The Grammy Award is arguably the most prestigious accolade an artist can receive. Many musicians consider it a dream and the highest career achievement. But how significant is a Grammy when it comes to electronic dance music? With the 55th Grammy Awards taking place last month and the 28th International Dance Music Awards taking place in Miami tonight, I can’t help but wonder: is a Grammy or an IDMA more valuable to a DJ/producer?
The easy answer is a Grammy because of its résumé boosting ability, industry wide recognition, and symbol of respect as a musician. However, as impressive as a Grammy is, one is lead to believe many EDM artists place higher merit on an IDMA.
The primary reason is because of the people casting votes for the awards. According to the New York Times, the panel of Grammy voters consists of very few young industry professionals & artists and mostly older voters who are past their peak relevance. The article describes Grammy voters best by saying, “the representatives of yesteryear weighing in on the acts of today.”
This glaring flaw was evident during the 2013 Grammy Awards when an unknown artist named Al Walser was nominated for Best Dance Recording. He clearly did not belong as the other nominees were Skrillex, Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, and Calvin Harris. Walser slid his way into the private social networking site for Grammy voters called “Grammy 365” and convinced out of touch voters to give him a nomination.
No one will contend against Skrillex for sweeping the Grammy dance categories in 2012 and 2013. However, one could argue he received the most votes simply because he’s more popular in American culture than the other nominees. A Billboard.com article recapping Skrillex’s wins accurately says,
“Voting members of the Academy are probably not weighing whether the lush melodies of Kaskade bested the electro-rock of Steve Aoki… Skrillex’s wins are more a product of his brand than his music.”
On the opposite spectrum, the IDMA’s are the longest standing dance music awards event. The roughly 2 million people who vote on the IDMA categories include fans, critics, festival go-ers, DJ’s, producers, EDM record executives, and anyone else who loves dance music.
IDMA winners accept the awards with a great deal of pride knowing that their peers and fans recognize them as the best in dance music today. In addition, breakthrough artists who win strengthen their reputation in the industry and propel themselves to new heights.
Until the Grammy Academy amends its current voting methods for dance music, I believe the IDMA’s will remain the more prestigious ceremony within the EDM community.
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