AI is blowing up music. How should the Grammys handle it?
50,000 AI songs uploaded daily. The Grammys just drew a line: more than de minimis human creativity required to win. Here's how the music industry's biggest award show is navigating the AI reckoning.
Why it matters
As AI music generation becomes omnipresent in studios, the Recording Academy faces a critical governance challenge: how to preserve human creativity in awards while acknowledging AI as a legitimate production tool. This precedent will shape how other creative industries regulate AI-assisted work.
The key facts
9 to know50,000 AI-generated songs uploaded to Deezer daily
Recording Academy received 24,000+ submissions last year
52% of consumers do not want to listen to AI-made music (Hollywood Reporter poll)
Harvey Mason Jr.: 'I've seen AI in every studio, in every session' (January 2026)
Grammy eligibility rule: 'more than de minimis amount of human creativity' required
AI background vocals disqualify work from performance awards but allow songwriting submissions
Grammys moving from CBS to Disney/ABC for first time in 50+ years
Recording Academy: 300+ employees, ~$30M in recent disaster relief funded by media rights
No Fakes Act, Train Act, CLEAR Act pending in Congress (bipartisan support)
Go to the source
The Verge AItheverge.com
Publisher excerpt: Today I’m talking with Harvey Mason Jr., who is CEO of the Recording Academy — that’s the outfit that puts on the Grammy Awards. I last talked to Harvey in 2024, when it was obvious that generative AI would upend the music industry, but still not exactly clear how that would happen. Well, it’s been…