There’s usually some confusion when it comes to the Grammys because not everybody knows what albums are eligible for nomination. For example, it would be natural to think that the 2019 Grammys, which were held in February, would honor music released during 2018. In actuality, though, music had to be released between October 1, 2017 and September 30, 2018 in order to be eligible for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. Things are about to get even more confusing in 2020, though, as it has been revealed that the eligibility window for next year’s 62nd Grammys will be a month shorter than it usually is.
Billboard reports that the eligibility year for the 2020 Grammys will end on August 31, a month sooner than in most years. This means that the eligibility window is only 11 months long, instead of the usual 12. This change was made so the Grammys wouldn’t be on the same night as the 92nd Academy Awards: It was announced back in August 2018 that the 2020 Oscars ceremony would be moved up two weeks to February 9, 2020, which is when the Grammys were originally set to air. As a response, the Grammy’s telecast has been moved up to January 26, 2020.
Although this type of change doesn’t happen often, it isn’t completely unprecedented: In 2009, the eligibility year also closed on August 31st. This was a result of the Grammy telecast being rescheduled to January 31, 2010, so the show wouldn’t compete with the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
