Recording Academy Members on Why They Joined & Why The Grammys Matter

Five years ago, the Recording Academy put forth a new membership model committed to “fostering diversity and inclusion while encouraging the music industry to reexamine and reinvent their own long-standing practices.” Its recently released membership report revealed just how far it’s come in meeting that goal — adding 3,000 women voters (a 27% increase since 2019) and seeing a 65% increase in voting members who identify as people of color.

The record 2,800-plus new members who accepted invitations to join the academy in 2024 — including the artists and creatives interviewed here — exemplify that transformative, ongoing shift.

Kaash Paige
Singer-rapper, 23

What sparked your interest in becoming a Recording Academy member?

I think what sparks a lot of interest in the Recording Academy is boom, you see the Grammys. Then you really get involved and see it’s a community of creatives that are excited to build their career and network. I think that sparked my interest more when I started to be part of email threads and got invited to stuff. I realized this isn’t just the Grammys — this is a whole thing.

What was your opinion of the academy before joining?

I thought about it in a sense of “If you join, you’re going to win a Grammy.” I was really naive. It’s not about that at all. As you build and grow within the community, you’re like, “This is family.” I plan on staying with the Recording Academy for the rest of my life.

Why did you ultimately accept the invite?

It’s kind of like, who wouldn’t accept the invite to be a part of it? Leaving Def Jam last year and coming back out to Los Angeles this year, I needed to dive deep into what I want in my life right now. Being accepted felt like affirmation to me of like, this is where you need to be and these are going to be the rooms that you’re put in to help facilitate growth in your life, because you never know who you might meet.

Shirley Song
Composer, 34

Why did you accept the invite?

When you’re a composer for film and TV, you’re immersed in that and don’t always get to hang with the songwriters, composers, and mixing and mastering engineers on the pop side. I think more and more inspiration [for film and TV scores] is drawn from the pop and hip-hop worlds — it’s no longer just your typical John Williams orchestral score. To be able to meet more musicians, songwriters and engineers from that world, I am able to learn and improve my production chops.

Prior to being invited to join, what if any experience did you have with the academy?

Honestly, I didn’t know much. I just thought they did the Grammys. I realized it was a lot more. They are always offering invaluable learning opportunities — panels, discussions — and these experiences keep me informed and inspired. The academy has given me a deeper sense of purpose within this industry and motivates me to also want to contribute meaningfully and advocate for changes.

When it comes to diversity, what do you hope to see the academy improve in the future?

What they are doing now is the biggest step — mentoring, opening this up and inviting people who look like me. Fostering this sense of community is what is going to help champion diversity and support emerging talent.

I am just excited to be able to vote and have my little voice heard. Voting allows me to champion work that pushes boundaries and ensure genres and voices from often underrepresented [communities] get the acknowledgment that they deserve. I know the countless hours and creativity that were put into making this music. It’s nice to be able to support that.

Tara Finegan
COO of Cutting Edge Group, a Grammy-winning music financier, record label and publisher, 37

Why did you want to join?

I felt really motivated to learn more about the Recording Academy when it added a category to recognize video-game soundtracks a few years ago. [That] has had a big impact — already, all kinds of video-game companies across the board are more focused on music because they want to run a Grammy campaign and receive that accolade. It actually does have a ripple effect where it brings more focus and resources to video-game composers.

I was even more motivated to take a role in the Recording Academy’s year-round community of professionals when [artificial intelligence] innovations, and dangers, started to come up. I straddle the line between film, television, video games and music, so AI is something that has been very, very present in what we’ve been thinking about over the last year or so. It was one of the central points in the Hollywood strikes last year, and that just really highlighted to me how important these types of organizations are. The Recording Academy is an important advocate for making sure that whatever happens next is done thoughtfully and with real consideration to the human beings behind the art.

If you could create a new Grammy category, what would it be?

There’s been a real resurgence in pop culture of film soundtracks, with these unbelievable soundtracks that have been put together from scratch, and in my dream world we would have an all-original-­music soundtrack Awards, like for something like Barbie, in a separate category than a compiled soundtrack of preexisting songs, like Guardians of the Galaxy.

What are your Grammy week plans?

My label is nominated in the [best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media] category for Pinar Toprak’s score for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. She’s absolutely phenomenal. Up until voting closes, we will be campaigning for her. Then, come Grammy week, hopefully enjoy the week, attend the awards and try not to get too anxious.

Andre Merritt
Songwriter (Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland, Rihanna)

What if any experience did you have with the academy, and why did you join?

I did a few meet-and-greets [with them] where I would come and speak to people about what I did [in] music. I wanted to be around my peers and around people who feel and think about music the way I do.

What does the recognition that comes with a Grammy mean to you?

You put so much into being an artist and working on ways to get yourself seen and heard — to be rewarded with a Grammy, it lets other people know, “Oh, this guy really means business.”

What do you hope to see the academy help improve in the industry?

I would like them to get [further] involved in the pay for streaming. The biggest thing is creating a livable wage for people to continue to create and give us new art. When you have an organization like the academy that’s backing you, it gives you a lot more to fight with.

Do you have go-to Grammy-watching plans?

I get with some of my fellow songwriters because we like to talk crap about everything, like who we think is going to win. We get some food and drinks. I enjoy that.

Lil Mexico Beatz
Latin Grammy-nominated producer (Roddy Ricch, Arcángel, Marshmello), 25

What if any experience did you have with the Recording Academy before joining?

I had a lot of friends who were part of the academy and they told me about it. But the thing was that the past couple of years, it seemed more like a closed circle to me. I never really heard how you were able to get signed up to join or be a part of it. I had no idea how to get involved. From the outside, it seemed like it was only a select couple of people. [But] now they’re expanding to more musicians, producers, songwriters.

How did the invitation to become a member come about, and why did you decide to join?

My friends who were in the academy were telling me things like, “Honestly, you’ve done a lot already in the music industry. You should join the academy. They’re looking for new people.” One of those friends was Paul Wall. He’s been a member for a while now, and he told me that I had to join. “It’s a big thing to be a part of this,” he said. So that’s part of the reason I was motivated to join. I grew up watching the Grammys, and it really had an influence on me. Now someone like me talking about being part of the academy, that will light a fire in the new generation.

As a producer, you’ve worked in the trap scene with both Latin and non-Latin artists. Do you think that duality will shape your role as a member?

Definitely. The one thing I really wanted to push, especially this year, was to get more spotlight on the Latin genre. English and Latin trap share similar issues, including getting overlooked constantly, mainly if you’re an indie artist. And I know we have Latin Grammys, but to be on a global stage like the Grammys, even in the Latin categories — that’s huge.

Joshua Mosley
Composer-producer, 44

Why did you accept the invite to join the academy?

The [recommendation to be a member] came from Justin “Henny” Henderson. He was the president of the Atlanta chapter; now he’s a national trustee. We’re old friends from sixth grade, and we had a rap group back in 1991 at school. We both loved music then, and it’s really cool to see where our paths have led us to this point in our lives. To have that recommendation coming from him, and then also from a good friend, Gilde Flores — who has done work with me on a lot of film scores and productions — just made it really special.

The best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media category is still a recent addition to the Grammys. As someone with plenty of experience crafting music for video games, why do you think the category is important?

Some of the greatest music is written for video games. It’s long overdue for it to be recognized; there are a lot of great writers. It exposes music to a different type of audience. It was really cool to see Gordy Haab win [with Stephen Barton in February for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor], a friend of mine and extremely talented gentleman that deserves recognition.

A best score for an animated feature or series Awards would be cool. I would start with connecting with the film and TV parts of the L.A. chapter, get people talking there and see if we can push it out there and get people exposed to that [idea].

What do you hope to see the Recording Academy improve in the future?

I think [the academy] is on a good track with making sure different voices are being heard. I’m a fairly new member, and so far, I’m liking what I’m seeing. I know [the academy] is a big advocate, too, in Washington [D.C.], as far as music rights, publishing and all that stuff goes, forging ahead with making sure that artists are taken care of and represented.

Sarah Schachner
Composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, 36

What issues are most important to you right now within the Recording Academy?

The work the academy does on Capitol Hill to protect artists’ rights is so crucial. If no one is out there fighting for us, music-makers could lose ownership and sustainable income. The Grammy Museum’s work in keeping music education in schools is super important, and if we’re going to encourage kids to pursue music as a career, we need to continue to find ways to protect artist rights.

Any thoughts on the video-game music composers nominated in 2025?

It’s awesome to see my peers get recognition. Game music is truly a unique and intricate art form, and it’s about time it gets acknowledged.

Alana Linsey
Singer in R&B duo GAWD, 29

How did you feel about the academy prior to joining?

I felt a sort of distance, [like] there was a veil over the process of how people win Grammys. Who votes? Who’s in the community that’s making these decisions? Then I [performed at] two Grammys as a background vocalist. It really felt like a community, and it lifted the veil. [Since] joining, I’m starting to see that it really is the people deciding.

Why did you accept the invitation?

It was an honor to be invited. I also noticed that my friends who were members had different resources, and they were more involved and connected to the community that makes decisions. It was important for me to help broaden the scope of what a Recording Academy member looks and sounds like because I know sometimes, historically, [Black artists] have been or felt left out of a lot of these conversations and moments.

How do you two feel about how the academy is handling R&B?

I think that R&B is really growing, and they’re leaving room for that growth in places like the progressive R&B category. There’s room for different types of R&B artists to exist, which I really appreciate. We’re R&B artists mainly because we sing, but our music is [more similar to] OutKast or Teezo Touchdown. It’s very nuanced where people get inspiration from. To be categorized as R&B is an honor and a blessing, but the progressive moments create a whole other space for people to be free in their art.

This story appears in the Dec. 7, 2024, issue of Billboard.