Behind the Record
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Behind The Record Celebrates Behind-The-Scenes Creators Of Your Favorite Albums

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The brand-new Recording Academy initiative encourages artists to thank the fellow creators who helped their music come together, thus, helping fans dive deeper Behind the Record
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 24, 2019 - 7:00 am

This Friday, Oct. 25, the Recording Academy will launch Behind the Record, a new social media initiative to highlight all of the creators that made your favorite albums and records possible. The goal is to ignite a cultural conversation by inviting artists across genres to recognize all of their collaborators' tireless behind-the-scenes work, for the music their fans adore.

The conversation kicks off on Friday, when the first group of artists will share their reimagined album covers—Credit Covers that highlight the songwriters, producers, engineers and other collaborators—on social media.

"It's our responsibility, as a service organization, to serve our membership community of creative professionals and to ensure we celebrate and recognize all the incredibly talented musicians and creators who are making the music we love," said Deborah Dugan, President/CEO of the Recording Academy.

Credits have been a casualty of the digital age, for all that we gained with streaming we lost in the opportunity for recognition and even discovery. Behind the Record champions all professional music creators and aims to connect with artist fan bases in order to give recognition to those who work tirelessly on these recordings."

If you are artist, you can participate in Behind the Record by creating and sharing a Credit Cover for a single or album using the online generator. Once you create your Credit Cover, you can join the conversation by sharing it across your social media platforms and tagging the amazing collaborators now featured on the cover.

Please use the hashtags #GiveCredit, #WeAreMusic and #BehindTheRecord when posting, so everyone can find and discover it.

Behind the Record is supported by the Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing. Additionally, Jaxsta, a database of official (non-crowd-sourced) music credit information for members of the music community, offered support by providing credits for Merlin, Warner Music, Sony Music and Universal Music Group releases. Pandora, TIDAL and Genius also partnered with the Academy to help make this project possible.

For more information, or if you're interested in creating a physical limited-edition sleeve, please contact givecredit@recordingacademy.com or visit www.grammy.com/behindtherecord.

For music fans, artists and behind-the-scenes magic-makers alike, don't forget to explore and join the conversation on social media, starting Friday, with #GiveCredit, #WeAreMusic and #BehindTheRecord.

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Behind The Record: Your Favorite Artists #GiveCredit Where It's Due

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Artists took to social media to #GiveCredit on Oct. 25 with detailed Credit Covers for fans to explore
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 28, 2019 - 4:50 pm

Last Friday, on Oct. 25, Behind the Record launched, and in doing so, acknowledged countless creatives behind your favorite records. 

Tons of artists showed up for the conversation, sharing Credit Covers highlighting the names of professionals who worked on all kinds of songs and albums.

For starters, L.A.-based producer/DJ TOKiMONSTA shared the Credit Cover for her track "I Wish I Could," featuring Belgian singer/songwriter Selah Sue on vocals, from her GRAMMY-nominated 2017 album Lune Rogue. She wrote: "Everyone on a track deserves to be recognized. A big thank you to everyone who works #BehindTheRecord."

More: Artists: Find Out How To #GiveCredit & Celebrate Your Collaborators Today!

2019 GRAMMY host Alicia Keys also posted for her latest single, "Show Me Love" featuring Miguel, along with a powerful message: "One of my favorite things about making music is the collaboration process and everyone bringing their beautiful spirits and expertise to the process! It's an honor to have created magic with you on 'Show Me Love'!! Big Love to all the people #behindtherecord you're amazing and I'm grateful to you for rockin' with me. I'm here to #givecredit."

With Credit Covers, you can you can discover the instrumentalists, producers, mixers, engineers and whoever else made helped song that much more memorable and powerful. Did you know that the guitars on "Show Me Love" were performed by GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Raphael Saadiq and producer/songwriter Morgan Matthews (who also co-produced and co-wrote the track with Keys)?

"Proper crediting, at its core, is about a reverence for creativity and the incongruous ways in which it moves through creators. As technology continues to change at a rapid rate, we must be prepared to redefine the ways in which we recognize and define creative roles in order to create a more diverse and inclusive industry. We must be prepared to leave behind precedent in favor of a true recognition of modern authorship." - Maggie Rogers

Below, explore the collaborators on two GRAMMY winners' albums: H.E.R.'s 2019 EP, I Used To Know H.E.R., and Brandi Carlile's By The Way, I Forgive You. GRAMMY-nominated electro-pop duo SOFI TUKKER shared the cover for their fun new single, "Purple Hat," and the GRAMMY-nominated Jonas Brothers celebrated their co-creators behind Happiness Begins.

 
 
 

"We make music in the spirit of fun and collaboration and it's important to us that that spirit stays alive from the making of the track into its whole lifespan. Plus, it’s just fair. If someone helps make a song, they deserve to be credited. We usually make songs with our friends and it's so fun to be able to share the joy of releasing a song with people we love." - SOFI TUKKER

Nigerian Afropop queen Yemi Alade shared the credit cover for her 2019 album, Woman of Steel, and GRAMMY-winning alt-rockers The Black Keys shared one for their 2019 LP, Let's Rock. GRAMMY-winning country group Little Big Town celebrated all the hands behind the scenes on "Over Drinking," while EDM DJ/producer Marshmello did the same for his track "Happier" featuring Bastille.

 
 
 

GRAMMY-winning disco queen Gloria Gaynor thanked the collaborators on her 2019 gospel album, Testimony. GRAMMY- and Latin GRAMMY-winning Puerto Rican singer/activist iLe shared the Credit Cover for her 2019 album, Almadura, while GRAMMY-winning experimental jazz artist Esperanza Spaulding gave thanks for everyone who helped her with her 2018 LP, Twelve Little Spells.

 
 

Make sure to visit behindtherecord.grammy.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay in the loop on Behind the Record updates and other great behind-the-music content. You can also search the hashtags #GiveCredit, #BehindTheRecord and #WeAreMusic to join in on the global conversation.  

We are beyond grateful to all the artists and partners who have helped make this dream project a reality, to help give credit where it's due; thank you to everyone who has participated so far.

If you are an artist and want to make your own Credit Cover and have not yet; please check out the instructions here and visit behindtherecord.grammy.com/creditcovers.

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Behind the Record

Photo: Recording Academy

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Artists: Find Out How To #GiveCredit & Celebrate Your Collaborators Today!

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As Behind the Record launches today, find out how you can join the movement and create a Credit Cover showing gratitude to everyone you worked with on your album or single
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 25, 2019 - 12:24 pm

Today, the Recording Academy officially launched Behind the Record, a new social media campaign aimed at showcasing everyone who worked together to make an album or record possible. If you're an artist and haven't yet shared your Credit Cover—a reimagined album cover with all the contributors' names on the front—today's the day to give credit where credit is due by sharing one and thanking your collaborators.

Using the Credit Cover generator is simple and only takes a few minutes. And once you've created one, you have a lovely visual to help you not only #GiveCredit and celebrate all the people who helped behind-the-scenes of your musical project, it also helps your fans discover them as well. Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to create and share your new Credit Cover(s).

"The importance of credits, particularly in art, cannot even be measured. It's such a collaborative effort to make art—even from a singular place. Even for the artist who draws onto the page there is still often a team of people who makes the sharing of it possible. To acknowledge my team and my crew is really important because they help me LIVE! They help me to focus and they offer me time which is perhaps an even more important commodity because that time allows me to create." - Lalah Hathaway

STEP 1: Create & Download Credit Cover

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If you are a Recording Academy member, you should have already received an email from us with information on how to create your Credit Cover; you can use that login code to access the generator here. If you didn't receive the email, please reach out to givecredit@recordingacademy.com for assistance.

Once you have accessed the Credit Cover generator, submit the info for the LP, EP or single you want to create the new cover for. Our Behind the Record partner Jaxsta has kindly provided credits for Merlin, Warner Music, Sony Music and Universal Music Group releases, so if your project was released under one of these labels, credits should auto-populate.

Double-check the names and spelling, and then download the three images (your Credit Cover, the original cover art and the Behind the Record logo). If you opt into sharing your cover in the gallery (a.k.a. do not check the "hide credit cover" box), it will be showcased in our growing collection on behindtherecord.grammy.com.

STEP 2: Upload To Social & Tag Collaborators

GRAMMYs

Now that you have your images ready for sharing, upload to your social platform of choice and tag your fellow creators. For Instagram, we suggest using the image carousel feature with the Credit Cover first.

"Creating timeless music is a team sport. My intent with Diaspora was to be a bridge between the west and other black cultures around the world, and assembling a grand cast of collaborators was essential to that goal. Highlighting all the producers, writers, vocalists, session musicians, engineers, studios, and more that were a part of the record isn't just important to me as an artist, but it's important for the fans too.

 

Understanding the different cultural figures behind the record—from P2J, a Nigerian-English composer based in London, to Blinky Bill, a producer/musician based in Kenya—is key to understanding why and how the music came together, and will enhance the listening experience. I'm beyond excited about the Recording Academy taking the time to put a spotlight on the members of our music community that don't always get the attention they deserve." - Goldlink

STEP 3: Share Your Message Of Gratitude!

GRAMMYs

The final step is to share your message of gratitude for the amazing contributors to your project, and to encourage other artists to do the same! We've included a suggested caption below, but feel free to speak straight from your heart.

"I'm joining the movement to bring the names of people from Behind the Record to the front. These are all the amazing professionals behind [Album Title]. Thank you all! Artists, it's time to give credit where credit is due. Go to RecordingAcademy.com/CreditCover to create the Credit Cover for your latest album. #GiveCredit @RecordingAcademy [use @RecordingAcad on Twitter]"

Don't forget to use the hashtags #GiveCredit, #BehindTheRecord and #WeAreMusic to join in on the global conversation!

Pandora Supports Behind The Record, Launches Full Song Credits

Pandora

Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images

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Pandora Supports Behind The Record, Launches Full Song Credits

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The streaming service announces a brand-new full credits feature for millions of songs in their massive library and supports the Recording Academy initiative to #GiveCredit
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 24, 2019 - 2:53 pm

Today, Oct. 24, the Recording Academy announced the new Behind the Record social media initiative to highlight all creators behind the music. Concurrently, Pandora, a supporter of the program, has launched a new full credits feature for millions of songs on their streaming platform.

When listening to a song on Pandora, users can now dig deeper into it by clicking on the title, followed by the "See All Song Credits" link. This exciting new service is up and running on their web player and new desktop app.

"You always have to give credit where it's due! Songwriters and producers put their heart into what they create! And to know who it comes from makes it even more special and personal," GRAMMY winner H.E.R. told Pandora.

Back in July, TIDAL, another supporter of Behind the Record, launched TIDAL Credits. Users of their music streaming platform, can now dig into artists' pages and explore all their credits, as a performer, songwriter, producer and more.

You can now dig into this credit treasure troves on both Pandora and TIDAL. Visit behindtherecord.grammy.com to learn more about Behind the Record, and use the Credit Cover generator if you're an artist.

And don't forget to join the conversation by sharing and searching social media using #GiveCredit, #WeAreMusic and #BehindTheRecord, starting tomorrow, Oct. 25.

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Elton John

Photo: Faith Moran/Wireimage/Getty Images

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Elton John Celebrated With Britain's Exclusive Highest Honor

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Olivia Newton-John, Roger Taylor of Queen, Billy Ocean and Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol are also among the artists on Britain's 2020 Honours List
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 30, 2019 - 5:00 pm

GRAMMY-winning music legend Elton John is being celebrated by his native Britain for his incomparable contributions to music, philanthropy and culture with the exclusive title of the Order of the Companions of Honor.

"I'm humbled and honoured to be among such highly esteemed company in receiving the Companion of Honour. 2019 has turned out to be a truly wonderful year for me and I feel extraordinarily blessed," the enduring "Rocket Man" wrote on Twitter.

The news comes with the recently released 2020 Honours List, in which Queen Elizabeth celebrates 1,097 new rankings of dames and knights each year. GRAMMMY winners Olivia Newton-John and Billy Ocean, along with Roger Taylor of Queen, and Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol are also among the other musical artists on the list of high-level contributors to British society with several different ranks.

Watch: Elton John Discography: Icon Reflects On His Personal Favorite Albums

Australian-British singer/actress Newton-John "was made a dame for services to charity, cancer research and entertainment," as noted by The Guardian. Per Billboard, she is fighting breast cancer for the third time and has worked for years to support cancer research and funding with various philanthropic efforts, including the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne.

"I am extremely excited, honoured and grateful beyond words to be included with such an esteemed group of women who have received this distinguished award before me," the "Grease" star said via Billboard. "As a girl born in Cambridge, I am very proud of my British ancestry and so appreciative to be recognised in this way by the United Kingdom."

Other powerful names in entertainment, like Oscar-winning British film directors Steve McQueen ("12 Years A Slave," "Widows") and Sam Mendes ("American Beauty," "Skyfall"). But as the Guardian points out, the majority of the list (72% this year) are made up of names we are less familiar with, yet nevertheless have dedicated themselves to public service. Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of England's NHS, is one of these people, who has spent 31 years fighting for better public health funding.

According to BBC News, the honours list is published twice per year—during the New Year and on the Queen's birthday—and are informally approved by the Queen after nominees are approved by committees of "independent experts" divided by subject matter. "The system is overseen by the Cabinet Office Honours and Appointments Secretariat, and British nationals or citizens of the 15 Commonwealth realms can be nominated," BBC explains. Foreigners can receive honorary honours.

Read: 5 Ways Elton John Supports Philanthropic Causes

John was first knighted back in 1998—when he received his "Sir" title—and now joins a group of just 65 as a Companion of Honour. Fellow knighted GRAMMY winner Paul McCartney is also among this group, whose limit of 65 members at any given time includes the royal monarch himself.

He also received France's highest civilian honor, the Légion d'Honneur, earlier this year. The Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has organizations in both the U.K. and U.S., has raised over $400 million towards money to support HIV/AIDS research and prevention since 1992.

One of 2019's biggest music biopics, "Rocketman," highlighted the personal struggles of low self-esteem, toxic relationships and drug addiction John faced while bringing joy to many with his charismatic stage persona and groundbreaking blend of folk, pop and glam rock.

Kicking off in 2018, his massive farewell tour, appropriately titled Farewell Yellow Brick Road, has seen him bringing his joyful catalog of music to his countless fans around the world, with dates extending into 2020.

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