By Shereita Grizzle–
When Ziggy Marley captured his second solo Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album at the 56th staging of the awards last month, many persons in the music industry took to social media to voice their concerns.
The concerns borne out suggest there is a clear bias of the international awards committee towards the famous Marley clan.
Social media was abuzz following the announcement, especially after popular dancehall artist Mr Vegas tweeted that the Best Reggae Album category at the awards should be renamed the Marley Awards.
Mr. Vegas
This comment sparked a fiery Twitter conversation and although there were persons who came to the defence of the Marley-Grammy link, many agreed with the artist.
Fast-forward a few weeks and that claim has been further fuelled by the February 6 announcement that the Bob Marley Museum was named the first official affiliate of the Grammy Museum.
However, when The Sunday Gleaner contacted the Grammy Museum, its executive director, Bob Santelli, sought to dispel the sentiment.
He explained that while the Marley family is held in high regard in the United States, the work of every artist nominated for a Grammy Award in the various categories is judged on its own merit.
Research conducted into the guidelines surrounding nominations and the voting process for the international awards revealed the specific requirements for entries to be considered for nomination.
Bob Santelli
According to Grammy.org, “recordings must be in general distribution in the United States, i.e. sales by label to a branch or recognised independent distributor, via the Internet, or mail order/retail sales for a nationally marketed product.”
Only members vote
The website also revealed that only members of the Recording Academy are allowed to cast ballots on the winner, and outlined measures put in place to ensure transparency and accountability in voting.
The Grammy Awards ‘Vote Solicitation Guidelines’ state that “voters shall not be influenced by personal friendships, company loyalties, regional preferences, or mass sales. They shall not allow their choices to be suggested or directed by anything other than their own conscience and shall not accept money or anything of value in exchange for votes”.
Ziggy Marley
Santelli also sought to clear the air surrounding his organisation’s decision to name the Bob Marley Museum an affiliate, explaining that there should be no confusion between the Grammy Awards and the Grammy Museum.
“Although we are connected, we have different mission statements and different goals. Our (the museum’s) goal is to inform, interpret and inspire music fans around the world, in effect, making them more sophisticated listeners and giving them the tools to make music an even deeper part of their lives,” said Santelli.
He also went on to explain that the affiliation will bring mutual benefits.
“The partnership will bring numerous educational and curatorial possibilities, in addition to collaborations concerning marketing and museum membership. Becoming a Grammy Museum Affiliate will enable both institutions to share technology initiatives, artefacts, and exhibits,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
Santelli said having had the opportunity to get to know Bob Marley as a music journalist in the 1970s, he has a lifelong respect for his music and philosophy, but said what was equally important was the potential the Bob Marley Museum has to become a major music museum, and said he and his team just wanted to help it become that.
