Why The Grammys Get So Much Wrong

(Photo: “Grammy Awards 2014,” by flickr user gem_106 via Attribution 2.0 License)

I, like many Americans suffered (and mostly fast forwarded) through the 57th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday night. While recapping the show the next morning, my coworker Ryan brought to my attention just how wrong the Grammys get hip hop/rap. When Macklemore won 3 out of the 4 Grammys last year, I knew it was bad, but until this video, I didn’t know how bad it was.

Considering the aforementioned Macklemore take home, he now has more Grammys than hip-hop luminaries Tupac, Biggie, NAS, DMX, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, Run DMC, Mos Def and Public Enemy… COMBINED. That’s a pretty damning list.

The Internet at large gets all bent out of shape when Kanye goes crazy at these events, but through his eyes the Grammys continually celebrate white people appropriating traditionally black music and rewards easy listening, poppy music over thoughtful, artistic endeavors. In that sense, his outrage can be justified.

But WHY do the Grammys get this so wrong? Why do they risk another Yeezy outburst?

The obvious answer is there’s a bunch of old white guys voting for these awards, and therefore the results may be clouded by a tinge of racism (or at the very least a lack of understanding of the genre); but my guess is the reason is a tad less insidious than that.

The Grammys exist to celebrate and serve the music industry, but more importantly, they exist to get the public excited for (and in turn interested in buying) this year’s music. And who is buying music these days? If you guessed “Old People,” you’d be right (full disclosure – I’m one of those old people).

 As a group, 13 to 17-year-olds have plummeted to a mere 7% of the CD-buying population, down from 14.9% in 2004. Their share of digital purchases, either singles or albums, is also down a healthy 12 percentage points — to just 13% — as downloading has become more mainstream among older demographics.

This is why you see 44 year-old Beck, 64 year-old Tom Petty, and U2 (who are all in their 50s) being nominated for best rock album.  This is why you see 56 year-old Madonna prancing around on stage when she hasn’t had a hit single in years. This is why you see Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder being celebrated at any opportunity and upcoming artist Hozier having to share the stage with 60 year-old Annie Lennox.

The Grammys don’t just get rap/hip-hop totally wrong. They don’t get modern music in general. But that’s not their purpose. And once you understand that the Grammys exist to sell music to the people most likely to buy it, it will be a lot easier to watch your favorite artist lose to god knows who.

If you’re interested in the arcane and seemingly arbitrary process of becoming a Grammy voter AND the awards process in general, Vox recently published an interesting primer here.