The music industry is constantly evolving, in the way music is created, consumed and shared. In the last 25 years, music has gone from cassettes to compact discs to MP3s to streaming out of thin air with many stops in-between. The industry has done its best to adjust not only the way it tracks sales but also how it rewards music for its quality.
After a huge uprising both publicly and behind the scenes last year, including an online petition, the Grammy awards decided to finally begin acknowledging music released for free on streaming services as Grammy eligible. Chance The Rapper was one of the figureheads of that movement and one of the biggest beneficiaries of its success when he received seven nominations for the 2017 Grammys last year, and now he’s announcing yet another change to the process. According to Chance, the Grammys will now recognize music released on Soundcloud — a free, online distribution platform utilized by artists of all genres — for eligibility in 2018.
Project released on @Soundcloud will be eligible for #GRAMMYs in 2018.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) January 19, 2017
The change will now allow completely independent artists, free of both label ties and ties to streaming services, to receive recognition for their work. Despite much of the music on Soundcloud being released and available to stream for free, musicians utilizing the site will now have extra incentive for choosing Soundcloud as their platform.
While the decision is far from official, Chance is a solid source on the matter as the cause is near and dear to him. Now, thanks to Chano, you apparently won’t have to “sell it to snatch the Grammy.” Now, you can just give your music away and still reach the pinnacle of the industry.
