The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony.

The awards were established in 1958. Prior to the first live Grammys telecast in 1971 on ABC, a series of taped annual specials in the 1960s called The Best on Record were broadcast on NBC. The first Grammy Award telecast took place on the night of November 29, 1959, as an episode of the NBC anthology series Sunday Showcase, which was normally devoted to plays, original TV dramas, and variety shows. Until 1971, awards ceremonies were held in both New York and Los Angeles, with winners accepting at one of the two. Pierre Cossette bought the rights to broadcast the ceremony from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and organized the first live telecast. CBS bought the rights in 1973 after moving the ceremony to Nashville, Tennessee; the American Music Awards were created for ABC as a result.

The 52nd Grammy Awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on January 31, 2010, and will be held at Los Angeles' Staples Center.

Gramophone trophy

The actual trophy is manufactured exclusively by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, Colorado. The trophies are all hand made and assembled. Years ago, the old smaller gramophone had to be revamped because the metals were too soft and there were many problems with the trophy breaking. The trophy was made bigger and grander. The Grammy is assembled in pieces and finally finished off in gold plating. The trophies used for the broadcast are called "stunt" Grammys.

As of 2007, 7,578 Grammy trophies have been awarded.

Categories

main: List of Grammy Award categories main: Grammy Award records The "General Field" are four awards which are not restricted by genre.

• Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a single song.
• Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a full album.
• Song of the Year is awarded to the writer(s)/composer(s) of a single song.
• Best New Artist is awarded to a performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist (which may not necessarily be their first proper release).

Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other contributions such as artwork and video. Special awards are also given out for more long-lasting contributions to the music industry.

Nomination process

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and record companies are responsible for entering into nomination the works that they deem most deserving. Once a work is entered, reviewing sessions are held by over 150 experts from the recording industry. This is done only to determine whether or not a work is eligible or entered into the proper category for official nomination. The nomination process requires that members vote only in their fields of expertise. They may nominate in the four general categories (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist) and in no more than nine out of 31 fields on their ballots. Once the nominations are secured, Recording Academy members may then vote in the four general categories and in no more than eight of the 31 fields. Ballots are tabulated secretly by the major independent accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. As of 2009, the eligibility period for the Grammy Awards begins September 1st.