The Latin Grammys Announce New Changes & Additions in Categories

Following the news of the award’s change of location, the Latin Grammys announced further updates to their usual programming. Today (Mar. 21), the organization revealed a new field, additional categories, and amendments added to the Latin GRAMMY Awards process.

“Our priority is to effectively represent all the Latin music creators that we serve,” the CEO of The Latin Recording Academy, Manuel Abud, said in a press statement. “We are excited to present these new categories that reflect the constant evolution of our music.”

The update includes a new Songwriting Field with a new category called Best Songwriter Of The Year. This category aims to recognize “the written excellence, profession and art of songwriting.” In order to qualify, songwriters must have a minimum of six newly-written songs and be credited as a songwriter or co-writer. They cannot be a performer, producer, or engineer on the track.

There are also two additional new categories in existing fields. The first is Best Singer-Songwriter Song. The press release states that to be eligible for this new category in the Singer-Songwriter Field, the singles or tracks’ lyrics must be at least 51 percent in Spanish, Portuguese, or any native regional dialect. The songs must also be by a singer-songwriter album competing in the Singer-Songwriter Album Category that year. 

The other category is Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance. This falls under the Portuguese Language Field and aims to recognize the scene in Brazil and Portugal. The press release states that “the singles or tracks can include a fusion mix of Urban styles with other genres as long as the Urban character predominates.”

Moreover, according to the press statement, the new amendments to the Album Of The Year category include having to contain at least 51 percent playing time of newly recorded material. It also states that the award will go to the artist, or the producer(s), engineer(s), mixer(s), mastering engineer(s), and songwriter(s) of 33 percent playing time of the album if it’s not the Artist who receives the award.

Another new amendment has to do with the song categories. It will now be required to include the date of composition when you submit the product for all of the song categories.

Lastly, there’s a new criterion for Best Engineered Album. The award will now go to the recording engineer(s) and mixing engineer(s) credited with at least 33 percent of the album. It will also go to the mastering engineer(s) credited with at least 51 percent of the album within the Production Field.

Though we don’t know the exact date for the 2023 Latin Grammy awards yet, we know it will take place in Nov. in Spain. The online entry process for this year’s awards opens on Mar. 23. For more information, visit their official website.