The Recording Academy has issued new guidelines of eligibility for consideration that exclude solely AI works.
The new rule stipulates that “only human creators are eligible to be submitted for consideration for, nominated for, or win a Grammy Award.” The guidelines and rules have changed in response to the explosion of AI in the music industry in 2023. These new protocols are designed to help recognize human contributions to the arts.
“A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category,” the guidelines state. The Recording Academy met last month to determine whether or not to recognize AI works. During that meeting, the board decided that works that feature elements of AI are eligible, but they must also contain “meaningful contributions” to add a human element to the music or lyrics.
“At this point, we are going to allow AI music and content to be submitted, but the Grammys will only be allowed to go to human creators who have contributed creatively in the appropriate categories,” adds Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.
“If there’s an AI voice singing the song or AI instrumentation, we’ll consider it. But in a songwriting-based category, it has to have been mostly written by a human. The same goes for performance categories—only a human performer can be considered for a Grammy.”
While AI-generated mashups like “Heart On My Sleeve” continue to take social media by storm, The Recording Academy is seeking to establish how it will deal with artists using artificial intelligence to create legitimate works. Famously, Grimes has offered to share royalties to anyone who creates an AI track that utilizes her specialized vocals. And Sir Paul McCartney has turned to AI to help release a final Beatles album using the technology to re-create John Lennon’s voice.
Other guideline changes include the eligibility requirements for Album of the Year. A music creator must account for 20% of all work on the album, including credit artists, featured artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, and more. Previously, anyone who worked on the album was eligible to receive a nomination.
Other changes include a reduction of nominees from 10 to 8 for the major categories like Best New Artist, Album, Song, and Record of the Year. New categories this year include Best Pop Dance Recording, Best African Music Performance, and Best Alternative Jazz Album.