List of Grammy Award Categories - Changes in Recent Years

Changes in Recent Years

On 6 April 2011 the Recording Academy announced a major overhaul of many Grammy Award categories. In 2012, the number of categories fell from 109 to 78. Some categories were discontinued, others were merged or renamed.

On 8 June 2012, the Academy announced a few changes as of 2013, including the addition of three new categories: Best Classical Compendium, Best Latin Jazz Album and Best Urban Contemporary Album. This meant the number of categories in 2013 will rise to 81.

According to the Academy, the Best Classical Compendium is "for an album collection containing (...) newly recorded material of performances (vocal or instrumental) by various soloist(s) and/or ensemble(s) involving a mixture of classical subgenres." Albums entered in this category cannot be entered in other classical album categories, but individual tracks can.

The intent for the newly formed Best Latin Jazz Album is "to recognize recordings that represent the blending of jazz with Latin, Iberian-American, Brazilian, and Argentinean tango music."

The new Best Urban Contemporary Album category is for albums with contemporary songs derivative of R&B. It is for artists who blend contemporary styles with R&B music, such as urban (euro)pop, urban rock and/or urban alternative.

Other changes for the 2013 Grammy Award season are:

• Best Small Ensemble Performance category (in the classical field) has been renamed Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.
• Best Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album has been split into two categories: Best Latin Pop Album and Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album, thereby returning to the situation prior to 2012.
• The Best Banda or Norteño Album and Best Regional Mexican or Tejano Album categories have been merged into one category: Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano).
• Mastering engineers will now be considered nominees and award winners in the Record of the Year category.