Copyright Variety
The Recording Academy has invited more than 3,800 members who are actively working in the music industry to join the Academy as part of its 2025 New Member Class, expanding the pool of qualified voters ahead of the 2026 Grammy Awards on Feb. 1. Notably, invitations were also extended to all Latin Recording Academy Voting Members for the first time in history. With the aim of building a more globally representative voting body, Monday’s announcement revealed the accepted class is comprised of 50% of people 39 and under, 58% of people of color and 35% women. “Today marks the beginning of an exciting week — not only are we welcoming this year’s incredible new class of Academy members, but we’re just days away from unveiling the 2026 Grammy Awards nominees,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. Nominations will be announced Nov. 7. at 11 a.m. ET during a livestream event on live.GRAMMY.com and YouTube. Mason continued, “This year’s class reflects the vibrancy of today’s diverse music landscape. The addition of many Latin Recording Academy voting members underscores that music has no borders and that our mission to serve music people, regardless of where they are from, is stronger than ever. I can’t wait for our members’ passion and hard work to shine through in this year’s nominations.” Recording Academy membership consists of voting membership for recording creators and professional membership for music business professionals. All members have the opportunity to participate in the organization’s year-round initiatives, driving meaningful Diversity, Equity and Inclusion progress through the DREAM Initiative, advocating for creators at the federal and state levels, engaging in programming with the producers and engineers wing and songwriters and composers wing, mentoring the next generation of music industry talent through Grammy U, supporting peers across the Academy’s 12 Chapter cities and more. Voting Members — made up of artists, songwriters, producers, and engineers active in the music industry — are eligible to vote, ultimately determining the Grammy nominees and winners.
