Apple Music To Reveal 2019 Grammy Awards Nominees Later This Week

Apple’s music streaming service, Apple Music, has been given the special task of announcing the nominees for some of the 2019 Grammy Awards categories later this week.

Variety exclusively learned on Monday that Apple Music is going to take part in the 2019 Grammy Award nominations announcement. The streaming service will reveal some of the nominees on Friday, Dec. 7, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Other nominations will be simultaneously announced live on “CBS This Morning.” Then the Recording Academy is going to announce all nominees on all 84 categories at 8:45 a.m. ET on the same day.

The announcement of Grammy nominees was originally set to happen on Wednesday, Dec. 5. However, it was moved due to the scheduled memorial services for former President George H.W. Bush, as per AppleInsider.

Apple has been a partner of the awards ceremony for years now. In fact, the Cupertino giant has been promoting the show by releasing new musical-themed ads in the previous years. Last year’s ad featured Animoji Karaoke, or the Animoji versions of Grammy-nominated artists and songs.

In addition, Apple Music also offered an exclusive collection of the most memorable Grammy performances and playlists in 2017. The collection featured songs from six genres: pop, rock, country, R&B, jazz and rap, according to MacRumors.

Apple Music’s continued partnership with the Grammy Awards comes amid its tough competition with Spotify for subscribers. As of last month, Apple Music has 56 million subscribers. On the other hand, Spotify reached 83 million premium subscribers by the end of the second quarter.

The Grammy Awards gathers millions of viewers each year. In 2017, 19.8 million tuned in to the awards ceremony. Hence, Apple is not only promoting the awards show to bring in viewers. The show also provides Apple a platform to promote its music streaming service to more people.

The 61st Grammy Awards is taking place on Feb. 10, 2019. CBS will broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.