WEBVTT - The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr Talks The Grammy Awards

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News. Joining us right now

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<v Speaker 1>is a CEO of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Junior. Harvey,

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<v Speaker 1>Great to see you again here. Obviously a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>excitement given some of the nominees, who, of course, really

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<v Speaker 1>stole a lot of the attention over the last year

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<v Speaker 1>or so. Before we get to that, though, Harvey, I

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<v Speaker 1>do just want to kind of start off about the

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<v Speaker 1>importance of the Grammy's not just as a television event,

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<v Speaker 1>but also as a live event, specifically a live event

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<v Speaker 1>in Los Angeles, one year removed from those devastating fires,

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<v Speaker 1>and whether this is going to be sort of back

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<v Speaker 1>to normal, if you will, this year, relative to what

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<v Speaker 1>you put on last year.

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<v Speaker 2>I won't say back to normal, because I don't think

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<v Speaker 2>any of these shows are normal. The size and scale

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<v Speaker 2>and scope of the artists and the staging and all

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<v Speaker 2>the things that happened to put the show together is

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<v Speaker 2>always unique and exciting. Last year was extra challenging, but

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<v Speaker 2>we've not been shortened challenges. We had COVID, we've had

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<v Speaker 2>other issues. We've had fires, we've had rains. Will be different.

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<v Speaker 2>It will be focused on the music and celebrating music.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm really proud about last year's show though, to be honest,

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<v Speaker 2>we raised almost twenty five million dollars for music people

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<v Speaker 2>who needed help and around the fires and their loss.

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<v Speaker 2>That money has all been distributed show just a very

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<v Speaker 2>small amount. So proud of what we were able to

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<v Speaker 2>do last year. Excited about this year's show. It's going

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<v Speaker 2>to be very different fun.

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<v Speaker 1>How important is are the Grammys to the artists themselves?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I mean, obviously most of the people who

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<v Speaker 1>win are you know, they're already wildly successful, which is

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<v Speaker 1>usually why they won. But the artists sort of really

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<v Speaker 1>get a big boost, you know, by carrying home those

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<v Speaker 1>awards after the night's over.

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<v Speaker 2>Just a nomination, to be honest, can create a really

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<v Speaker 2>large boost for them and their streaming numbers. For the

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<v Speaker 2>touring numbers, We've done some different economic studies and the

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<v Speaker 2>numbers range, so I won't say a figure, but the

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<v Speaker 2>fact is the attention, the notice and the excitement around

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<v Speaker 2>different artists is evident, and it's definitely extending their opportunity

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<v Speaker 2>to do other performances, monetizer streaming. And it's not just

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<v Speaker 2>the stars, to be honest, you'd mentioned all the famous

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<v Speaker 2>people you see Kendrick Lamar there. It's ninety five categories

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<v Speaker 2>across multiple genres. We're honoring hundreds of people that are

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<v Speaker 2>and it's subjective, but they're being deemed the best in

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<v Speaker 2>their class for any given year. All those people classical, jazz, rock, pop, reggae, jazz.

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<v Speaker 2>We have awards for all of them, and they're all

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<v Speaker 2>receiving the awards. They're all getting the benefit of receiving

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<v Speaker 2>the awards and getting the respect of their peers in

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<v Speaker 2>the community. And that's the difference. These are peer to

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<v Speaker 2>peer voted awards.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, you know, you mentioned that there's a lot of newcomers,

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<v Speaker 3>and certainly I want to get to those, but let's

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<v Speaker 3>talk about some of those stars. Kendrick Lamar leading the nominations.

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<v Speaker 3>I believe he has nine nominations in total. Lady Gaga

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<v Speaker 3>also of course a household name here. So there's a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of familiar faces when it comes to, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>the leader board, when at least when it comes to the.

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<v Speaker 2>Nominations, definitely, and that's what makes it so exciting. You're

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<v Speaker 2>seeing a lot of really great diversity in the general

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<v Speaker 2>field category as you mentioned a couple of them, but

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<v Speaker 2>with Pad Bunny and others. There's a wide range of

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<v Speaker 2>different styles of music. You also have great fresh newcomers.

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<v Speaker 2>We have some icons and some legends, today's superstars. That's

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<v Speaker 2>a beautiful combination that's going to make for a great show.

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<v Speaker 3>And you know, you think about some of the newcomers here.

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<v Speaker 3>Just going through the list, I see Addison Ray, their

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<v Speaker 3>Kat's Eye Somber. I also see the Marias here. So

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<v Speaker 3>when it comes to, you know, the best new Artists nominees,

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<v Speaker 3>how does this field compare to maybe years past?

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<v Speaker 2>I think it's incredibly exciting. Again, you have different types

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<v Speaker 2>of music and you have different types of artists. To me,

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<v Speaker 2>that's going to be a spectacular thing to see on

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<v Speaker 2>our show, and whoever wins this category will be so

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<v Speaker 2>well deserving. But the other nominees I think are incredible

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<v Speaker 2>stars going into the future.

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<v Speaker 1>You have a partnership obviously with CBS in paramount with

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<v Speaker 1>regards to the broadcast and streaming of this. I am curious,

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<v Speaker 1>Harvey as you look long term. I mean the Oscar

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<v Speaker 1>has just struck a deal that I think was there

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty nine or something. They're going to be permanently

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<v Speaker 1>going through YouTube for the live broadcast. Do you see

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<v Speaker 1>envision that most of the award shows are going to

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<v Speaker 1>follow that same theme path.

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<v Speaker 2>Hard to predict. Everybody has their own journey, their own

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<v Speaker 2>vision of what they think is best for their show.

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<v Speaker 2>For us, we've just agreed to a new partnership with

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<v Speaker 2>ABC Disney Disney Plus that will start after this show,

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<v Speaker 2>so our very next show. I do think there's an

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<v Speaker 2>opportunity to reach more people in different platforms, and everybody's

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<v Speaker 2>going to be looking to do it in the way

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<v Speaker 2>that their audiences are looking to be served. We want

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<v Speaker 2>to go to where music lovers and fans of music

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<v Speaker 2>are consuming their content, and we'll continue to look at

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<v Speaker 2>that where everyone else decides to go. It's hard to say,

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<v Speaker 2>but we are going to be at ABC Disney for

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<v Speaker 2>the next ten years, all right.

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<v Speaker 3>Harvey, really great to get some time with you. That

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<v Speaker 3>is Harvey Mason Junior. He is the CEO of the

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<v Speaker 3>Recording Academy