Grammy Award for Record of the Year

Grammy Award for Record of the Year
"Flowers" by Miley Cyrus is the most recent recipient
Awarded forQuality vocal or instrumental recording tracks
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded1959
Currently held byMiley Cyrus – "Flowers" (2024)
Websitegrammy.com

The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to sales or chart position."[1][2] The Record of the Year award is one of the four "General Field" categories at the awards (alongside Best New Artist, Song of the Year and Album of the Year) presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959.

For commercially released singles or tracks of new vocal or instrumental recordings. Tracks from a previous year's album may be entered provided the track was not entered the previous year and provided the album did not win a Grammy. Award to the artist(s), producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) if other than the artist.[3]

Arrangers, songwriters, musicians and background singers of a winning recording can apply for a Winners Certificate.[4] Songwriters can only apply for a certificate if it is a new song.

Since the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013, mastering engineers are considered nominees and award recipients in this category.[5]

Although "record" often refers to any recording of music, Record of the Year differs from Song of the Year or Album of the Year:

  • Record of the Year is awarded for a single or for one track from an album. This award goes to the performing artist, the producer, recording engineer and/or mixer for that song. In this sense, "record" means a particular recorded song, not its composition or an album of songs.
  • Song of the Year is also awarded for a single or individual track, but the recipient of this award is the songwriter who actually wrote the lyrics and/or melodies to the song. "Song" in this context means the song as composed, not its recording.
  • Album of the Year is awarded for a whole album, and the award is presented to the artist, songwriter, producer, recording engineer, and mastering engineer for that album. In this context, "album" means a recorded collection of songs (a multi-track LP, CD, or download package), not the individual songs or their compositions.
  1. ^ "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  2. ^ "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  3. ^ "2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Winners List". GRAMMY.com. January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Grammy Blue Book
  5. ^ "The Recording Academy Announces Board Of Trustees Meeting Results". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. June 8, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.