Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Recording Academy Cuts 31 Categories from Grammy Awards
The 54th Annual Grammys will present awards in 78 categories in 2012, after the Recording Academy announced an overhaul to the voting process, a consolidation of categories and introduced new voting rules today.
Some of the gender-based categories (such as best solo performance by a female artist) have been consolidated, leaving artists such as Eminem with less of an opportunity to be let down (10 nominations in 2011 but no wins in major categories) and Britney Spears with even less of a chance to ever win a Grammy. Additionally, many of the awards' more unique categories will be consolidated or reassigned. These include traditional gospel; children's spoken-word album; Zydeco or Cajun music album; and best classical crossover album.
Neil Portnoy, CEO of the Recording Academy, confessed to Billboard that there really was no rhyme or reason for blowing up the awards into a day-long extravaganza recognizing more than 100 categories (109 in 2011):
"Every year there are changes but we've never … stopped and stepped back to look at the whole thing," Portnow told Billboard in an exclusive interview. "[We asked], is there an underlying infrastructure and rationale across all the awards as to how we're doing this? And what we found is, there wasn't."
No categories have been stripped from the awards, according to the announcement, although some genres will now be combined.In addition to merging the separate awards for male and female vocal performance into a new pop solo performance category, The metal and hard rock categories have also been combined.
In the pop, rock and country fields, the awards for instrumental performance have been dropped.
Each category will now require at least 40 distinct artist entries, an increase from the current 25.
Voters who previously chose up to nine genre fields to vote in, will now choose from a pool of 20 categories, in addition to four general categories. The changes are explained to members with the help of a category mapper.
Today at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET, Portnow will participate in a live online chat about the changes at livestream.com, grammy.com and the Grammys' Facebook page.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?