is here,” Mason said. “I hope that you evaluate the music carefully, and prepare yourself to vote with care and purpose, and that you encourage your fellow voting members to do the same. Your peers in music are counting on you.”
