Africans are celebrating the fact that another country that is typically not spoken as much about as Nigeria is celebrating their artist Mr. Leo aka Lion Of Africa for becoming a new member of the Grammy Recording Academy and why shouldn’t they? This is not only very good news for the industry entirely, but also a boost to the work artists are putting in, Mr. Leo inclusive.
It should be noted that before being invited to be part of the Grammy Recording decision making crew or membership, there’s a certain eligibility that must be attained and it ranges from: Two solid recommendations from the artist’s industry peers. Meaning that, self recommendations are not trusted by the organization, as such, will be rejected. This is to say that, for Mr. Leo to have been invited for this opportunity, he must have been recommended by two “strong” industry peers!
After recommendations are received and validated, the artist is now expected to talk about his career and profile which must be completed before midnight of March 1 (Filling a form), to be considered for that year’s voting membership class. This means that, Mr. Leo had been working on this behind the scenes for months. Therefore, artists can learn a thing or two from this, that the slow or quiet movement of a lion does not mean fear, but just a calculated accuracy for action.
Being part of the Academy has many benefits and means that the artist has been assessed and confirmed by the organization as eligible and this opens so many other doors indirectly for him. The artist will now have the opportunity to do the following:
Advocate collectively to protect the rights of music makers and advanced creators, on policy matters.
2. Have the opportunity to participate in the Recording Academy’s GRAMMY U mentorship programs and training sessions, which aim to lift up music’s next generation of aspiring creative and business leaders.
3. Get to support music preservation and education through the GRAMMY Museum’s philanthropic work to keep music in our schools and introduce its power and legacy to young people everywhere.
4. Recommend music peers to also become members too. Now that Mr. Leo has been selected as a member of the Academy, his recommendations will be taken very seriously by the academy after he had been recommended by two strong peers and musical profile validated. Now a member, he stands a chance to recommend others in future.
5. Can now participate in the Grammy Awards process, including submissions for Grammy consideration, propose rule changes to the awards process, and for Voting Members only, vote for the Grammy Awards.
6. He’s eligible to run for a Recording Academy Board and/or participate on advisory committees, and vote in chapter elections.
The above are the few benefits of becoming a Recording Academy Member. Mr. Leo joins 2,710 other people to become members in the class of 2021. This is another opportunity to take the industry forward.
