In a demonstration of its commitment to reflect the ever-changing musical landscape, the Latin Recording Academy has announced the addition of several changes, a new field and categories to the Latin GRAMMY Awards Process.
"Our priority is to effectively represent all the Latin music creators that we serve," Latin Recording Academy CEO Manuel Abud said in a statement. "We are excited to present these new categories that reflect the constant evolution of our music."
All new updates will go into effect immediately for the upcoming 2023 Latin GRAMMY Awards, officially known as the 24th Latin GRAMMY Awards, which take place this November. The Online Entry Process for this year’s Latin GRAMMYs opens on Thursday, March 23.
NEW LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS FIELD AND CATEGORY ADDED:
Best Songwriter Of The Year
As part of the newly-created Songwriting Field, this new category recognizes the written excellence, profession and art of songwriting. Songwriters must have a minimum of six newly written songs in which they are credited as a songwriter or co-writer and are not the performer, producer or engineer.
NEW LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS CATEGORIES ADDED:
Best Singer-Songwriter Song
To be eligible for this new category within the Singer-Songwriter Field, the singles or tracks must contain at least 51% of the lyrics in Spanish, Portuguese or any native regional dialect, and must be from a Singer-Songwriter Album competing in the Singer-Songwriter Album Category that year.
Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance
This new category within the Portuguese Language Field recognizes the enormous amount of Urban music that is being created in Brazil and Portugal. The singles or tracks can include a fusion mix of Urban styles with other genres as long as the Urban character predominates.
The Latin Recording Academy has also made amendments to the following existing categories:
Album Of The Year
Albums within the General Field must contain at least 51% playing time of newly recorded material. Award to the Artist, Producer(s), Engineer(s), Mixer(s), Mastering Engineer(s) and Songwriter(s) of 33% playing time of the album if other than the Artist will receive the award.
Song Categories
It is now required to include the date of composition when submitting product for all of the Song categories.
New Criteria For Best Engineered Album
Award goes to Recording Engineer(s) and Mixing Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% of the album and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 51% of the album within the Production Field.
The Recording Academy lauds its sister Academy for this thrilling series of developments; keep watching their space for more updates on the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs!