But the Grammys are an especially public target, and it is unclear whether the academy’s movements will satisfy their critics. They come after a striking conflict with the academy’s last boss, Deborah Dugan, who was hired as a change agent but fired after five months in office – and just days before last year’s ceremony. The academy said she mistreated an employee, but Dugan said she was retaliated for criticizing the institution. In a legal complaint, she accused the academy of voting for improprieties and unbridled conflicts of interest. His case is in arbitration and both sides declined to comment.
The conflict with Weeknd goes to the heart of concerns that the Grammy voting procedure is flawed. It also illustrates the fulcrum that the Grammys should represent between art and commerce: their goal is to recognize the work that their members – artists, producers and composers – value most, but the academy inevitably faces pressure to reward success.
Chris Anokute, a longtime music executive, said he trusts Mason as the leader, but trusts less behind closed doors at the academy. The Weeknd, Anokute said, “clearly made the album of the year”, at least as far as popularity is concerned.
“If his colleagues did not vote for him, it is a pity – if it is true,” said Anokute. “We really don’t believe this to be true; there is simply no way. But we really don’t know. “
For spectators at home, these problems can be invisible. The Grammy, originally planned for January, was postponed for six weeks due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in California. The program’s new executive producer, Ben Winston, designed the Grammy as an antidote to disconnected pandemic programs that look like video conferences.
The presentations will take place on five stages, arranged face to face in the round, close to the usual home of the awards at the Staples Center, in downtown Los Angeles. Some will be recorded, others live, but the continuity of the presentation will make it difficult to say which is which.