Monday, The Recording Academy extended invitations to 2,710 new members. The diversity amongst the new cohort is reflective of the Recording Academy's commitment to ensuring that its membership includes the voices and contributions of traditionally underrepresented groups. The 2021 class is comprised of a host of music professionals with varying backgrounds, with a class composition of 48 percent female, 32 percent Black, 13 percent Latinx, and 4 percent Pacific Islander.
"Membership is the Academy's change agent—our members drive everything we do," said Ruby Marchand, Chief Industry Officer at the Recording Academy, in a press release obtained by EBONY. "I'm inspired by the potential for each invited music creator and business professional to lend their creativity and passion to our organization. We are immensely proud of our accomplishments and the strides we've made toward equitable representation. We look forward to welcoming our new invitees as they help us shape the future of the Academy and the music industry."
Since announcing their commitment to add 2,500 female voting members by 2025, the academy has added 851 women to its roster so far.
"This is an incredibly exciting time to join the Academy and play a part in accelerating change, progress and evolution within the music industry," adds Kelley Purcell, Vice President of Membership and Industry Relations at the Recording Academy. "Our membership body is the driving force behind our actions, and we value the contributions of our members that help ensure the Academy's practices authentically represent the current state of music. We're excited to see what this new group brings to the table as we enter a new era at the Academy."
New members will be able to vote for the 64th Grammy Awards as long as they accept their invitations by September 15, 2021. To learn more about the 2021 class, visit The Recording Academy's Instagram and Twitter pages, @RecordingAcademy and @RecordingAcad, respectively.
Tune into the Recording Academy x EBONY: Black Music Collective Podcast here on EBONY.com and on our Facebook and Youtube pages every Thursday at 5pm PT / 8pm ET for dynamic conversations with various members of the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective, as they discuss their journey and impact within the music industry at large.
