Chance the Rapper Helps Change Grammy Rules

(Radio.com) The music landscape is changing thanks to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, so it makes sense that the National Academy of Arts and Sciences (NARAS) would need to keep up by amending how it awards artists and musicians.

The organization announced on Thursday (July 16) that streaming-only recordings will now be eligible to participate in GRAMMY categories. In a press release, the Recording Academy stated, "Previous eligibility guidelines required recordings to be commercially available via general distribution or digital recordings/downloads, thereby precluding works released solely through streaming services." That will change for the new voting season, which covers October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. Artists can release music to streaming-only sites without also making it available to purchase or download and still qualify for consideration.

Although the Academy didn't state as much, the new rule change seems to be in response to Chance the Rapper's May petition. At the time, he asked the Academy to consider streaming-only songs for nomination, according to XXL. Oftentimes rappers release free mixtapes, which fans adore, but which fail to qualify for awards.

Chance tweeted his excitement about the change. "The victory this morning isn't about me, it's about all the Soundcloud albums that may now be recognized for excellence," he wrote. Read more here.

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