Neil Portnow – President/CEO
The Recording Academy
3030 Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90404
Dear Neil:
I spent most of yesterday celebrating “Music’s Biggest Night” with a few thousand of my closest friends. As a member of the Recording Academy, it’s a singular thrill to be able to personally witness the hype machine ramp things up into frenzy of klieg lights and chaos.
But this year, moreso than the others, was it really music’s biggest night?
I’ll readily admit that the spectacle of Lady Gaga is worth more than a few Neilsen points. But which will be remembered: her song, or the fact that she arrived inside an egg? And sure, you’ll hook the older demo with a performance by Barbra Streisand: a performance that seemed both tremendously skilled and seemingly effortless. She was MusicCares Person of the Year, but the work of MusicCares gets a brief mention while they help thousands of musicians with their struggles.
The true “Grammy Moments” happen primarily in the pre-telecast awards ceremony, and virtually nobody sees ’em. The performance by Cyndi Lauper, Buddy Guy, Maria Muldaur, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Mavis Staples (!), was genuine and heartfelt. It was obvious that these artists cared deeply about the music they were singing. It wasn’t about incubating a new race or hyping their 3D movie that just opened. This was about the music and its power to communicate, celebrate, and when necessary, console.
The Grammy telecast felt like it was only about ratings points. I guess I can live with that. Let the melismatic madams belt it out for the masses. But while the major labels assign blame to anyone but themselves, how about dedicating more of the Grammy magic to the hardworking musicians who won the other 100+ Grammys given out yesterday? They’re the ones that’re helped by your work.
Sincerely,
Scott Feldman
Founder, D.I.-Why.com
Recording Academy Member #KBCEK6A0
