Ever since I was nominated for a Grammy award for "Best Children's Album" (yes, we still call them albums, which is really lots of fun to explain to a kid!) I have so many people ask me what you have to do to submit something to the Grammys. First of all you need to make a CD of your original songs, songs or song and determine which category fits your style of music the best. You then join the Grammys which is really "NARAS", National Academy of Recording Arts and Science. If you have enough songs already published or if you have sung on enough recording you then can be a voting member instead of just a member. A voting member actually votes for the CD's and Artist that win the Grammy. Your peers vote for you.
After you send them your CD and if your CD meets all the requirements you then make it on the ballot. I personally think that is an honor just to make it on the ballot. There are two times a during the year you can submit your work for consideration.
Once you make the ballot then they have the first round of voting, this round determines who the five nominees will be from each category. The second round of voting determines the winner of the Grammy.
If your are a voting member you can vote in eight different category's of your choice plus the big ones like, Best Song of the Year, Best New Artist, etc. I am a voting member and belong to the Florida Chapter of the Grammys. I have been personally told not to solicited votes from other voting member! Why not? Every one who runs for anything campaigns for votes! If you are up against a CD from a big company, forget it! The big company will have the best chance to win. Of course everyone with that big company is going to vote for their artist or songs!
I have a big problem with the way things are run. Example, there is absolutely no way of hearing over 200 hundred CD entries under Best Classical CD. Who in the world can or would buy 200 CD's and have the time to listen to them all to pick the one you think is the best? "It's not how good your CD is, it's who you know that gets you the votes!" When the voting member receives their ballot over the Internet there should be a place to click to hear songs from every CD. I might like a CD for Best Children's music better than one from a big company but unless I go and buy it and listen to it how am I going to know who in the world to vote for? If we didn't have hi-tech everything on our computers and Internet I could understand but when we could just click on a CD to hear it, we could choose who to vote for. I don't understand how being a voting member is of any good use. A little person has almost NO chance of being nominated when you're up against the big companies. Remember we are not supposed to solicited votes! Yea, that's a bunch of you know what!
And about the actual Grammy show. I don't even like it, they don't even let us hear the good songs only the money making songs or see the money making artist. The classical composers are truly the musicians, shouldn't they be what the Grammys are all about. They have studied for years and know much more about music than the Artist who wins the Grammy for Best Artist of the Year! I'd be surprised if one of those money making Big Artist know what key they are singing in! The Grammys are exactly run like the Presidential race is run. Who has the most money or who is more famous is usually the winner. Music comes from our hearts and souls. Music is suppose to sound like music! I bet every year when the Grammy show is on TV all the boys roll over in their graves, Beethoven probably even sits up and cries!
Miss G Little House of Music
