Grammy Awards 2019 Voters: Who Decides Which Artists Win?

Music fans may tune in by the thousands to see if their favorite artists will take home a coveted award during the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. However, even if an artist has a massive fanbase, it doesn’t mean that they will be taking home the night’s top honors.

Though a previously leaked list that claimed to show Cardi B and Lady Gaga winning some of the top honors of the night was deemed to be a fake last month, it reminded fans that the prestigious Recording Academy ate the ones who actually determine Grammy winners—but who exactly are the people in this group, and how are their votes actually calculated? Here’s a breakdown of the Recording Academy and the voting process that takes place on music’s big night.

Who Is In The Recording Academy?

Any number of professionals in a wide range of roles in the music industry can become a member of the group. However, there are some qualifications that must be met to become a voting member. Either an applicant has to have been nominated for a Grammy Award within the past five years, or they must have 12 qualifying digital or six qualifying physical tracks or equivalent duration of content released/created. At least one of those tracks also had to be released within five years of applying as well. Those who wish to remain as either voting or associate members must also pay a yearly membership fee of $100. Student members pay a $50 fee.

Can Anyone Else Vote?

According to the Academy itself....no. Voting members are the only ones who have a say, and furthermore, only those who are currently in good standing with their membership dues can even cast a vote during the final rounds of voting.

How Are The Winners Decided?

The voting process reportedly takes place in five steps:

• Submission: recording and music videos released during a period of eligibility are entered to be considered worthy of recognition.
• Screening: Reviewing sessions by more than 350 experts in various fields are held to ensure that the submissions meet specific qualifications and are placed in the appropriate fields and categories.
• Nominating: First-round ballots are then sent to voting members in good standing with their dues. They can only vote within their areas of expertise and may only vote in up to 15 categories for the genre field, as well as the four general categories of Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist.
• Final Voting: After the first-round votes are tabulated, members in good standing are sent final-round ballots, including finalists determined by special nominating committees. Members again cast up to 15 votes in genre fields, as well as the four general categories, before the votes are once again tallied by an independent accounting firm.
• Results: The results are revealed during the live telecast of the awards when they are presented in sealed envelopes throughout the show.

The Grammy Awards air live Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.