It’s no secret that both AMAs and the Grammys are significant and that is why music performers and songwriters all strive for perfection. Performers seek to have an effect on their fans and gain new listeners. Songwriters similarly, want to craft a memorable song – one that hooks listeners and potentially makes them a fan. Often musicians, including both performers and songwriters, yearn to get recognition for their work. Two major awards exist for music. They are the AMAs and the Grammys. Let’s look at the major differences.
The Grammys’ History
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (for the sake of brevity, NARAS), was established in 1957. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, working on the Hollywood ‘Walk of Fame’ project, asked executives in the recording industry to help them identify talented and important people in the music industry. Soon they realized that the list was expansive, thus meaning that not everybody would be able to get a ‘Walk of Fame’ Star. Instead of the much coveted star, an award of a gold gilded gramophone was introduced, marking the beginning of the Gramophone award – or the Grammys!
NARAS then started categorizing types of music that would qualify to be considered for the award. The initial amount of categories was 28 awards, with a concentration in overall achievement. The categories have grown to approximately 100, fluctuating each year, primarily due to new genres of music.
The Start of AMAs
How did American Awards get their start? The American Music Award, shortened to AMA, was started by none other than Dick Clark. There was a television show in the 1950s through the 1980s called American Bandstand with Dick Clark as its host. He ultimately moved on to be the producer. Clark is well known for working as an executive producer for literally hundreds of shows. Dick Clark’s sheer love of music helped originate the American awards.
In the early 1970s, Dick Clark, who helped many musical artists get their careers off the ground, stated that he thought the public should be voting for whom they liked. The Grammys, while a prestigious award, did not take into account the fact that not al of the winners were known to consumers. NARAS relied heavily on technical expertise, production excellence, and recording talent, but the awards were created for the public, and by the public.
AMAs vs. Grammys – Can They Coexist?
Absolutely! Of course they can; it’s a matter of exposing more and more people to music. As consumers of music, it’s almost a certainty that most people have a preferred genre (or several). That leads to mass consumption of favorite songs, artists, and music types – perfect for the American Music Awards selection. Now, for technical excellence, production values, and musical engineering achievements – that’s for the Grammys.
