A Decent Night For Indies At The Grammys
Independent Awards Down From 2009
(UPDATED) Independent artists and labels made a strong showing at this year's Grammy Awards, winning in a broad swath of categories, including 30 "Best Album" awards, plus the night’s biggest honor, Album of the Year. Taylor Swift’s 'Fearless' (Big Machine), marked the second Album of the Year win in a row for independent labels, following 2009’s winner 'Raising Sand' (Rounder).
With the exception of Swift, major labels dominated the big categories for top song and video. But a bit further down the long tail indies scored a total of 43 awards in the Pop, Rock, Alternative, Country, New Age, Jazz, Gospel, Tropical Latin, Tejano, Norteno, Bando, Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, Folk, Hawaiian, Native American, Zydeco/Cajun, World, Spoken Word, Comedy, Surround Sound, & Classical genres.
In 2009, independent acts and labels won 56 of the 110 awards given or just over 50% of the total prizes.
This is worth repeating: “In 2009, independent acts and labels won 56 of the 110 awards given or just over 50% of the total prizes..”
It’s a shame that we judge the Grammy Awards based upon what we see on TV. The rest is far more interesting, beneficial, and life changing for the winners…