Does Activism and the Grammys Go Together?

Every year the greatest musicians form around the world gather for one night in the hopes to be honored for their talent: The Grammys. Along with the elite awards including Best New Artist, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year the Grammys are known for having controversial acts that get all of America talking. This year seemed to be much different. In the eyes of an average viewer, the award show was more formal, professional, and only slightly controversial. Even more noticeable was the use of political activism brought forth throughout the show. This lead people to talk about the points presented, and the effectiveness of announcing these issues at such a big award show.

 

                If there’s anything we know about America, it’s when the President talks, everyone listens. This is exactly what happened during the Grammys. President Obama made a video appearance at the award show talking about a big issue happening in America today: Domestic Violence. We see it everywhere, especially in professional athletes. With movements like the “No More” campaign, domestic violence has come to face all people, and the Grammys put the cherry on top. President Obama announced to everyone the problem and rise of domestic violence in our society. He also spoke of ways that all of us can prevent it from happening, and help when it does.

                The other issue that was brought to attention was musician rights. Earlier this year, Taylor Swift turned down the opportunity to let Spotify put their music on their website because she wanted to make a stance against piracy of music. Since then, it seems as though all musicians are joining her in the attempt to save their music from being pirated and illegally downloaded. The Grammys allowed it to be known that it is crucial people make the step to stop downloading music illegally. They did this by having Neil Portnow, Recording Academy President and CEO talk about the alternatives if people don’t preserve the musicians’ talents.

 

With all of these issues being covered at such a big event, it makes one wonder what peoples’ reactions are to not only the problems, but also them being presented in such a way. Did it take away from the performances and awards, or was it smart for the person in charge to take time out of the line-up to talk about these important subjects? Nicholas Horne, a Theater major at Avila University had this to say when asked his opinion about the activism at the Grammys,“I feel like it was a really cool opportunity, I mean, you’re on national television. It’s a big night for a lot of people...Musicians are who we look up to, kind of, as a nation so being able to see musicians and the people that we revere as higher standards, speaking out for domestic abuse is a great thing.”

Nicholas Horne, Theater





 

Another Avila student, Aaron Arnzen who majors in Advertising and Public Relations had this to say when asked about his thoughts, “I feel like it was a good opportunity to do that [Political Activism], especially with the inclusion of a message from our President…I don’t think they were wrong in doing that [Using the Grammys as a platform for political issues]. I feel like the older we get and the more politically inclined, the more infused politics is becoming in everyday life whether it’s the Grammys or sports, etc. etc.”

 

Aaron Arnzen, Advertising and Public Relations



 

It seems as though the use of the Grammys as a political and societal awareness platform was taking positively for viewers. Although the Grammys is based from musical accomplishments, it makes sense as to why issues going on in our nation would be brought to everyone’s attention. There are only so many nights a year where the mass amounts of Americans are watching the same thing, and it would only make sense to try to draw attention to important problems to hopefully increase awareness for all people. Not only is it smart, but it could end up being crucial for our futures.

My face while watching the Grammys