Entertainment, Music - Army Times

The Grammys adjust to the era of digital revolution

“And the Grammy for best ring tone goes to...”

A far-fetched idea for music’s loftiest awards?

Perhaps not, at a time when the digital revolution is remaking the pop-music landscape and forcing everyone in the industry to rethink how their product is created, sold and recognized.

“Best ring tone? We certainly could (have such an award),” says Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, which will hand out Grammys on Feb. 8

“We don’t ever rule (any possibility) out. ... I certainly hope it doesn’t go to that place.”

But the Grammys may not have a choice about where things head, as such digital devices as the iPod and online sites like Rhapsody and iTunes take over music sales, and the Internet lets any band with a computer market itself worldwide.

Categories may need to change to acknowledge the digital age’s ever-blurring musical boundaries, and such mainstream-marketed acts as Coldplay, Madonna and Sheryl Crow — all nominees this year — may have to make room for such groups as Radiohead, which initially released its Grammy-nominated “In Rainbows” album exclusively on its Web site and let buyers name their price.

Cultural shift

“The Internet has caused an enormous sea change in the way culture is consumed, and everybody is going to have to take stock in how they structure (Grammy categories) and even who performs (at the ceremony),” says Elayne Rapping, professor of American studies at the University of Buffalo.

Sales of physical CDs continued to drop in 2008, down 20 percent to 362 million from 450 million in 2007, while sales of albums downloaded on Internet sites jumped 32 percent to 65 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. For the first time in its history, recording giant Warner Music Group sold more music digitally than through CDs in 2008.

As storefront music retailers have shuttered due to the rise of online sales, the Grammys have changed their eligibility rules. Acts need only to have national distribution on major Internet sale sites, such as iTunes, to qualify, which has translated to more entries than ever (17,500) this year, Portnow says.

The album format is suffering as digital buyers favor clicking on favorite singles for a dollar or so and skipping pricier CDs. Annual sales of albums, both digital and physical, have plummeted more than 235 million in just four years, to 428 million in 2008 from 666 million in 2004, according to SoundScan.

The Grammys have plenty of categories for singles, including the lofty song of the year and record of the year, but Rapping wonders whether more recognition is needed as sales of singles grow even more.

Grammy-nominated R&B singer Anthony David sees a shorter attention span in younger listeners, a boon for the single: “Younger people are the ones who are subject to that Internet mind-set — they don’t want to listen to anything for more than 45 seconds.”

“A lot of people don’t know I have a whole album,” says the Atlanta-based singer, who is nominated with India.Arie for R&B performance by a duo or group for “Words.”

Rock, country, R&B and rap all have singles categories at the Grammys, but world music, Americana, Latin pop, blues and folk are recognized only in the album format.

With such Grammy-nominated Latin artists as Juanes, Luis Fonsi and Luis Miguel extending their sales into Europe and other non-Latin markets, it may be time to recognize single tracks in that genre.

Body of work

Tom Moon, author of “1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die” and a contributor to National Public Radio, cautions against de-emphasizing albums at the Grammy Awards.

“There’s something intrinsically valuable about an album. The fact that people are not encountering music that way (as much) right now doesn’t mean that they won’t do that again in the future.

“Look at Radiohead (a seven-time nominee this year). Here’s a great example of an album. It is a journey; it has a start point and an end point.”

Radiohead’s nomination haul this year, despite its split with longtime label EMI, is an example of acts getting more creative in the digital age.

The Recording Academy’s 13,000 voting members (7,000 more are non-voting associate members) now can sample music on several Internet outlets, including YouTube, iTunes, Rhapsody, Pandora and Last.fm. The Grammys have partnerships with such popular Web sites as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.

“Ten or 12 years ago, you really only had one path (to stardom) — sign with a major label,” says Steve Knopper, author of “Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age.”

“Now, look at all these (marketing) examples, like OK Go, with their goofy treadmill video (for ‘Here It Goes Again,’ viewed 43 million times on YouTube). Bands just catch on on YouTube, and suddenly they can get on MTV or, most likely, the Grammys.”

Indie inroads

As the major labels have dwindled to four (Warner, EMI, Sony BMG and Universal Music Group), smaller outlets, such as Rounder, Koch, Roadrunner, Megaforce and Big Machine, are scoring more Grammy nods.

“The independent sector continues to grow, which is precisely what we want,” Portnow says. “Last year, there were 194 entries in 74 categories; this year, 251 in 85 categories.”

However, Louis Hau, deputy editor of Billboard magazine, says unfettered access to Internet publicity won’t push mainstream acts out of the Grammys.

“In terms of theoretically being able to reach anyone in the world by just posting your song on your own Web site or blog, obviously it’s much easier than it used to be,” he says. “But the bar has been lowered for everyone, so trying to stand out from the crowd is as difficult as it used to be.”

In fact, many acts with independent roots, including current nominees M.I.A., Death Cab for Cutie, Duffy and Adele, ultimately have signed with major labels on their way to Grammy recognition.

“A lot of people like to count out the major labels because they’re facing such huge difficulties,” Hau says. “But for the time being, the biggest hits are still going to be on the majors, because they have the marketing muscle and distribution to get the music out there.”