Recording Academy Makes Series of Sweeping Changes to the Grammy Awards

In a shocking move, the Recording Academy has announced a series of broad and sweeping changes to the Grammy Awards that will see the number of prizes presented reduced from 109 to 78 and gender-based categories in pop, R&B, rock and country stripped away entirely with awards for "solo performance" in each genre being awarded instead.

"Every year, we diligently examine our awards structure to develop an overall guiding vision and ensure that it remains a balanced and viable process," Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said in a statement. "After careful and extensive review and analysis of all categories and fields, it was objectively determined that our Grammy categories be restructured to the continued competition and prestige of the highest and only peer-recognized award in music."

The General Field categories -- Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist -- were not affected by today's announcement.

The Academy has also amended its rules on entries and voting. For a category to move forward with five nominations, it must receive no less than 40 artist, album or song submissions. If a category receives between 25 and 39 entries, only three nominations will be announced.

If less than 25 submissions are received for any given category, an award will not be presented that year, and if the category continues to receive fewer than 25 entries for three consecutive years it will be discontinued.

Next year's ceremony will mark the first time since 1991 that fewer than 80 Grammys will be awarded. (A vast majority of prizes are handed out during a non-televised ceremony that immediately precedes CBS' broadcast; only 10 awards were handed out during the televised event.)

The reason why so few awards are handed out during the televised ceremony: performances.

"The part that not everybody will be happy about at first is getting their heads around the fact that things have changed," Portnow told Billboard. "But the fact is: Everybody [who] releases a record within the standards and the qualification elements is going to be eligible for a Grammy. It's just going to look a little different, fit in a different place than they may have. They may be facing other nominees or nominations differently than they had in the past. But at the end of the day, we think excellence will prevail."

The Recording Academy makes frequent changes to its rules and categories on a case-by-case basis when flaws in its eligibility requirements are brought to the Academy's attention. Last summer, the guidelines for the Best New Artist category were altered when Gaga was deemed ineligible for the 2009 prize because she had been nominated the previous year for Best Dance Recording. The Academy altered its rules to provide eligibility to previous Grammy nominees who have not released a full-length album and have not won.

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