Grammys boss Harvey Mason Junior says music ‘with AI-created elements’ is ‘absolutely eligible for entry’
The boss of the company behind the Grammys has clarified the ceremony’s stance on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry.
Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Junior said: “AI, or music that contains AI-created elements is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period”.
It follows new guidelines, which said that AI-only work was banned, and that “only human creators are eligible” for a Grammy, the world’s most recognised music award.
The new rules also stated: “A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category.”
The addition to the rulebook – which the Recording Academy said was made in a bid to better reflect the evolving music industry – sparked a multitude of headlines.
Music creators must also contribute to at least 20% of an album to earn a nomination. Previously, any producer, songwriter, engineer or featured artist on an album could earn a nomination for album of the year, even if the person only had a small input.
Mr Mason Jr said the Grammys, much like the music and performance industry as a whole, was still coming to terms with the new technology.
Further clarifying the Recording Academy’s stance, he said: “What’s not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion [of a song].”
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An example of this in practice would be a track featuring an AI or voice modelling program performing the lead vocal – while it would be eligible in a song writing category, it would not be eligible in a performance category.
If a song was sung by a human in a studio, but the lyrics or track was written by AI, the song would not be eligible in a composition or a songwriting category.
Mr Mason Jr went on: “As long as the human is contributing in a more than de minimis amount, which to us means a meaningful way, they are and will always be considered for a nomination or a win.
“We don’t want to see technology replace human creativity. We want to make sure technology is enhancing, embellishing, or additive to human creativity. So that’s why we took this particular stand in this award cycle.”
John Lennon’s voice was recreated for ‘the last Beatles record’ using AI
Recent use of AI technology by high-profile artists include David Guetta’s Emin-AI-em and Grimes’s generative audio tool which allows anyone to clone her voice.
Mr Mason Jr says the Recording Academy have undertaken extensive research, including holding tech summits, and that AI conversations “really came to a head in the last six months.”
In June, there was outcry after Paul McCartney revealed “the last Beatles record” had used AI to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo tape.
Mr Mason Jr said that while he didn’t know the full breakdown of the song’s production, that from “early descriptions” of the track’s creation, it “would be absolutely eligible [for a Grammy]”.
He also said that while he can’t predict the future, it would be possible that we could see songs at least partially created with AI nominated for a Grammy next year.
He said: “People are using the technology. I’m imagining it’s going to be involved in a lot of records a lot of songs this year, so we’ll see if some of them get nominated or not, but I’m sure there’ll be some that will be submitted.”
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Much has changed since the first Grammy Awards ceremony took place in 1959, with a recent influx of AI-generated songs, appearing to feature the voices of some of music’s biggest stars.
Drake, The Weeknd, Michael Jackson, Kanye West and Ariana Grande have had their voices hi-jacked by the new technology over the last year.
Meanwhile, the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes going on in the US both include negotiation over the use of generative AI, calling for more safeguards to ensure that it will not be used to replace them in their roles.
The 2024 Grammy Awards take place in Los Angeles on Sunday 4 February.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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