Indie Music

How To Submit Music To The Grammys, Deadlines Just Weeks Away

Grammy55The 55th GRAMMY Awards are slated for February 10th 2013, airing from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The eligibility year for “Music’s Biggest Night” is Oct. 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012. The window to submit music for GRAMMY consideration opens up on July 2, 2012, but in order to submit your music for consideration, you need to keep in mind a few rules, guidelines, and deadlines.


First, you must be a voting member of The Recording Academy and in good standing (meaning that your dues are paid in full by June 30, 2012), or you must be registered as a “Media Company” (usually a music label). It is generally recommended to register as a "Media Company" (instructions here via A2IM), and it is also free to do so. Independents are definitely encouraged to participate, as it’s not just majors artists that dominate the GRAMMY Awards. In fact over the last few years, independents have seen growing numbers of GRAMMY nominations and awards (over 50% in some cases) including reggae artist Burning Spear, hip-hop / R&B group The Foreign Exchange, and jazz instrumentalists Chick Corea & Gary Burton.

The GRAMMY Awards telecast is one of the highest-rated and most-watched specials on television, with last year’s 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards attracting 39.9 million viewers – the largest GRAMMY audience since 1984 (also the second largest in history). Last year’s telecast was also the biggest social event in the history of television, drawing 13 million social media comments. The conversation on Twitter even reached a record high at 160,341 tweets per minute during the live telecast.

Hisham Dahud is a Senior Analyst for Hypebot.com. Additionally, he is the head of Business Development for Fame House, LLC and an independent musician. Follow him on Twitter: @HishamDahud

Share on:

5 Comments

  1. It is good to know that independents have a part in the Grammy process, especially since they may be the future of the music industry.

  2. To my FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FANS…Thank you for your support – IT PAID OFF – I will receive my first BLACK ESSENCE GRAMMY AWARD ON OCTOBER 6, 2012 IN SOUTHBEND, INDIANA for my CD “THE RODNEY WARNER PROJECT”. My band – The UNTOUCHABLES is on FIRE to minister and SPIRITUALLY connect at EVENTS, PROGRAMS, CONCERTS, TV & RADIO SHOWS, ETC….CALL (210) 384-2719 OR EMAIL: sirrodneywarnerjrbooking@ymail.com WEBSITE: http://www.facebook.com/vivianfoxiebrownlewis http://www.reverbnation.com/rawlive08sirrodney and http://rawliveentertainment.yolasite.com

  3. This doesn’t actually give any info. If I’m a label, registered as a Media Company, as you say, then what? Where is the real info here? Where do I send it? What do I send? Come on, you write for a living? Idiot.

Comments are closed.