Michael Sticka 

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Michael Sticka Reveals Details Behind Latest GRAMMY Museum Projects & Initiatives

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The GRAMMY Museum President talks about the Museum's latest grants and Latin culture initiatives
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Aug 19, 2019 - 1:59 pm

In a new interview with Billboard, GRAMMY Museum President Michael Sticka has revealed more information on the musuem's latest grants and initiatives.

In July, the museum awarded $200,000 to 15 recipients across the country working on research and preservation projects. Projects include work on archiving 960 audio reels belonging to Cajun and zydeco artists and research on how musical training affects complex memories.

When asked why sound preservation and music research are important to the museum, Sticka said that providing funding to educational institutions was very important to the museum. "A museum at its core is an educational institution," he said. "The GRAMMY Foundation was founded 30 years ago to be the educational arm of the Recording Academy."

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Sticka also touched on the Latin Recording Academy's more than half a million dollars investment in the musuem that will go towards Latin exhibits, education programs and the hiring of a Latin curator. 

"One of our main goals out of the plan was to increase our programming to the Latin community through Latin music. It makes sense because our sister organization is the Latin Recording Academy, but it's also a part of our mission, especially being in Los Angeles county where 48 percent of the population Latinx," he said. "We really weren't doing our job or fulfilling our mission effectively with the Latin music gallery so we're very excited and very thankful to the Latin Academy for help with that funding."

To bring new eyes and ears to the new initiatives, the museum has launched a brand campaign called Music Has A Home.

"For the grants program, and any of our programs, we have a deliberate plan that we're putting together with some partners about our social impact and social good. We're doing that via social channels—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin—and through presentations that I’m making throughout the chapters of the Recording Academy," he said. 

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Michael Sticka 

Photo: Rebecca Sapp/WireImage via Getty Images 

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Michael Sticka Named GRAMMY Museum President

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Sticka, who first joined the organization in 2014 and formerly held the position of Executive Director at the GRAMMY Museum, will continue to lead the museum's growth and strategy
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jul 30, 2019 - 2:14 pm

The GRAMMY Museum has promoted Michael Sticka to President as the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy make the largest conributions to the museum in either organization's history.

Sticka, who first joined the organization in 2014 and formerly held the position of Executive Director at the GRAMMY Museum, will continue to lead the museum's growth and strategy. He will also "oversee all aspects of Museum operations, including curatorial, development, marketing, grants and awards, public and education programs, and more," a statement said. His contract will extend through 2022. 

“As Executive Director, I’ve witnessed our team’s incredible passion, hard work, and dedication, which has strengthened our impact and presence in the Los Angeles music and education communities,” said Sticka. “I’m honored that the Board has entrusted me in the role as President, allowing me to continue leading this extraordinary team with the purpose of driving our social good within the community and uphold the Museum's mission to educate, inspire, cultivate creativity, and share the significance of music."

Sticka, who created the museum's Community Engagement Department as executive director, said the museum will continue to invest in its community engagement, curatorial mission and education program. Sticka said the museum's goal is to reach 100,000 over the next five years. 

The Recording Academy contributed $5 million for museum renovations and technology updates, while the Latin Recording Academy will donate more than half a million dollars in a three-year period to grow the Latin music exhibits, education programs and the hiring of a Latin music curator. Both presidents of each organization shared their excitement for Sticka's promotion and their investment in the museum's work. 

“Under Michael’s leadership and guidance, the GRAMMY Museum has not only secured substantial new investments from the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy, but has also seen a tremendous increase in visitors, revenue from attendance, merchandise and event sales, and more” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy and Chair of the Board of Directors of the GRAMMY Museum. “The Museum’s growth and path towards cementing its status as ‘the’ steward and place where Music Has A Home, as well as its future financial and business well-being is reflective of and a testament to Michael’s strategic vision, impressive operational skills, and exceptional leadership.”  

“We are thrilled to expand our relationship with the GRAMMY Museum,” said The Latin Recording Academy President/CEO Gabriel Abaroa Jr. “The Latin Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum share the commitment of educating the public about the significant contributions Latin music has made in the world. I look forward to expanding our presence inside the GRAMMY Museum in an impactful way that guides the narrative and preserves the stories of Latin music and its creators."

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Michael Sticka

Photo: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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GRAMMY Museum Awards $200,000 In Grants To Music Health, Research Projects & More

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The Museum's grant program, which awards organizations and individuals annually, has given more than $7.5 million to over 400 grantees to date
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jul 10, 2019 - 11:25 am

15 recipients will have the opportunity to do music related research as well as work on preservation and archiving programs thanks to a generous grant from the GRAMMY Musuem Grant Program.

The grants, funded by the Recording Academy, will award $200,000 to recipients in the U.S. working on various projects, including reasearch on how musical training affects complex memories, musical ahedonia and singing accuracy's relationship to cognitive function. Among preservation projects, some recipients will work on archiving 960 audio reels belonging to Cajun and zydeco artists, uncirculated jam tapes from four-time GRAMMY-winning folk musician John Hartford and "221 rare interview recordings with African-American actors, performers, composers, musicians, and scholars, among many other preservation projects."

"The work we help fund includes an impressive array of projects that are at the forefront of exploring music's beneficial intersection with science, and that maintain our musical legacy for future generations. The initiatives announced today exemplify the Museum's mission to uphold music's value in our lives and shared culture," Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum Michael Sticka said. 

The museum's grant program, which awards organizations and individuals annually, has given more than $7.5 million to over 400 grantees to date, Sticka said.  

The GRAMMY Museum Grant Program strives to aid efforts advancing the archiving and preservation of "recorded sound heritage of the Americas for future generation."

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Los Tigres Del Norte 

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Los Tigres Del Norte Honor Johnny Cash With Folsom Prison Performance Documentary

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The iconic Mexican group has a new documentary of their Folsom Prison show featuring a Spanish-language cover of Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues"
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 17, 2019 - 12:29 pm

GRAMMY-winning Mexican regional band Los Tigres Del Norte are one of the most recognized names in Spanish-language music, and now the icons are paying tribute to one of the greatest names in English-language music: the late Johnny Cash.

The norteño band, made up of brothers and their cousin, decided to perform at Folsom Prison, the same place Johnny Cash performed on Jan. 13,1968, 50 years ago. They decided to perform there for the same reason Cash once did: they didn't want folks in prison to be forgotten. 

“We didn’t do this to promote ourselves,” vocalist/accordion player Jorge told Billboard."This was intended to help the community,” he adds in soft, pensive Spanish, “to be part of the forgotten community that’s in there."

Los Tigres, who got Johnny Cash's son John Carter Cash's blessing to do the performance, have also released a live album of their performance, Los Tigres Del Norte At Folsom Prison, featuring a Spanish-language cover of "Folsom Prison Blues" called "La Prisión De Folsom," which John's wife, Ana Cristina Cash, helped translate. 

Ana Cristina, a fan of Los Tigres, told Billboard that her father-in-law "would have been proud that such a historic moment was repeated by this group, bringing his song to a brand-new audience."

Johnny Cash released his own album recorded at Folsom, Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison, which gained much acclaim and won a GRAMMY for Best Album Notes in 1969. 

"The band has a real connection across time to Johnny Cash,” documentary co-producer and former president of Universal Music Group Zach Horowitz said. "His themes are similar to their themes: songs for outsiders and misfits, for people who make tragic mistakes that haunt them for the rest of their lives."

The documentary can now be streamed on Netflix.

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Beyoncé

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Beyonce & ABC Surprise-Announce 'The Lion King' Soundtrack Documentary

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The special will give an intimate lens behind the making of the album with exclusive footage of recording sessions and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 16, 2019 - 2:53 pm

Beyoncé and ABC have announced a behind-the-scenes documentary special capturing moments during the making of The Lion King soundtrack in the most Beyoncé way possible: surprise-announcing it (a day before it airs).

Beyoncé Presents: Making The Gift will highlight the work that went into every song on The Gift, featuring Childish Gambino, Elton John, Kendrick Lamar and more, as well as a score from Hans Zimmer, and production from Pharrell. The special airs tonight, Monday, Sept. 16 at 10 p.m./9 p.m. central. 

The special will give an intimate lens into the album creating process with exclusive footage of recording sessions and more. The Lion King, which hit theatres in July along with its soundtrack, features the Lemonade singer and Donald Glover as Nala and Simba, respectively. 

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