The Recording Academy has announced that it will give credit where credit is due with its 3rd annual Behind The Record initiative, a social media activation aimed to spotlight the many producers, engineers, songwriters, composers, mixers, instrumentalists, and other creators who contribute to the music recording process. Taking place on Oct. 15, the industry-wide conversation encourages artists across all music genres to celebrate their collaborators' incredible behind-the-scenes work on the tracks, records and albums loved by music fans across the globe. This year's campaign features a short film, narrated by Recording Academy Board of Trustees Secretary/Treasurer Om'Mas Keith, illustrating that behind every hit song is an intricate dance of creativity that builds and builds to the final product. Watch the video here(opens in a new tab).
A day before the social media activation's launch, the Recording Academy will introduce Behind The Record Advocacy, a new virtual advocacy program to inform lawmakers about issues affecting the creators behind their favorite records. Building off the success of the Academy's Behind The Record initiative, Academy members will meet virtually with members of Congress nationwide to discuss legislation that would have a direct impact on America's recording artists, songwriters and studio professionals, such as the HITS Act and the American Music Fairness Act. With nearly 200 meetings with congressional offices anticipated for Behind The Record Advocacy, members will focus on ensuring that the individuals behind the record are able to earn fair compensation for their work.
"It takes a village to create a recording, and as an organization that serves to support all music creators, we invite our peers to join us in spotlighting the many music professionals behind our favorite songs," said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. "While we celebrate the music professionals behind the scenes, we also recognize the importance of fighting for fair treatment of creators. We're proud of the evolution of Behind The Record to include an advocacy element this year as we continue our ongoing work to ensure all music creators flourish."
Behind The Record is supported by the Recording Academy's Advocacy Department, Producers & Engineers Wing and Songwriters & Composers Wing™. Supporting all music creators — including the artists behind our favorite records — is an urgent initiative for the Academy year-round. Within the past year alone, the Academy established the Songwriters & Composers Wing to better represent the diverse community of music creators who provide the world with the gift of song. The Academy also reintroduced the HITS Act in the House and Senate, which would allow artists and record producers to deduct 100 percent of sound recording production expenses in the year they are incurred, and continued efforts to support female producers and engineers through its Women In The Mix initiative.
To help the Recording Academy further support creators working behind the scenes, artists can participate in Behind The Record by:
- Email [email protected] to request an access code to the Credit Cover Generator Portal.
- Post your Credit Cover across social media channels and tag those who worked on your project. Use hashtags #BehindTheRecord #GiveCredit.
- Artists can create Credit Covers for a single track or album, and covers will live in a gallery on grammy.com/behindtherecord for music fans to view and discover the roles of creatives behind some of their favorite records.
For the third year, Jaxsta, the world's largest public-facing dedicated database of official music credits, provided credits for Warner Music, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Merlin releases.
For more information, visit grammy.com/behindtherecord.
Follow and join the global conversation on social media using the hashtags #BehindTheRecord, #GiveCredit and #WeAreMusic.
