By Phyllis Pollack
As a pre-Grammy kick-off for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, The Recording Academy held its first major event ever to acknowledge the strong impact that social networking websites have had on the music industry. Billed as the Recording Academy’s “Social Media Rock Star Summit,” a panel discussion, hosted by CNN news anchor Rich Sanchez, addressed issues surrounding the relationship between recording artists, music fans and social networking. Internet heavyweights on the panel slated to appear were Twitter co-founder/CEO Evan Williams and co-founder/creative director Biz Stone, YouTube’s Nikhil Chandhok, Digg’s founder, Kevin Rose, MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta, Tumblr founder David Karp, Mashable’s Pete Cashmore, and actor/recording artist Jared Leto from 30 Seconds To Mars. Along with actor and musician Jaret Leto, those speaking on the panel were YouTube's Nikhil Chandhok, Tumblr's David Karp, Digg's Kevin Rose and Mashable's Pete Cashmore. The Social Media Rock Star Summit that kicked off this year’s Grammy Awards was held to encourage fans to be interactively involved in the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. It immediately became a flashpoint for fans on the internet while it was ensuing at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. To further underscore the importance of the internet as a vital tool for promoting not only the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, but also as a way for The Recording Academy to announce it acknowledges the importance of the internet in terms of the “relationship” between recording artists and their fans, as well the importance of the internet to the music, itself, these executives will walk the red carpet at the Grammy Awards this year.
This year, social media is the part of the flashpoint of the Grammys.
For the first time in Grammy history, music fans now have an unprecedented opportunity to experience and be a part of “Music’s Biggest Night” via the internet.
Barb Dehgan, VP of Communications and Media Relations for the Recording Academy told Examiner.com, “The content of We’re All Fans.com really is content made by the fans.” She added, “We have over 100,000 fans on Facebook, more than 35,000 fans on Twitter, so we’re paying attention to what they’re saying. We’re all fans. It’s not a catch phrase, it’s the truth.”
When asked by Examiner.com if what the fans have to say on the internet this year will affect next year’s Grammy Awards, she answered, “I’m not sure yet what the effect will be, but we will definitely be taking the fans’ responses into consideration.”
Dehgan stressed, “We have 109 categories in the Grammys. It blows my mind. We have a pre-tel, where we announce 99 of them. We announce more categories on the show, and that’s a lot of music, a lot of genres out there. You can’t make everybody happy, but I think you can make a balance that puts on a good show, but also pays respect to all the other genres that are out there.”
One example of the Recording Academy taking into consideration the opinion of fans was during the early nineties, when the award categories for rap music were not televised. Due to outspoken opinions expressed by fans and artists, the Grammy Awards added rap categories to the televised segment of the ceremony. So it’s true that The Recording Academy listens to the fans? Dehgan agrees. “Absolutely.” She then reflected, “You know, everything is about education and process. Things don’t always happen as quickly as we would like them to, but there is attention paid. And ultimately, change will come, whether it is forced upon you, or whether it is something you decide to embark upon. I think that absolutely, we pay attention to what’s out there, but I think it’s also one of those things where they naturally evolve, and they go in the direction they’re supposed to, and do you get it right every time? Probably not. But as long as you make the effort, that’s the most important thing. I think The Recording Academy has really done a lot in that respect, especially in the last few years. The Grammys will always be evolving.”
The way that fans consume music has changed, and there is no going back. The Grammy Awards are changing with technology, as is the rest of the music industry. Rather than seeing the internet as the enemy of the music business, quite conversely, the Recording Academy has now vigorously embraced both the internet and digital media.
The Recording Academy’s Social Media Rock Stars Summit discussion topics included how internet social networking sites have changed the way artists promote their music, how the internet has changed the media, and the use of social networking websites as a way to gauge what the fans want, along with a host of other issues.
This year, for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy is incorporating a monumental use of digital and social media platforms to make the Grammy experience more accessible for the fans.
The Recording Academy is starting its FanBuzz Visualizer, a real-time scale, measuring which Grammy-nominated artists have the most social media buzz. The FanBuzz Visualizer is found at www.wereallfans.com. Fans will be able to let The Recording Academy know how they feel about their favorite artists. Provided by partner Visible Technologies, the FanBuzz Visualizer looks through the internet for comments and mentions posted about Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning artists. The FanBuzz Visualizer, is also available as a widget. It can be downloaded at www.wererealfans.com. Internet technology will track the buzz in the internet about Grammy nominees that include Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, the Black Eyed Peas and many others.
Additionally, for the first time, the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards is enlisting a “We’re All Fans” platform that allows fans and artists an opportunity to directly connect. Blogging, live streaming and other new technologically related activity will be fully integrated, as the Recording Academy has acknowledged that music fans discover, share and listen to music in a radically different way this millennium than in the past.
Nothing has ever been used before by The Recording Academy in respect to the Grammy Awards like the interactive fan experience at www.wereallfans.com. The website features generated YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook postings. User submitted content is constantly gathered, making a living, reality portrait of each artist. Evan Greene, Chief Marketing officer of The Recording Academy notes, “With the natural evolution of social media, fans have become a cultural force driving the power of music.”
Fans will be busy this year, experiencing yet another feature of the Grammy’s We’re All Fans website, which allows fans to upload their own image, and a lets them create portraits of themselves as fans. This feature will be comprised of fan-generated content about their chosen artists.
Up to the minute updates from The Grammys can be seen at www.Grammy.com. “Grammy Live” is an experience that allows fans a more expanded experience regarding all things relative to the Grammys. “Grammy Live” is a 72-hour interactive online broadcast, featuring live videos, photos, blogging, news reports and personalized updates from three mobile Grammy vloggers. Roaming coverage at Grammy events, and behind-the-scenes footage are adding to the experience of those who previously just watched the Grammy Awards on television.
It was the Social Media Rockstar Summit kicked held on Friday, January 29 at the Grammy museum kicked the entire operation into effect, initiating a historic precedence.
The Grammy Awards’ new “Blogger Program’ on www.Grammy.com sets the bar high, as it allows a handful of Best New Artist winners and nominees to blog about their experiences from the Nominations to the Awards telecast. Other participants of the Grammy blogging include Shepard Fairey, a contemporary artist and creator of Obey Giant, and David Wild, Emmy-nominated television and Grammy writer, and a contributing editor to Rolling Stone and Huffington Post. Several music bloggers who are genre specific will also participate. The Grammy Awards Blogger Program is just one aspect of how the Grammy's website is now allowing fans to not only view the Grammy Awards, but to also discuss many hours of archived film and photos.
To add to the momentum, a live time Countdown To The Grammys clock is on the website, and is available as a widget.
For iPhones and other mobile applications, there is a Grammy iphone/iTouch application, called “The Grammys.” It is available through the iTunes App Store. The Grammys app offers a “Guess the Grammys” tool that lets users guess who will win 21 Grammy categories. The iTunes app allows fans to buy music that has been nominated. Fans using the app can register their selections, and interactively challenge their friends who use the app. After the show, the app users will be sent an email showing how accurate their guesses were. The Grammy Trivia part of the Grammy app has a “Did You Know” section, filled with trivia, facts and time capsule photos from past memorable Grammy moments.
The Digital Media Team at the Recording Academy has spearheaded their campaign by uniting with the most progressive online broadcast companies. Partners in the revamped Grammy.com website include AEG Digital Media, Akamai, Diversion Media, LiveCast, and a host of other internet media corporations.
Watch a video of preparing on Day One in Los Angeles for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards:
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