The Chief Executive Officer of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr., has explained how artists can win a Grammy Award, stressing that the process is driven solely by the votes of music professionals, not popularity or commercial success.
Speaking in a recent interview, Mason Jr. said many people misunderstand how Grammy winners are selected. According to him, the most important factor is the voting membership of the Recording Academy.
“First, you have to understand that the only way to win is to have the membership of the Academy vote for you,” he said. “To be a member of the Academy, you have to be a professional working in music in the United States, for now.”
He explained that once an artist’s work is submitted for consideration, Academy members listen to the music and judge it based on artistic quality alone. Sales figures, streaming numbers, chart performance and public hype do not influence the outcome.
“You are valued on the quality of your art,” Mason Jr. said. “Not the sales, not the streams, not how many songs, but purely on the opinion of the members.”
He also noted that the process is not easy and is often subjective. There is no external voting by record labels, journalists or fans. Instead, decisions are made strictly by music professionals who are active in the industry.
“It’s very hard because it’s subjective,” he added. “There is no label vote, there is no journalist vote. It’s purely music professionals.”
His comments come just after the conclusion of the 68th Grammy Awards, which held on February 1 at the Crypto .com Crypto.com we Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, who marked his final appearance as host after leading the show since 2021.
This year’s event was also historic for the Recording Academy for another reason. The 2026 ceremony was the last Grammy Awards to air on CBS, which has been the show’s home network since 1973. From 2027, the Grammys will begin a new 10-year broadcast deal with Disney. The awards will air on ABC, with streaming available on Hulu and Disney+.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar, owned the night by emerging as the biggest winner for the second year in a row. Lamar won five awards on the night.
Among his major wins was Record of the Year for Luther, his collaboration with singer SZA. He also took home the award for Best Rap Album for GNX, adding to his long list of Grammy honours.
The ceremony also made history by recognising African music. Nigerian music icon Fela Aniku
lapo-Kuti was honoured with a posthumous award, becoming the first African artist to receive this particular recognition from the Recording Academy. The honour celebrated his lasting influence on global music and his role in shaping Afrobeat as a genre.
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