This petition aims to make free songs eligible for the Grammys
A challenge to the traditional views of the National Academy
In the lightning quick environment of modern day music - and especially electronic music - free music has been an important part of growing and advancing the careers of talented producers.
Free downloads and track giveaways are far from a foreign concept to most fans and artists of the music industry today. However beneficial the "free" portion of the free track giveaway might be to an artists' career, the same characteristic has also prevented any song given away for free to be considered for Grammy consideration.
According to the ever-traditional National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, only songs "commercially released" and "available for sale from any date within the eligibility period" can be considered for Grammy nominations.
Essentially, the rules eliminate any songs released for free or exclusively available for streaming on a free platform like SoundCloud to be considered.
The petition remains ongoing here.
[Via: Dancing Astronaut]