Latest in Recording Academy

The Recording Academy has announced several rule changes for the 63rd Grammy Awards, including omitting the term “urban” from its awards categories and language. The academy is changing the name of the urban contemporary album category to progressive R&B album. The word “urban” has been subject to increasing…

UPDATED with Recording Academy response: Deborah Dugan, the Recording Academy president and CEO who was formally fired Monday by the organization, has added new charges of retaliation and discrimination to the EEOC complaint she filed in January. The original complaint accused Academy officials of sexual harassment…

UPDATED with Dugan statement: Grammy organization the Recording Academy said in a letter to members Monday that it has fired Deborah Dugan, the group’s president and CEO who has been on administrative leave since January, a move that has launched a series of contentious accusations on both sides. The Recording Academy…

Alicia Keys used the power of her voice and piano to get a pointed message across. Faced with the uncomfortable task of being the face of the Grammys in a week when ugly accusations of sexism and voting irregularities dominated, Keys turned attention on the people who make music, instead of the people who exploit…

Under fire from within his organization and outside of it, Harvey Mason Jr., the interim CEO and board chairman of the Recording Academy, has issued a memo to the organization’s 25,000 members. In the note, he detailed specific steps that are being taken to increase diversity and inclusiveness. Songwriter/producer…

As the Deborah Dugan controversy continues to swirl around the Recording Academy ahead of Music’s Biggest Night this weekend, the group’s Chief Awards Officer is defending its Grammy Awards nomination process. “It is the goal of the Recording Academy to ensure the Grammy Awards process is led in a fair and ethical…

UPDATED with CBS This Morning comments: Deborah Dugan, the ousted CEO of the Recording Academy, renewed her attacks on the institution in interviews Thursday on ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS This Morning, the latter on the longtime network of the Grammy Awards. On GMA, she said she will still be watching Sunday’s…

Four women who who serve on the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy signed an open letter today today that defending the group against claims made by Deborah Dugan, its ousted former CEO. “It is deeply disturbing to us – and quite frankly, heartbreaking – to witness the firestorm against our organization that…

UPDATED with statement from Deborah Dugan’s attorneys: Former Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow says a bombshell rape allegation made against him this week is “ludicrous and untrue.” It is his first response to the claim made by his successor Deborah Dugan in an EEOC filing that Portnow raped an unidentified female…

Recently ousted Recording Academy president and CEO Deborah Dugan’s explosive EEOC complaint includes allegations that she was sexually harassed last year by Joel Katz, the Academy's general counsel. Katz today issued a statement through his attorney "categorically" denying her claim. Dugan alleges that Katz harassed…

Recently ousted National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences president and CEO Deborah Dugan’s discrimination complaint filed Tuesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission included allegations that her predecessor Neil Portnow raped a female recording artist, and is the “real reason” his contract was not…

UPDATED with statement from Duban’s lawyer: Deborah Dugan, the recently fired president and CEO of the Recording Academy, has filed a discrimination complaint with the EEOC, claiming that she was sexually harassed by Joel Katz, the Academy's general counsel. The complaint also alleges that she witnessed "egregious…