Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. Implores Academy Members to Vote With ‘Intention and Integrity’

variety.com:

Thania Garcia Grammys CEO Harvey Mason jr. issued an urgent letter on Friday dedicated to the 12,000 voting members of the Recording Academy.

With just a month to go in the eligibility period for the Feb. 2, 2025 awards, Mason’s message urged Academy voters to cast their votes with “intention and integrity,” and without “bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting.” “The trajectory of people’s careers and lives are altered by your choices,” Mason wrote in the letter published by Billboard. “If you are taking into account an artist’s older work, or their reputation, or race, or gender, what label they are on, who their manager is, how many friends participated in the project, or anything else like that, you’re not doing your job.” Mason started his letter by addressing that he usually doesn’t speak on “Grammy voting until our ballot is live but this year is different,” he wrote. “Last Grammy season, I heard a Grammy voter say they hadn’t taken a specific artist seriously since a performance they saw more than ten years ago.

I was shocked and disturbed by that. There is no place in our organization for such bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting.

It’s about the current year and the quality of the work, period!,” Mason said. The first-round voting for the 67th annual Grammy Awards run from Oct.