In a bid to move away from “connotations of colonialism” The Grammys have renamed the “Best World Music Album” category. The distinguished award is being updated to be known as “Best Global Music Album.”
The move is part of the industry’s growing sensitivity towards the topics of diversity and inclusion. Earlier this year The Grammys swapped out the word “urban” in the “Best Urban Contemporary Album” for the renovated “Best Progressive R&B Album” title. Accordingly, the Oscars have set a similar standard, reshaping their award for “Best Foreign Language film” into “Best International Feature,” of which the South Korean film Parasite was the inaugural winner.
The Grammys’ change was announced earlier this week on November 2, just 22 days before the announcement of this year’s nominations. In a public statement, the Academy said,
“Over the summer we held discussions with artists, ethnomusicologists, and linguists from around the world who determined that there was an opportunity to update the best world music album category toward a more relevant, modern, and inclusive term…The change symbolizes a departure from the connotations of colonialism, folk, and ‘non-American’ that the former term embodied while adapting to current listening trends and cultural evolution among the diverse communities it may represent.”
Next year’s Grammy Awards are currently scheduled for January 21. For a list of recent winners, as well as updates on this year’s nominations, visit the Academy’s official website.
Featured image: Billboard
