The Awards process for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards® is underway with 21,719 entries received by The Recording Academy® for Grammy® consideration. This total marks an increase from last year's 21,564 submissions. All entries were due Aug. 24 and have since undergone a vetting process to verify eligibility in preparation for first-round ballots, which will be mailed to Academy Voting members on Oct. 14. As part of that process, The Recording Academy convened 350 artists and experts to listen to and organize the thousands of entries into one of The Academy's 84 Awards categories in 30 Fields.
Earlier this year, The Recording Academy announced amendments to the rules governing the Grammys. Key changes included refinements to the guidelines around Best New Artist, Blues and Rap categories, a move to make streaming-only releases eligible for Grammy Award consideration, and limits to the number of categories in which Recording Academy members may vote.
Detailed information regarding this year's changes can be found here.
The eligibility period for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards was Oct. 1, 2015 through Sept. 30, 2016. Below are additional key dates and deadlines:
| Oct. 14, 2016: | First-round ballots sent out to Voting members
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| Nov. 4, 2016: | First-round ballots due
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| Nov. 15, 2016: | Last day for Voting members to join and receive the final ballot
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| Dec. 6, 2016: | 59th Grammy nominations announcement
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| Dec. 14, 2016: | Final ballots sent out to Voting members
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| Jan. 13, 2017: | Final ballots due
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| Feb. 12, 2017: | 59th Annual Grammy Awards |
For more information, including an infographic on the entire Awards process, visit grammy101.com.
