Grammys miss indie music

It's billed as “music's biggest night.”

But some of the best and most acclaimed musicians aren't even invited to tonight's party.

Bands such as Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and the Dirty Projectors topped “best albums” lists from Spin Magazine, Paste Magazine and Pitchfork last year. But you won't find a single Grammy Award nomination for any of them.

The awards are supposed to honor the best music produced during the previous year, but indie artists tend to be largely ignored by the Recording Academy.

While winning the award for album of the year would be an honor — and increase sales — the indie community doesn't seem to care.

“It definitely doesn't hold as much credence in the indie world,” said Amy Phillips, news editor of online music tastemaker and news site Pitchfork.com.

More nominations for critically acclaimed or independent artists wouldn't necessarily make the Grammys more relevant, either, Phillips said.

“It would make nerds like us happy, but we're not the majority,” she said.

The general sense of apathy among indie artists and label managers has a lot to do with their absence from lists of nominees and award winners.

Even an effort to participate in the voting process is barely present.

For example, Saddle Creek Records executive Jason Kulbel found out years ago that he and others at Saddle Creek could vote. But they never have.

“I suppose there could be some big indie movement to get the Grammys to represent more of our music, but I just don't think anybody really cares,” Kulbel said.

Even if they made the effort, they'd have to fight the numbers. Indie labels make up a much smaller percentage of the market than their major label competitors. That means fewer people employed by the indies and therefore fewer voters.

Most of Kulbel's peers probably haven't even listened to most of the albums that are nominated this year, he said. Kulbel said he listened to albums from Kings of Leon and MGMT — two out of the very few indie artists nominated — but not much else.

Only one Saddle Creek release has ever won a Grammy Award (or been nominated, for that matter), but it wasn't for the music.

Two years ago, Zack Nipper, one of Saddle Creek's graphic designers, took home an award for best recording package for Bright Eyes' “Cassadaga.”

Nipper was surprised and honored by the win and nomination. “If I think about it for more than five seconds, it's weird,” he said, laughing.

After his win, he was approached by many artists, most notably the Foo Fighters, to do album art for them, but he wanted to stay with Saddle Creek.

“(The Grammy) is in my basement. My wife wanted me to put it on the mantle. I said, ‘No,'” Nipper said.

Some critically acclaimed and indie artists are featured in some of the minor categories, but the awards would benefit from including more of them, Nipper said.

“Someone, somewhere is trying to make it more relevant,” he said. “It would be nice to see it trickle up to the bigger categories.”

Awards for best new artist, best alternative album and best Americana album are about the only categories that typically highlight independent and non-mainstream rock acts. Artists in those categories this year include Silversun Pickups, MGMT, Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, Phoenix, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Ting Tings.

As general manager of Homer's Music stores, Mike Fratt is a big music fan. While he does plan on tuning into the awards show, he's not really into the artists who will be featured on tonight's telecast.

He mentioned Danger Bird, Sub Pop and Merge as indie labels that are popular and critically acclaimed but are rarely nominated and typically don't win awards.

“As far as indie artists are concerned, getting a recommended album (label) on Pitchfork matters more than appearing on a TV show,” Fratt said.

Artists on those labels have had little success getting nominated, let alone actually taking home trophies.

Maybe indie rockers should pay more attention, as a Grammy win can mean significant sales, especially for a less well-known artist, Fratt said. For example, two wins last year by Adele had a great impact on sales.

The indie kids may not pay much attention, but the big stars still tune in, even if they're not going to get an award.

“They're fun to watch,” country music singer Tim McGraw said in an interview with The World-Herald. “I'm a fan of all kinds of music. I love to hear the performances.”

“They're the Grammys. They're sort of a hallmark for your career more than anything,” said McGraw, a winner of three of the gilded trophies.

Many say the awards telecast is important because it showcases lots of performances and, hopefully, will get viewers more interested in music.

“I'm sure Lady Gaga will do something amazing, and I can't wait to see that,” said Pitchfork's Phillips. “That's really good, but the awards themselves don't seem to be relevant.

“I think what people don't really realize is that it's all industry people voting for themselves. The fact is that it's taken so seriously, and it really shouldn't be.”

Contact the writer:

444-1557, kevin.coffey@owh.com

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