The Recording Academy has announced that the 64th Annual Grammy Awards will be produced with an inclusion rider that will require producers to recruit and hire more diverse staff in front of the camera and backstage for next year's ceremony. The Recording Academy has reportedly been working to bring Inclusion Riders to the award circuit since 2019. In the recent past, the academy has come under fire for racism and favouritism as artistes like Zayn Malik, Nicki Minaj, Teyana Taylor, Halsey called for more transparency in the voting process.
More notably, The Weeknd boycotted the Grammys this year citing an ongoing lack of trust in the award show's proceedings. This Wednesday, The Recording Academy announced that the rider will be added to its agreement with producers staging the 64th annual awards as a way to ensure equity and inclusion at all levels of production. The full inclusion rider will be released publicly in September.
"As the academy continues its transformational journey, diversifying our industry is at the core of every decision we make. We’re dedicated to fostering an environment of inclusion industry-wide and hope that our efforts set an example for our peers in the music community,” said Academy President and CEO Harvey Mason jr.
The academy’s initiative was created in partnership with several groups including the Color of Change, inclusion rider co-authors Kalpana Kotagal and Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni, and Ryan Butler, the founding director of Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University.
“There are a lot of unwritten rules in the entertainment industry that create racial exclusion, and at Color Of Change, we know that to change society you have to change the rules. This inclusion rider is a written rule that will change the culture of hiring at the Grammys, and will make inclusion the norm,” said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change.