THE ACADEMY
GOES WIDE

In an effort to make good on its mandate to diversify its ranks, the Recording Academy has invited 1,340 people “from wide-ranging backgrounds, genres and disciplines” to become part of the org's 2019 member class.

“We strive to reflect and meet the needs of the greater music community in everything we do, whether we're fighting for creators' rights, promoting music education, helping music people in need or celebrating creative excellence,” reads the announcement.

“To better fulfill our mission and build a healthier, more representative membership body, last fall we announced a shift toward a community-driven and peer-reviewed model.

“After fielding submissions and recommendations from thousands of professionals across the industry, a Peer Review Panel spent the spring reviewing the candidates, carefully considering a range of criteria from craft and genre to diversity. For those who took the time to recommend your peers, we thank you. This new process would not have succeeded without your contributions.”

Here's the 2019 membership breakdown, according to Academy stats:

The invitations went out on 6/4, and the vast majority of those 1,340 people are expected to accept them.

I’m now an official member of @RecordingAcad 🏆🥂
Excited to contribute to the culture pic.twitter.com/oA5AvgKUvX

— LIΔNΔ ВAΝK$ 🐉🏁 (@LianaBanks) June 5, 2019