The Recording Academy announced that more than 3,800 music creators and professionals have joined the academy as part of its 2025 New Member Class. This includes approximately 2,900 new voting members (who are eligible to vote in the upcoming 68th annual Grammy Awards) and approximately 900 new professional members.
Of those in the new class, 50% are age 39 and under, 58% are people of color and 35% identify as women. Looking only at voting members, 49% are age 39 and under, 60% are people of color and 30% identify as women.
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For the first time, invitations to join the Recording Academy were also extended to all voting members of the Latin Recording Academy. That explains why Latin leads all genres when new voting members were asked which genre they were most aligned with. Thirteen percent of new voting members said Latin, compared to pop and “other” (8% each); alternative, global music and rock (3% each); jazz, R&B and classical (2% each); dance/electronic, visual media, gospel/Christian, rap, contemporary instrumental, reggae, country, American roots and new age/ambient/chant (1% each); and musical theatre, children’s, spoken word and comedy (less than 1% each).
The influx of new members from the Latin Recording Academy voting body also explains why 28% of all new members (not just voting members) identify as Hispanic or Latin, second only to (and close behind) the percentage who identify as white or Caucasian (31%). These two groups were followed by Black or African American (20%), “I prefer not to disclose” (11%), Asian or Pacific Islander (5%), “I prefer to self-describe” (3%), Middle Eastern or Northern African and South Asian (1% each) and Indigenous or Alaska native (less than 1%).
“This year’s class reflects the vibrancy of today’s diverse music landscape,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “The addition of many Latin Recording Academy voting members underscores that music has no borders and that our mission to serve music people, regardless of where they are from, is stronger than ever.”
The addition of many Latin Academy voting members could help Bad Bunny land his second album of the year nomination. He is a top contender in that category with Debí Tirar Más Fotos, having been nominated three years ago for Un Verano Sin Ti.
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Of the total new member class (voting and non-voting members combined), 59% are men, 35% are men, 4% responded “I prefer not to disclose”; 1% identify as “non-binary or gender non-conforming; and less than 1% say “I prefer to self-describe.”
In terms of age, 50% of all new members (voting and non-voting combined) are 39 and under; 43% are (gasp) over 40; and 7% responded “I prefer not to disclose” or their age is unknown.
Looking just at new voting members, songwriters and composers are the top creative disciplines. Thirty-six percent of all new voting members classify themselves that way, followed by producers (20%), engineers (13%), vocalists (10%), instrumentalists (8%), arrangers (5%), music video pros (2%), album packaging, album notes writers and “other” (1% each); and conductors, spoken word (poets, narrators, comedians) and music supervisors (less than 1% each).
There are two types of Recording Academy membership – voting membership for recording creators and professional membership for music business professionals. Both types of members may participate in the organization’s year-round initiatives, but only voting members — comprised of artists, songwriters, producers, engineers and others active in the music industry — are eligible to vote.
The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards will be unveiled at 11:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 7, during a livestream on live.Grammy.com and YouTube. The full list of nominees will be published on Grammy.com immediately following the presentation.
