Today the Recording Academy extended its annual membership invitations to nearly 3,600 music professionals spanning, in its words, “diverse backgrounds, genres and disciplines.” According to the academy, this year’s class of invitees is 49% women, 56% people of color and 60% under the age of 40.
That 3,600 total includes about 2,600 who are being invited to join as voting members and about 1,000 who are being invited to join as non-voting professional members.
To put that 3,600 figure into perspective, the Academy reported last year that it has 16,000+ total members, of which 13,000+ were voting members.
The academy has invited thousands of new voting members in recent years in a concerted move to expand and diversify its membership. This year’s total number of invitations is down slightly from last year, when 3,900 people were invited (3,000+ to become voting members and 900+ to become professional members.) According to the academy, 2,800+ accepted those invitations.
In 2023, the academy invited 2,800 new voting members. In 2022, it invited more than 2,000 new voting members – as well as more than 600 professional, non-voting members.
Invitations this year were extended to, among others, Addison Rae, Chase Rice, Chrisette Michele, Ella Langley, Grupo Firme, Joey Bada$$, KATSEYE, Kelli O’Hara, Mariah The Scientist and Nikki Glaser.
Rae, Langley, KATSEYE and Mariah the Scientist are viewed as credible contenders for best new artist nominations. Glaser, who received her first Grammy nomination late last year for best comedy album, hosted the Golden Globes in January and is set to host that show again next year.
Invitations must be formally accepted for invitees to become Recording Academy members. To participate in the Online Entry Process (OEP) for the upcoming Grammy Awards, invitees must accept by July 31.
The academy announced its invitations for the new member class about two weeks after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced its own invited class of 534 individuals. That means the Recording Academy invited nearly seven times as many people to join its ranks this year as the Motion Picture Academy did.
The Motion Picture Academy’s peak year for invitations was in 2018, when it invited 928 new members.
A comprehensive report on the Recording Academy’s 2025 new member class, along with a detailed breakdown of the overall membership demographics and crafts, will be released later this year following the deadline for 2025 invitees to join the academy.
The Recording Academy released its 2024 Membership Report on Oct. 3, 2024, one day before first-round voting opened for the 67th annual Grammy Awards. The most eye-popping statistic: 66% of the current Grammys electorate has joined since the Recording Academy introduced its new membership model in June 2019. Under that model, the academy invites large new member classes to join, with an eye on boosting the numbers of women, people of color and people under 40 in the academy.
Thus, the voting membership that delivered album, record and song of the year to Adele in 2017 and those same three awards to Bruno Mars in 2018 is much different today. We started to see a shift in voting patterns in February 2019, even before the new membership model was introduced, when Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” became the first hip-hop hit to win record or song of the year. (It won both.) At the Grammys earlier this year, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” became the second hip-hop hit to win record or song of the year. (Again, it won both.)
The Recording Academy’s membership model is community-driven and peer-reviewed to create a more diverse and engaged membership base.
The Recording Academy offers three types of membership: voting membership for music creators, professional membership for music business professionals and GRAMMY U for those aspiring to a career in the music industry. (GRAMMY U follows a distinct application process.)
Each year, interested musicians and professionals must apply for membership by March 1. Their submissions are reviewed in the spring by a peer review panel comprised of existing Recording Academy members active in the music industry. If approved, candidates are invited to join the Recording Academy.
Recording Academy voting members — artists, songwriters, producers, engineers and others active in the music industry — are eligible to vote for the annual Grammy Awards. In addition, members can submit product for Grammy Awards consideration, propose amendments to Grammy Awards rules, run for a Recording Academy board position or committee, vote in chapter elections, support fellow musicians through advocacy efforts and MusiCares, and engage with the academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing, Songwriters & Composers Wing, Black Music Collective and more.
“For today’s music creators, Grammy membership opens up an incredible set of opportunities,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Not only do voting members get the chance to honor their peers with Grammy nominations and awards, Academy members get access to hands-on experience, skill development to advance their careers, exposure to peers and mentors in the music industry and be part of an organization shaping the future of music.”
The first-round voting period for the 68th Grammy Awards opens on Oct. 3 and closes on Oct. 15. Nominations will be announced on Nov. 7. Final-round voting runs from Dec. 12 to Jan. 5, 2026. The telecast is set for Feb. 1, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Comedian Trevor Noah has hosted the last five Grammy ceremonies. If he is asked to host again, he’ll join Andy Williams, who hosted the first seven Grammy telecasts, and John Denver, who hosted six times, as the most frequent Grammy hosts.
The 66th Grammy Awards, which aired in February 2024, received a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding variety special (live). We’ll find out if this year’s show is nominated in that marquee category in one week (Tuesday, July 15).
