Grammy FYC Marketing: Essential Strategies and Mistakes to Avoid

Explore practical tips for marketing your music for Grammy consideration. It covers essential strategies and mistakes to avoid in Grammy FYC marketing.

Grammy FYC Marketing

from The Orchard’s The Daily Rind

Breaking through the noise is one of the trickiest parts of music marketing and advertising. As the GRAMMY voting season is underway, For Your Consideration (FYC) advertising can help raise awareness of your artist in the music community, and in particular, eligible voting members. While release marketing targets fans, FYC marketing should target Recording Academy voting members. 

• Where & When To Advertise
• What To Include (And Not Include) 
• The Orchard FYC Examples 
   

Where & When To Advertise

There are two key times for FYC marketing; Before the nomination ballot is decided and after the nomination ballot is confirmed. 

1. Before the Nomination Ballot: Now – October 15, 2024 

Recording Academy Voting members will decide nominees for the 67th annual GRAMMY Awards during first-round voting, October 4 – 15, 2024. To bring your artist top of mind, many music companies begin FYC advertising, both digitally and in print, ahead and during that time. 

• Billboard Print Ad Close Date: September 24
• Variety Print Ad Close Date: September 25

2. After Nomination Ballot Is Confirmed: November 9, 2024 – January 3, 2025 

If you were lucky to score a nomination, then you can also advertise for the final round of voting, which determines the GRAMMY winners. Final round voting takes place December 12, 2024 – January 3, 2025. Winners are then revealed during the ceremony on February 2, 2025.

• Billboard Print Ad Close Date: November 26 
• Variety Print Ad Close Date: December 4

Find more key dates for the 67th Annual GRAMMY season here. 

To Include & Not To Include: 

Below are the guidelines for FYC advertising, as laid out by the Recording Academy. Find even more voting and solicitation guidelines here. 

FYC communications can include: 

1. Artwork related to product under consideration 
2. Brief, unembellished descriptions of the recording or creators 
3. Copies or links to product 
4. Links to websites that promote eligible recordings 
5. Link to Recording Academy website where Voting and Solicitation Guidelines are posted 
6. Lists of the creators who worked on the recording 
7. Reference to nominations, once nominations are announced. List Category(s) by full name
8. Reference to the GRAMMY Award with proper registered marks. Reference can be made by name only. Use of logo is prohibited, see below:
   •  GRAMMY® 
   • GRAMMY® Award 
   • GRAMMY Awards® (Only the plural GRAMMY Awards gets the ® on Awards.) 
   • GRAMMYs® 

FYC communications cannot include: 

• Cast a negative or derogatory light on a competing recording. Any tactic that singles out the “competition” by name or title is not allowed 
• Exaggerate or overstate the merits of the music, an achievement or an individual 
• Include any Recording Academy trademarks, logos or any other protected information: www.grammy.com/legal. Logo use is reserved for paid Recording Academy sponsors or partners 26 
• Include entry list numbers or Category numbers • Include chart numbers, number of streams, sales figures, or RIAA awards 
• Include personal signatures, personal regards or personal pleas to listen to the eligible recordings 
• Misrepresent honors or awards, past or present, received by either the recording or those involved with production
• Reference the year or the telecast number (i.e., 2024 or 67th GRAMMY Awards)

The Orchard FYC Examples (From Previous Years)