GRAMMYLAND'S CEO SEARCH: CLUSTER
OR PANTOMIME?

Insiders say the Recording Academy’s search for a new CEO has been a frustrating one. Grammyland, we’re told, reached out informally to assorted top agents, managers, lawyers and Big 3 execs to see if anyone might want the gig. Thus far no one of any stature or credibility is interested, due to the current mess around voting—and the recently proposed rule change hasn’t made a dent in their reluctance.

The organization, it seems, has been deemed untrustworthy by most biz folk of any stature. The way former CEO Deb Dugan was treated when she advocated for change—and the way Academy forces continue to grind her relentlessly in arbitration--certainly hasn’t helped attract qualified candidates.

Indeed, some Grammy-adjacent peeps consider the entire recruitment process a charade, predicting that the Academy—having hired top headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles for appearances’ sake—will make the rounds to top people who they know will turn the job down, and then hand the post to a trusted insider. They say there’s no way, after the Dugan debacle, that the Grammy powers that be will risk putting another outsider in the chair.

An anointing is expected sometime around the Academy’s May board meetings, which will be held virtually. The new CEO will of course succeed Harvey Mason Jr., who, we’re told, is running unopposed for re-election as Board Chair.

No matter who ends up with the title, skeptical insiders point out, nothing will change in Academyville as long as the same folks are in the back rooms, playing the same old games. Everything else, they say, is just a pantomime for the cheap seats.