The recording industry's most prestigious award, the GRAMMY is presented annually by the Recording Academy. A GRAMMY is awarded by the Recording Academy's voting membership to honor excellence in the recording arts and sciences. It is truly a peer honor, awarded by and to artists and technical professionals for artistic or technical achievement, not sales or chart positions. The annual GRAMMY Awards presentation brings together thousands of creative and technical professionals in the recording industry from all over the world.

In addition to the GRAMMY Awards, other honors are given by the Recording Academy. These awards recognize contributions and activities of significance to the recording field that fall outside the framework of the GRAMMY Awards categories, and include the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award, Hall of Fame Award, the Technical GRAMMY Award, and the GRAMMY Legends Award.

The GRAMMY Process

This simplified description illustrates the various stages of the GRAMMY Awards process. The process begins with members and record companies submitting entries, which are then screened for eligibility and category placement. The Academy's voting members, all involved in the creative and technical processes of recording, then participate in (1) the nominating process that determines the five finalists in each category; and (2) the final voting process which determines the GRAMMY winners.