Five weeks after informing their members that the eligibility period for the 66th Grammy Awards would end on Aug. 31, one month earlier than usual, the Recording Academy has pushed that date back two weeks to Sept. 15.
Harvey Mason jr., the Academy’s CEO, announced the latest change in another message to members on Thursday (April 6): “A few weeks ago, we communicated a change to the eligibility period for the 66th Grammy Awards. This change benefits our awards process and grants us flexibility throughout Grammy season – specifically related to our nominations announcement timeline and the booking of the Grammy telecast, Premiere Ceremony, Recording Academy Honors Presented by the Black Music Collective, and other important celebrations throughout Grammy
“After listening to concerns from some members of the music community, we have decided to amend the end date of the previously-announced eligibility period. The eligibility deadline for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards will be extended by two weeks, to Friday, September 15, 2023.
“We care about the impact of this date change on our community and make this adjustment in the spirit of partnership and collaboration.”
The Grammy eligibility year extended from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 every year for decades – from the 20th annual Grammy Awards (which covered the period from Oct. 1, 1976, through Sept. 30, 1977) through the 51st annual Grammy Awards (Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2008).
The schedule has been more irregular since then. Here are the outliers:
52nd annual Grammy Awards: Oct. 1, 2008 through Aug. 31, 2009 (11 months)
53rd annual Grammy Awards: Sept. 1, 2009 through Sept. 30, 2010 (13 months)
62nd annual Grammy Awards: Oct. 1, 2018 through Aug. 31, 2019 (11 months)
63rd annual Grammy Awards: Sept. 1, 2019 through Aug. 31, 2020 (12 months)
64th annual Grammy Awards: Sept. 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021 (13 months)
Key dates for 66th Grammy Awards
Eligibility period for entries: Oct. 1, 2022 – Sept. 15, 2023
Media registration: July 10, 2023 – Aug. 24, 2023
Online entry process: July 17, 2023 – Aug 31, 2023
