Inside Music’s Biggest Institution: Harvey Mason jr. on Grammy Voting, Representation & AI | Billboard On The Record

The Grammys are music’s biggest night, but how are the votes really counted, and who decides which artists take home the trophies? Harvey Mason jr., Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, and CEO of the Recording Academy, pulls back the curtain on how the Academy works, from membership to voting processes and AI’s role in modern music. He joins host Kristin Robinson to unpack his journey from producing hits for Brandy, Destiny’s Child, Michael Jackson, and Toni Braxton to leading music’s most influential institution, all while getting his Grammys knowledge put to the test. Mason explains the challenges of ensuring fair representation across genres, and how the Academy is evolving to serve music and musicians in a rapidly changing industry. He also reflects on moving from creative work to executive leadership, the collaborative process that has defined his career and what it takes to keep the Grammys credible, inclusive, and impactful.

Love what you hear? Follow Billboard On The Record on Instagram, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube @billboard so you never miss an episode.

Billboard On The Record is a podcast in partnership with SickBird Productions. 

Host: 

Kristin Robinson

Executive Producers: 

Diona DaCosta

Hannah Karp

Jade Watson

Produced By: 

Kayla Forman

Mateo Vergara

Edited By:

Rachel Derbyshire

Kristin Robinson:

The Grammy Awards. As they say, it’s music’s biggest night. I mean where else are you going to see Lady Gaga hatching from an egg, or see Tracey Chapman uniting with Luke Combs, or see the entire lineage of hip hop take the stage together on the genre’s 50th anniversary. Although the awards are not until February, this is actually the time when the final round of Grammy voting is about to take place and the preparations for the awards are in full swing. And as a podcast that is dedicated to giving you a peak behind the curtain of the music business, I actually think there couldn’t be a better time than right now to go inside the event with my very special guest today. Today we have on the show, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. Welcome back to On the Record, a music business podcast from Billboard and SickBird Productions. As always, I’m your host Kristin Robinson and I am thrilled to have Harvey Mason jr. on the show today to talk about the ins and the outs of the Grammys. Harvey got his start in the music business as a songwriter and producer. Both his parents are musicians themselves, but Harvey Jr. made a name for himself in the late ‘90s working with talents like Brandy, Destiny’s Child, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton and Michael Jackson. He worked on iconic soundtracks like ‘Dreamgirls,’ ‘Straight Out of Compton,’ and ‘Pitch Perfect’ one and two.

Keep watching for more!