Grammy's, WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT?
What does it take to be in the room with some of music’s biggest stars on music’s biggest night? When you hear “The Grammy’s”, one instantly thinks of some of Hollywood’s elites and whoever is in attendance has got to be on the top of their game. This was definitely my thought watching it year after year in my living room.
I always dreamed of being in that room (as I’m sure many of us do), but often doubted that my talents were not par enough to get me there. So when the opportunity presented itself I was conflicted because I didn’t feel like I earned it but I felt like I deserved it.
I was asked by a good friend to attend the 61st Grammy awards and of course I said yes before even thinking about it. My first thought was “what am I going to wear?” my second thought was “damn I need to do hella networking while I’m out there” and lastly was “oh shit how am I going to pay for this trip?” Thank goodness when I told my family about the opportunity they all rallied together to help me get there and look fabulous! They were even more excited than I was and understood the magnitude of being able to attend such a great event.
I didn’t begin to ask questions until I got there, maybe because I was still in shock, but more so because I was stressed about making sure I looked like I belonged. I began to ask my friend how did he get tickets to the Grammy’s, how much were the tickets, can anybody get tickets, how often do you attend? I had so many questions and even more after I saw the diversity of the crowd. There were people from all walks of life, all ages, all sexualities, and all different levels of financial classes there (I mean I’m broke and I was in the building hunty L.O.L), and to be honest most of them were RAGGEDY. I couldn’t believe it. So how was my broke behind able to attend the 61st Annual Grammy Awards with my friend (no we are not dating at all – he doesn’t swing my way if you know what I mean…b/c y’all be quick to judge what’s going in a woman’s cookie jar) who currently has no zero ties to the music industry or so I thought?
Well there are a couple of ways and surprisingly the criteria is very obtainable. For my friend, he actually once was in the music industry and made a “vanity album” years ago that got him enough streams to be invited to join the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, NARAS as it known for short, which is the umbrella company of the Grammys and it’s the entity that sets the standards on what it takes to become a member and potential Grammy winner. While they have the full list of criteria one must meet to become a member listed on their website: https://www.grammy.com/recording-academy/membership/join I will briefly run down what I learned just by asking questions to my friend as well as fellow attendees.
There are different levels of membership. Of course, all require you to be in the music industry in some way, but this could be as an artist, a manager, a PR rep, and even a media personality.
Different levels of membership effect whether or not you can vote on the actual awards, but no matter what level you can attend the event.
Membership fees are as low as $100 – that was very shocking to me.
What holds a lot of people back are the price of the tickets which also come in different levels. For instance, platinum tickets are for the stars. Next is diamond level which is $3,000/ticket and will have you sitting closest to the celebs, gold level – which is where I was sitting is $2000/ticket. Silver level tickets which is about 2 levels up from the main floor is $1,000/ticket, and the last level which is bronze start as low as $150/ticket. I honestly would have settled for that I just wanted to be there, but my friend is “rich rich”
5.Even if you’re not apart of the music industry you can attend with a member of NARAS.
6.There are many ways to attend for free
-as a seat filler
-as a volunteer
-as a pit person (the people who stand closest to the stage and cheer when celebs walk on or perform – Honestly that’s the best deal in my eyes L.O.L)
7. Membership enrollments happen on a yearly basis, but once enrolled you can maintain your membership for 5 years before having to prove you are still active in the industry.
8. The premier show and the after party are all open seating. Meaning you may the opportunity to be seating next to any celebrities are someone important in the industry. I met record executives, engineers, marketing people, graphic designers and all of them were very kind and open to share advice.
All in all, if you are in the music industry in any format or aspiring to be YOU CAN AND SHOULD ATTEND THE GRAMMYS. It’s inspiring and super obtainable. You never know who you could be sitting next and what doors it can open for you. I overthought every single detail- you have to dress for the job you want-but people were there casual or extremely dressed. There were people there from all walks of life and all there to celebrate music and the power it has on all our lives. Again please check out the link to the simple requirements you must meet to become a member or NARAS and treat yourself to the experience many of us have dreamed of!
