Grammys unveil inclusion requirement
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Jeff Schear/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
The Recording Academy unveiled the details of the Grammy Awards' inclusion rider, which is designed to ensure equity and inclusion in hiring for its 2022 show.
Driving the news: The Recording Academy in an eight-page document detailed the rider's stipulations and objectives, including requiring producers to recruit and hire more diverse candidates backstage and in front of the camera for the annual awards ceremony.
- The rider also requires producers to audition, interview and hire people from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.
- "The inclusion rider is something that will provide an opportunity for people that may not have had one before," Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said, AP reports.
The big picture: Actress Frances McDormand in 2018 mentioned the term "inclusion rider" during her best actress Oscar acceptance speech, bringing the term to the forefront, per AP.
- Michael B. Jordan, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Paul Feig and Warner Bros. followed suit by vowing to use inclusion riders in their projects.
- The academy announced that it would implement an inclusion rider in August.
What they're saying: "The Inclusion Rider is a concrete accountability mechanism aimed at breaking through an endless stream of empty commitments," said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, one of the group's working with the academy on the initiative.
- "It will ensure that Black people finally gain the authority in the industry that matches their essential contributions to it."
Go deeper: Hollywood's big awards shows are in trouble
