Industry Insights: The Newest Round of Controversy Surrounding the Grammys

Former Grammys CEO Deborah Dugan’s complaint against the Grammys reveals shocking information about corruption, greed, and sexual assault allegedly brewing within the Recording Academy.

Industry Insights explores the inner workings of the greater music industry, and what they mean for artists and fans alike.

Written by Minnah Zaheer

Photo courtesy of the New York Times

Content warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault.

Following multiple years of dips in viewership and accusations of unfairness, the Grammys now face a complaint filed by former CEO Deborah Dugan, their first female CEO in their six decade history. The 44-page complaint Dugan filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges sexual harassment and discrimination within the organization, ranging from inappropriate comments to the rape of a female artist by another former CEO of the Grammys organization, Neil Portnow. Dugan also claims the Recording Academy makes choices on who to nominate for Grammys based on business decisions, not overall quality level. 

Dugan’s complaint, officially called a charge of discrimination, came only five days after she was placed on administrative leave by the Recording Academy on Jan. 16. According to the Washington Post, Dugan says she alerted the Academy’s HR department that Joel Katz, a music lawyer and former Academy member, sexually harassed her, implying that he wanted to sleep with her and trying to kiss her without consent. She also told HR that she was asked to hire Neil Portnow as a consultant despite the fact that he was forced to step down from his position as CEO after making misogynistic comments about female artists. According to Dugan, however, the real reason Portnow stepped down was because of the aforementioned rape allegation. Dugan’s own firing was due to a complaint of misconduct allegedly filed by Portnow’s executive assistant, Claudine Little, who has filed a countersuit against Dugan. Dugan also states that this was “all made possible by the ‘boys’ club’ mentality and approach to governance at the Academy.”

The Academy’s diversity task force, established in May 2018 to investigate the inequities within the organization and headed by the current CEO of Time’s Up, Tina Tchen, also found that “just 20 percent of voting members in 2018 were women,” according to the New York Times. Task force leader Ty Stiklorius told the Times that male board members, some of whom were mentioned in Dugan’s complaint, attended task force meetings and made it clear the task force’s main function would be to improve the Academy’s public image rather than make real change. The task force has also released a statement in support of Dugan’s claims.

As if a hostile work environment for women wasn’t enough, another key tenet of Dugan’s complaint is the allegations she makes against the Academy itself. She alleges that the voting system through which the Academy chooses nominees is heavily influenced by connections between artists and voting members: “It is not unusual for artists who have relationships with Board members and who ranked at the bottom of the initial 20-artist list to end up receiving nominations,” the complaint reads, according to Billboard.  

Dugan’s complaint specifically names artists like Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran as previously being denied nominations, because other artists had better connections to Academy members, such as producer Ken Ehrlich, according to the New York Times. An unnamed artist who ranked 18th out of 20 prospective nominees for Song of the Year was nominated instead. 

A Grammy is arguably the single most prestigious award someone in the music industry can earn — it’s one of the big four media awards in an EGOT (the others being Emmys for TV, Grammys for music, and Tonys for theater). But if Deborah Dugan’s complaint about the hostility and abuse of power in the Academy holds weight, it could mean a permanent cheapening of the legacy of the award. It may not amount to anything, as the Oscars themselves have faced very few significant changes in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, but Dugan is addressing problems stemming from all facets of the Recording Academy — and it could uproot the music industry entirely.

This article was added to Industry Insights after its publication, upon the creation of the Industry Insights series.