No report deal, supervisor, or publicist?
No Gold or Platinum certification from the RIAA?
No music movies on YouTube with 1,000,000,000+ views?
You possibly can nonetheless win a Grammy, the most prestigious award within the music trade. Sure, you!
A formidable variety of unbiased musicians win Grammy awards yearly, and on this step-by-step information, I’ll present you :
- Turn into a voting member of the Recording Academy
- Be eligible for a Grammy nomination
- Run a “For Your Consideration” marketing campaign
- Improve your possibilities of successful
However earlier than we discover the chronological steps you need to take to win a Grammy, listed below are a number of big-picture issues to bear in mind.
Overlook the televised awards
You should have life like expectations.
The precise awards you most likely consider everytime you hear “Grammys” — Finest New Artist, Album of the 12 months, and many others. — yeah, these are seemingly NOT the awards you’ll have the ability to win as an unbiased musician.
The Grammy Awards course of is a small trade unto itself, with its personal customs and networks of affect. And to place it merely: If it’s an award they announce on TV, that statuette might be going dwelling with a serious label artist.
Nonetheless, there are many different awards which can be given out earlier within the evening earlier than the prime-time TV broadcast. Intention for THOSE awards!
WHY attempt to win a Grammy?
There are a number of causes you may want a Grammy, or perhaps a Grammy nomination.
Validation. Your pals, household, followers, and the broader trade might take larger discover of your abilities and achievements.
A celebration. Of your personal arduous work, and the help your followers have shared with you.
A resumé-builder that opens new income alternatives, higher live shows, collaborations, or placements.
However be warned…
It nonetheless entails advertising and marketing
Everytime you need your music to achieve recognition, you want to get the eye of the appropriate individuals. That normally takes music advertising and marketing.
Within the case of the Grammys, you’re attempting to persuade a distinct sort of particular person to like your music. You’re not on the lookout for followers within the conventional sense.
As a substitute, you need the eye of voting members of the Recording Academy — most of whom are fellow music-makers and trade professionals.
That’s going to take work. Within the type of a “For Your Consideration” marketing campaign that I’ll define later on this article.
You MUST comply with the principles
There are a number of particulars, eligibility timelines, and deadlines. If you wish to win a Grammy, it’s important to comply with all the principles in the official rulebook.
One large one: You CANNOT ask somebody to vote for you!
This course of isn’t for each artist
On condition that the Grammy course of entails advertising and marketing, networking, and potential promoting or PR bills, it’s not for everybody. It may well take a number of money and time.
It’s additionally seemingly not for artists who’re initially of their careers. “Finest New Artist,” in fact, goes to a debut act. However whenever you’re aiming for a extra area of interest, genre-based award, you usually tend to win as an unbiased artist when you have a resumé of success and a constructive status amongst your friends.
Lastly, you ought to be making nice music. A mediocre album is just not going to garner the respect (and votes) of Grammy members. So make certain it’s a report you’re extraordinarily happy with, with nice songs, preparations, performances, manufacturing, and mixing. Plus an important story. The story is usually the way you’ll entice preliminary consideration for the music.
A fast overview of the Grammy course of
What most individuals know of the Grammys is what they see on TV annually. However there’s rather a lot that occurs within the 12 months prior, constructing as much as the large evening.
The method begins lengthy earlier than the awards present when members of the Recording Academy, media firms, and report labels submit entries — about 20,000 entries per 12 months — in the course of the OEP (on-line entry course of).
What makes a track or album eligible for a Grammy?
Based on the Grammy’s web site:
- Recordings should be launched in the course of the eligibility 12 months. For instance, for the 2025 Grammys, recordings launched between September 16, 2023 and August 30, 2024 are eligible.
- Recordings should be accessible for buy or streaming, and meet the trade normal of 16-bit, 44.1 kHz.
- Every track should have correct metadata, together with songwriters and producers, and an Worldwide Commonplace Recording Code (ISRC).
- Albums should have a complete enjoying time of quarter-hour with a minimum of 5 tracks, or half-hour with no minimal variety of tracks.
- For albums, greater than 75% of the recordings should be new and never beforehand launched.
Every submission is then screened by The Recording Academy Awards Division to verify its eligibility.
After that, genre-based screening committees — comprised of 300+ specialists — assessment submissions to position them within the applicable class.
These teams do not make important or merit-based judgements at this level; they’re merely guaranteeing the submissions are eligible and correctly categorized.
First-Spherical Voting for Grammys
Following that step, there’s the “First Spherical” poll. On this first spherical of voting, members of the Academy in good standing (which means they’ve paid their dues) undergo entries of their respective fields of experience, serving to to find out the 5 finalists in every class.
These voting members are, in accordance with the Grammys:
Energetic inventive professionals concerned within the recording course of, comparable to performers, songwriters, producers, and engineers.
Every voting member can vote in as much as ten classes throughout three style fields, plus the six classes within the “Common Discipline,” together with:
- Document of the 12 months
- Album of the 12 months
- Tune of the 12 months
- Finest New Artist
- Producer of the 12 months (Non-Classical)
- Songwriter of the 12 months (Non-Classical)
In case you’d wish to grow to be a voting member of the Recording Academy, go HERE.
Remaining-Spherical Voting for Grammys
After the First Spherical voting determines the 5 finalists in every class, there’s a ultimate voting course of to determine who wins the Grammy.
Once more, members are directed to vote solely in classes the place they’re friends of the nominees and have related genre-expertise.
The voting is managed by a agency (Deloitte & Touche LLP) who retains the outcomes secret till the day of the Grammy Awards, when sealed envelopes are delivered with the names of the winners.
NOTE: Sure “Craft” classes that acknowledge a really specialised area of experience have a barely completely different voting course of, so for all the small print, see the Grammy rulebook.
These envelopes deliver us to the ultimate step within the course of…
The Grammy Awards Present
The recording with essentially the most votes wins! Within the case of ties (fairly uncommon), the tied nominees are each thought-about winners.
Nominees obtain a medallion and certificates. Winners are given the Grammy award statuette, so long as they comply with these phrases.
The following present — the 67th Annual Grammy Awards — is occurring on February 2, 2025 on the Crypto.com Enviornment in LA. It is going to additionally air reside on CBS.
A lot of the awards are introduced BEFORE the televised portion, however you’ll be able to reside stream the entire thing on reside.grammy.com and YouTube.
Any recording that wins an award in 2025 may have entered the net submission course of the prior summer time (between July 17, 2024 – August 30, 2024), and may have had a launch date between September 16, 2023 and August 30, 2024.
Your step-by-step information to successful a Grammy
Okay, now that you simply’re acquainted with the method at a excessive stage, let’s provide you with a chronological motion plan.
Stage 1: Turn into a voting member of the Recording Academy
(24 months earlier than Grammy submission, if potential)
Not solely will this enable you to later submit your album for Grammy consideration, it’ll additionally provide you with an insider’s have a look at your complete course of.
As a voting member, you’ll higher perceive the timelines and necessities, and also you’ll have first-hand information of what will get the eye of voting members. This may empower you to run a more practical “For Your Consideration” marketing campaign a 12 months or two down the road.
- Community with current Grammy members. Attend Grammy meetups, each IRL and on-line. Get energetic in your native music scene and ask round to see who would possibly already be a member.
- Get two sturdy suggestions from voting members. You possibly can’t simply “be a part of” the Academy. And you’ll’t submit your personal identify for consideration. You should be really useful to the Recording Academy by musical friends (so long as you meet these necessities). If the individuals recommending you’re current members, that’s finest — they usually can fill out a advice for you HERE.
- As soon as the Academy has obtained the 2 nominations, you’ll be able to fill out an artist profile. It should be accomplished by March 1st to be thought-about for that 12 months’s class. You’ll get an e-mail notification when it’s time to fill out the profile. Simply be certain each individuals who really useful you for membership use the identical e-mail deal with for you.
- A peer assessment panel will then contemplate you for membership. You’ll be notified by July if you’re accepted, and also you’ll have till that 12 months’s voting interval to simply accept.
- If accepted, be energetic in all nomination and voting processes, in addition to any networking alternatives.
- Maintain paying your dues! You need to stay in good standing when it’s time to submit your personal music for a Grammy.
Stage 2: Pre-Launch Preparation
1. Plan for a Grammy-worthy album
(12-24 months earlier than Grammy submission)
- Choose one of the best songs, gamers, engineer(s), and producer(s). Members of the Recording Academy are inspired to vote for music based mostly on excellence, not reputation. E book your inventive staff properly upfront to make sure they’re accessible.
- Collaborate with former Grammy-nominees and winners (if potential); chances are you’ll enhance your music’s visibility and acquire perception in regards to the Grammy nomination course of.
- Analysis the Grammy classes most intently related together with your sound.
- Make clear your audience and style beforehand so your recording periods are centered in the appropriate course.
2. Make the music
(6-18 months earlier than submission)
- Now it’s time to place your Grammy ambitions apart for a bit, and simply make nice music. Your pre-recording prep helped you create parameters for the challenge, however Grammy awards are in the end given to artists who put the artwork first and made nice inventive decisions, not those who most intently adhere to current stylistic conventions.
- Ensure that your music is professionally combined and mastered.
- Create a visible identification to your music, together with memorable album art work, press images, and extra.
- Shoot behind-the-scenes video of your recording course of, in addition to interviews in regards to the which means of the songs, or the rest that can assist inform the story of the music.
3. Construct knowledgeable staff
(6-12 months earlier than submission)
- Don’t spend your entire price range on the recording. Save a large quantity of your price range to rent any administration consultants, promoters, PR specialists, or advertising and marketing businesses that you simply need to help your launch. In case your publicist has expertise working “For Your Consideration” campaigns on behalf of earlier Grammy-nominees, that’s an enormous profit right here.
- Work with these professionals to craft the story of your album. Whereas a few of your efforts shall be centered on fan-facing promo, be sure you write a model of your story that can attraction to voting members of the Recording Academy.
Stage 3: The Music Launch Technique
(3-12 months earlier than Grammy submission)
1. Set a launch date inside the eligibility window
- That window has closed for the 2025 Grammy Awards, which suggests you’re now taking a look at 2026 or past.
- Plan your album or single launch early sufficient to permit ample time for promotion and engagement earlier than the following OEP (“on-line entry course of”).
2. Distribute your music
3. Construct buzz
- Whereas Grammy voting is predicated on high quality and never reputation, the extra public consideration your music receives, the extra seemingly voting members shall be to know who you’re. The extra conscious they’re upfront, the much less work you’ll need to do in FYC introductions.
Stage 4: Submit your music for Grammy Consideration
(Throughout the subsequent OEP)
- Once more, pay shut consideration to all of the submission deadlines and eligibility standards. However as a member, you’ll most likely be properly knowledgeable. Often, the primary spherical of submissions begins in late summer time and closes in early fall.
Stage 5: Launch the “For Your Consideration” Marketing campaign
(When you’ve submitted your music)
Time to make voting members conscious of your music, and that you simply’d like them to pay attention and take it into consideration as they put together to solid their first-round ballots. To start:
1. Create a FYC touchdown web page in your artist web site.
It may be public (for comfort), however ought to NOT be accessible through the highest navigation bar. In different phrases, you need voting members to simply entry the web page, nevertheless it’s not meant for followers.
The web page ought to include:
- Grammy-related language comparable to “GRAMMY®” or “GRAMMY Awards®” — so voting members know they’re in the appropriate place
- Embedded behind-the-scenes video or promo reel
- A concise and fascinating story in regards to the music
- Brief artist bio with profession highlights
- Hello-res art work and press images associated to the challenge
- Clear description of the music
- Listing of collaborators and credit
- Hyperlinks to your album on streaming and associated content material (not simply Spotify!)
- Contact information for media inquiries
The web page ought to NOT:
- Comprise any trash-talking about different nominees, artists, or albums
- Exaggerate any particulars in regards to the challenge
- Use the Grammy brand
- Embody a private signature or a direct request to vote for the challenge
Learn that final one once more. You CANNOT ask voting members to vote for you. You possibly can’t bribe them. No gifting. No vote-trading. You possibly can solely ask them to CONSIDER your music.
And though this information provides fairly thorough instructions, it’s all the time advisable to learn the most recent Grammy rulebook annually, as a result of there could also be different stipulations about whether or not or not you’ll be able to point out gross sales numbers or streaming metrics, and many others.
2. Get the FYC messaging on the market
(Beginning in October)
You need related voting members to see your launch. If in case you have an skilled publicist, they’ll be an enormous assist.
- Don’t spam or DM voting members. You possibly can run e-mail and social campaigns geared toward voting members, nevertheless it should embody an opt-out (and comply with all different Grammy guidelines).
- Leverage any trade networks you’ve constructed up so far — and remind them to hearken to your music, and please contemplate it for the primary spherical of voting.
- Attend Grammy occasions and mixers.
- Run focused PR and advert campaigns specializing in FYC messaging in Billboard, Selection, and different commerce publications. In truth, Billboard has an annual print version devoted to FYC campaigns.
- Digital and print adverts ought to look clear, use art work that aligns with the FYC web page and album branding, have concise advert copy, spotlight why it deserves consideration inside the style, together with the music’s story or distinguished collaborators.
- Host your personal FYC occasion when you have the cash. Once more, comply with the Grammy guidelines as a result of you’ll be able to’t bribe, reward, or commerce your method into votes.
- Listing your music on the Recording Academy’s FYC web site for optimum visibility.
Then it’s time to watch voting, cross your fingers, and maintain getting the FYC phrase on the market!
Stage 6: Remaining Grammy Voting
(November – January)
You’ve been waiting for these nominations. Did you obtain one? If that’s the case, it’s not time to relaxation. It’s time to step on the fuel to your ultimate consciousness marketing campaign main as much as the awards present.
- Change your messaging. Your FYC language might want to shift from outreach and introductions to a ultimate case to your music and story.
- However maintain a lightweight contact. Once more, no ASKING for votes. However now you can confidently place your self as a nominee within the ultimate spherical of consideration. Nonetheless, you continue to need to make certain the message highlights the journey on the heart of your album, and the worth of your music, over any particular nomination, accolades, or metrics. Keep in mind that voting members are largely artists themselves.
- Amplify your PR efforts by doing extra interviews, live performance dates, and many others.
Stage 7: Go to the present!
(February)
In case you can attend the Grammys in particular person, do it.
If not, there could also be Grammy-related occasions in your space.
However c’mon, if you happen to’re nominated for a Grammy, get to that awards ceremony to characterize your work and achievement!
Have a quick speech prepared in case you win. Don’t tempt the sound-person to start out enjoying music over your rambling remarks.
Stage 8: Afterwards
Whether or not you win or not, this second is value celebrating.
- Be ready for additional PR to discuss in regards to the expertise.
- Do an audit in your internet properties and press blurbs so as to add “Grammy-winning” or “Grammy-nominated” wherever it belongs!
- Don’t let your dues lapse. Maintain energetic within the Recording Academy so you’ll be able to construct extra relationships, vote on subsequent 12 months’s nominations, and enhance your personal possibilities of future recognition.
And that’s it!
This guidelines solely spans two full years. Straightforward. Haha.
Hopefully it’s been a very good overview of every thing it takes to qualify for a Grammy.
Cleary you want to plan upfront and be actively engaged within the Recording Academy.
So one of the best place to start your Grammy journey is on the Grammy web site itself.
