And the Grammy goes to....

[4-earredwonder]

I may be an outlier, here but I enjoyed the entire four hour presentation. Spectacularly produced, eye filling spectacle, expertly presented and except for some unfortunate drop~outs, the sound was pretty spectacular although I wish they'd make use of all five discrete channels instead of some bland audience applause/ambience in the rears. There was a tremendous amount of diversity and I was blown away by John Batiste's performance [I wonder how his knees feel today] and even Justin Bieber who I have no love for acquitted himself with a memorable performance.

As for the immersive surround awards which were presented AGAIN at a separate awards ceremony ..... DAMN YOU! And wonder if we'll get that Alicia Key's album in a physical DOLBY ATMOS BD~A format?

And the IN MEMORIAM tribute utilizing Stephen Soundheim's memorable melodies [along with Bernstein's music for West Side Story] was a fitting and beloved tribute to all we've lost in 2021...and what a targic loss it was!

 

[EricKalet]

How can we listen to the Alicia surround album? I don't see it anywhere.

If your on Twitter...feel free to tag on your request...perhaps if enough of us lobby for this, we'll get it!

 

[humprof]

Crap, just now found it on Amazon Music, it's true!
Headphone or ******* Amazon smart speaker.

There's your answer.
Sent one of these to every Grammy voter?

View attachment 77589

So... Best Immersive Album That We Only Ever Heard A Stepped On Lossy Streaming Version Squeaking Out Of Some Shitbar Device

Well, to be fair: the people who vote for Best Immersive Album are a select group of peer-nominated engineers who know whereof they speak, not the full Academy--and they wouldn't have listened to any of the nominees on an Amazon Echo. (Reportedly they get together and listen to all of them in the same room, on the same system.) I mean, yeah: it sucks that the public can't hear the winner as Michael Romanowski intended for it to be heard--yet. But you gotta hope it'll show up in Atmos on Apple Music eventually, as most other Sony 360 content has.

From the Grammy Rules and Guidelines:

ELIGIBILITY PERIOD
Recordings must be available to the public as stand-alone, audio-only purchases or streams, (exceptions: opera, immersive audio album, and music video/music film) beginning on any date within the eligibility year to be GRAMMY-eligible.

STREAMING REQUIREMENTS FOR GRAMMY ENTRIES
Academy members and media companies are required to provide several eligible streaming links 16 for each entry they make with the exception of a few in Craft: Immersive Audio Album, Recording Package, Boxed/Special Limited Edition, Album Notes, and Historical Album.

CRAFT NOMINATING COMMITTEE GUIDELINES
Craft categories recognize excellence in highly specialized crafts. Craft Committee members must be Voting Members of the Academy in the membership class which corresponds to the Craft they are being submitted to judge. Each must fill out a Documentation Form listing six tracks or albums for which they have the nomination-eligible credit corresponding to the Craft they are being submitted to judge. The credits must be for recordings released in the previous five years. The form remains on file at the National Office of the Recording Academy and is valid for five years.

Populating the Craft Committees. Each Chapter’s Executive Director works in concert with the Chapter Nominating Committee and Chapter President to develop a slate of recommendations. These recommendations are narrowed, if necessary, by the President/CEO and National Chair in consultation with the Chief Awards Officer. The final slate is submitted to the National Board of Trustees for ratification.

Furthermore, craft committee members are solicited for their recommendations of appropriate committee members, and no person should serve for more than five consecutive years without a break. If deemed necessary to the process, a committee member selected to chair may serve up to an additional three consecutive years. Nominations in Craft categories are determined by National, Regional, or Chapter Craft Committees as described below.

Immersive Audio Album: Nominations in the Best Immersive Audio Album category are selected by a committee of Voting Members. To be eligible to serve on this committee, one must be a Voting Member of the Academy, in good dues standing, and must meet certain qualifications in the Engineering or Producing Fields and be approved by the Trustees. The committee consists of 20–25 members. They review all Immersive Audio Album entries in their meeting and vote for the final five nominees in the category.

BEST IMMERSIVE AUDIO ALBUM
FOR ALBUMS VOCAL OR INSTRUMENTAL ALL GENRES SCREENING CRITERIA
This category recognizes excellence in multichannel immersive audio recordings. Eligible recordings must be commercially released for sale or streaming on a consumer format/configuration (DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-Ray, Atmos, Auro-3D, immersive download, etc.) that provides an original immersive mix (not electronically re-purposed) of four or more channels. On releases that include multiple distinct mixes, entrants will be prompted to choose which immersive mix they are entering for GRAMMY consideration. Only one mix per album will be eligible.

 

[Electric Moo]

Yeah, I can't *believe* I didn't win it!

So disappointed...I had a speech prepared and everything. Even brushed up on my Judo, in case some clown from the audience rushed the stage & tried to slap me!

 

[humprof]

Disappointments about the unavailability of Alicia Keys' album aside: at least we can hear Steve Genewick's excellent Atmos mix of the Album of the Year, Jon Batiste's We Are (in both the original and "Deluxe" versions!).

 

[paligap]

I never watch the Grammys, or really any awards show, but I'm pleased that Jon Batiste's We Are won Album of the Year.

 

[fredblue]

Disappointments about the unavailability of Alicia Keys' album aside: at least we can hear Steve Genewick's excellent Atmos mix of the Album of the Year, Jon Batiste's We Are (in both the original and "Deluxe" versions!).

ooh yes!

https://music.apple.com/gb/album/we-are-the-deluxe-edition/1582653750

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

Yeah, I can't *believe* I didn't win it!

So disappointed...I had a speech prepared and everything. Even brushed up on my Judo, in case some clown from the audience rushed the stage & tried to slap me!

Yeah, I feel ya.
They didn't even let me submit! They said humans only! Like a gorilla can play a saxophone.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

Well, to be fair: the people who vote for Best Immersive Album are a select group of peer-nominated engineers who know whereof they speak, not the full Academy--and they wouldn't have listened to any of the nominees on an Amazon Echo. (Reportedly they get together and listen to all of them in the same room, on the same system.) I mean, yeah: it sucks that the public can't hear the winner as Michael Romanowski intended for it to be heard--yet. But you gotta hope it'll show up in Atmos on Apple Music eventually, as most other Sony 360 content has.

From the Grammy Rules and Guidelines:

ELIGIBILITY PERIOD
Recordings must be available to the public as stand-alone, audio-only purchases or streams, (exceptions: opera, immersive audio album, and music video/music film) beginning on any date within the eligibility year to be GRAMMY-eligible.

STREAMING REQUIREMENTS FOR GRAMMY ENTRIES
Academy members and media companies are required to provide several eligible streaming links 16 for each entry they make with the exception of a few in Craft: Immersive Audio Album, Recording Package, Boxed/Special Limited Edition, Album Notes, and Historical Album.

CRAFT NOMINATING COMMITTEE GUIDELINES
Craft categories recognize excellence in highly specialized crafts. Craft Committee members must be Voting Members of the Academy in the membership class which corresponds to the Craft they are being submitted to judge. Each must fill out a Documentation Form listing six tracks or albums for which they have the nomination-eligible credit corresponding to the Craft they are being submitted to judge. The credits must be for recordings released in the previous five years. The form remains on file at the National Office of the Recording Academy and is valid for five years.

Populating the Craft Committees. Each Chapter’s Executive Director works in concert with the Chapter Nominating Committee and Chapter President to develop a slate of recommendations. These recommendations are narrowed, if necessary, by the President/CEO and National Chair in consultation with the Chief Awards Officer. The final slate is submitted to the National Board of Trustees for ratification.

Furthermore, craft committee members are solicited for their recommendations of appropriate committee members, and no person should serve for more than five consecutive years without a break. If deemed necessary to the process, a committee member selected to chair may serve up to an additional three consecutive years. Nominations in Craft categories are determined by National, Regional, or Chapter Craft Committees as described below.

Immersive Audio Album: Nominations in the Best Immersive Audio Album category are selected by a committee of Voting Members. To be eligible to serve on this committee, one must be a Voting Member of the Academy, in good dues standing, and must meet certain qualifications in the Engineering or Producing Fields and be approved by the Trustees. The committee consists of 20–25 members. They review all Immersive Audio Album entries in their meeting and vote for the final five nominees in the category.

BEST IMMERSIVE AUDIO ALBUM
FOR ALBUMS VOCAL OR INSTRUMENTAL ALL GENRES SCREENING CRITERIA
This category recognizes excellence in multichannel immersive audio recordings. Eligible recordings must be commercially released for sale or streaming on a consumer format/configuration (DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-Ray, Atmos, Auro-3D, immersive download, etc.) that provides an original immersive mix (not electronically re-purposed) of four or more channels. On releases that include multiple distinct mixes, entrants will be prompted to choose which immersive mix they are entering for GRAMMY consideration. Only one mix per album will be eligible.

Thanks for this. What we were all too lazy to go and look up

 

[Kenneth Burns]

Quoted For Truth


Best Immersive Audio Album

Winner ~ Alicia, George Massenburg & Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineers; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Ann Mincieli, immersive producer (Alicia Keys)

Clique, Jim Anderson & Ulrike Schwarz, immersive mix engineers; Bob Ludwig, immersive mastering engineer; Jim Anderson, immersive producer (Patricia Barber)

Fine Line, Greg Penny, immersive mix engineer; Greg Penny, immersive mastering engineer; Greg Penny, immersive producer (Harry Styles)

The Future Bites, Jake Fields & Steven Wilson, immersive mix engineers; Dave Kosten & Steven Wilson, immersive producers (Steven Wilson)

Stille Grender, Morten Lindberg, immersive mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, immersive mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, immersive producer (Anne Karin Sundal-Ask & Det Norske Jentekor)

I love that Harry Styles album and it would be nice to hear this mix.

 

[humprof]

ooh yes!

https://music.apple.com/gb/album/we-are-the-deluxe-edition/1582653750

And here's his Grammy performance of "Freedom." Killin'! (The original, shot on the streets of New Orleans, is even better.)
https://fb.watch/ccgffCJM6w/

 

[Kenneth Burns]

And here's his Grammy performance of "Freedom." Killin'!
https://fb.watch/ccgffCJM6w/

Fantastic, the Atmos mix of "We Are" is also on Tidal.

https://listen.tidal.com/album/200395959

 

[~dave~~wave~]

I love that Harry Styles album and it would be nice to hear this mix.

We are either beneficiaries or victims of Sony's exclusives on some of these releases & the Bezos cartel's commitment to:
proprietary Amazon "immersive" (glorified Bose radio) speakers, Sony "immersive" headphones, or your personal headphones / earbuds & phone.

To paraphrase a 50-year-old Hawkwind lyric:
This is 360 Reality, however grim...

 

[jimfisheye]

Disappointments about the unavailability of Alicia Keys' album aside: at least we can hear Steve Genewick's excellent Atmos mix of the Album of the Year, Jon Batiste's We Are (in both the original and "Deluxe" versions!).

Gods alive, I can find 7 needle drops of any old album in 32 bit floating point 192k and 3 upmixes of it but only low bit rate aac remains of the surround mix for the current Grammy winner from the official sources. (I do see a 24 bit stereo at least but not for the surround.) Are they worried someone will pirate it or something?

 

[kap'n krunch]

Disappointments about the unavailability of Alicia Keys' album aside: at least we can hear Steve Genewick's excellent Atmos mix of the Album of the Year, Jon Batiste's We Are (in both the original and "Deluxe" versions!).

sounds like in the medieval times when the peasants could not access what the higher society took for granted...I'd love to hear it but I find UTTERLY RIDICULOUS that there is no physical release for that and on top of that this decision of AWARDING the GRAMMY to this album smells like BIG TIME PAYOLA!!!! a few years ago PAYOLA was the way to have number ones and now it's STREAMING services and I ain't gonna pay for something I'll listen to ONCE or TWICE...
REALLY UPSET about this decision...

 

[fredblue]

the award-winning Immersive mix of Alicia in Dolby Atmos is now on Apple Music

https://music.apple.com/gb/album/alicia-bonus-tracks-edition/1545199271