Mon, Apr 11, 2011 | 14:09 BST
Video games to grab spot at the Grammys
Video game composers to be given the chance to win top honours by The Recording Academy. That’s music to our ears, etc.
Four Grammy awards in the field of ‘visual media’ have been amended to include videogames as a distinct medium, placing it alongside ‘Motion’, ‘Television’ and ‘Other Visual Media’.
Those awards are:
- The Music for Visual Media
- Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
- Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
- Best Song Written for Visual Media
It means videogame composers may now be recognised for their efforts.
Steve Schnur, worldwide executive for music at EA believes this to be a positive and important step for both the game and music industries.
“The recognition of video games within the GRAMMY Awards is not just significantly important for the interactive entertainment medium, but it shows that the Academy recognizes games are important for the future growth of their audience,” he told Industry Gamers
Recently, Heavy Rain picked up the best original music gong at the video game BAFTAs, but up to this point games have been largely ignored at other mainstream awards ceremonies. Schnur hopes the game industry will respond enthusiastically to this news
“Hopefully, this will create an even playing field when people vote next year,” he said. “I expect there to be a tidal wave of submissions from the game industry.”
Bill Freimuth, vice president for awards at The Recording Academy, went on to say that the door could be opened even wider in the future.
“I think this could be viewed as a first step in the direction of video games getting their own category,” he said.
Further details, and a video of the press conference in which the category changes were announced can be found at the official Grammys site
Thanks, GI.biz
13 
Posted in: Awards, Development
Tags: the grammys
13 comments
#1
Erthazus
11/04/11, 2:26 pm
Great. More mainstream is always good for gaming.
Soon Michael Bay games like Call Of Duty will be the only good games (according to some professional journos like Mr. Dickenson) that will make money and win all the awards.
#2
DSB
11/04/11, 2:48 pm
Put down the shrooms, and step away from the keyboard.
Nobody’s talking about games. They’re talking about music for games.
The Grammys is probably the most rigged show on earth, but last time I checked, the people who win those, generally don’t use them to beat every smaller recording artist to death.
At least several of them seem to escape such a fate every year.
#3
Hunam
11/04/11, 2:50 pm
Yeah, tbh, everyone in the music industry and outside of it just see the Grammys as an elaborate in-joke.
#4
YoungZer0
11/04/11, 3:04 pm
I mean even Homer Simpson has one.
#5
mojo
11/04/11, 3:08 pm
they should let hans zimmer do videogame scores.
inception score is phenomenal
#6
YoungZer0
11/04/11, 3:15 pm
@5: Ehm, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, anyone?
#7
freedoms_stain
11/04/11, 3:18 pm
@5, Hans Zimmer was involved in the Crysis 2 soundtrack.
#8
Freek
11/04/11, 3:57 pm
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
“You were able to succesfull license some okay-ish pop and rock music for a sports and or race game, here’s an award…”
#9
osric90
11/04/11, 4:48 pm
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow here… if that doesn’t win each one of the categories (except for the singed one) it would be like… MEH!
It’s great, GREAT that the Grammys include this and let’s hope it stays, so I will have a reason to watch the show.
#10
Hunam
11/04/11, 6:04 pm
Video games really need their own big Oscar style awards ceremonies sometime soon. There are a few little ones but they need to have their own, prestigious one.
#11
DSB
11/04/11, 9:58 pm
Maybe as a public event it would go a long way to bring out the games industry alongside the other two, rather than a tagalong, but in terms of rewarding good games, I think it’s fairly hopeless to try and mix that with a huge show which, will rely on the industry it’s supposed to pass judgement on.
Consider the fact that a movie like Avatar makes it into the Oscars and it’s quite clear that dollars talk louder than accomplishment.
Although I’m sure that the games industry will get there sooner or later. At least if people keep making CoD-style blockbusters, with hundreds of millions of dollars involved, and millions of fans, it’s going to be inevitable.
#12
Keivz
12/04/11, 12:30 am
a better name would be awards for music in ‘interactive’ media
#13
mojo
12/04/11, 10:24 am
6, 7: yeah im aware. i forgot “more” in my post..
i realy dont understand the hate against avatar. imo its an amazing movie! its popcorn cinema, and well, thats cinema too.
Brain off, entertainment on.
Same as Transformers.
i u want deep and rich plots and twists, read a book. a 2 hour movie can barely deliver what a book does.
Most movies i can think of would need to be twice as long as they are to provide compelling stories.
Think Inception. Great movie. would even be way better if they had the time to explain more.