Editing Grammy Awards (section)

===2012 category restructuring===
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2017}}
On April 6, 2011, the Recording Academy announced a significant overhaul of many Grammy Award categories for 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/apr-06-2011-914-am|title=THE RECORDING ACADEMY® CONTINUES EVOLUTION OF GRAMMY® AWARDS|date=April 6, 2011|access-date=December 14, 2017|archive-date=July 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707162509/https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/apr-06-2011-914-am|url-status=live}}</ref> The number of categories was cut from 109 to 78. The most substantial change was eliminating the distinction between male and female soloists and between collaborations and duo/groups in various genre fields (pop, rock, rhythm and blues [R&B], country, and rap). Additionally, several instrumental soloist categories were discontinued; recordings in these categories now fall under general categories for best solo performances.

In the [[Rock music|rock]] field, the hard rock and metal album categories were combined. The [[Best Rock Instrumental Performance]] category was also eliminated.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rohter |first=Larry |date=2011-04-12 |title=Grammy Chief Defends Award Cuts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/arts/music/grammy-awards-executive-defends-cuts-in-categories.html |access-date=2024-06-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], the distinction between best contemporary R&B album and other R&B albums has been eliminated, consolidated into one [[Best R&B Album]] category.<ref>{{cite web |title=Explanation For Category Restructuring |url=https://www.grammy.com/recording-academy/announcement/explanation-for-category-restructuring |website=Grammy.com |date=April 5, 2011 |access-date=February 21, 2019 |archive-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705032036/https://www.grammy.com/recording-academy/announcement/explanation-for-category-restructuring |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[rap music|rap]], the categories for best rap soloist and best rap duo or group have been merged into the new [[Best Rap Performance]] category.

The [[American folk music|roots]] category had the most eliminations. Up through 2011, there were separate categories for regional American music forms, such as Hawaiian, Native American, and Zydeco/Cajun music. A consistently low number of entries in these categories led the Recording Academy to combine these music variations into a new [[Best Regional Roots Music Album]], including [[polka]], which had lost its category in 2009.<ref name=CBC>{{cite news|publisher=[[CBC News]] |title=Grammy board axes polka category to stay 'relevant and responsive' |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/grammy-board-axes-polka-category-to-stay-relevant-and-responsive-1.828218?ref=rss |date=June 4, 2009 |access-date=July 20, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610190520/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2009/06/04/grammy-changes-polka-ostanek.html?ref=rss |archive-date=June 10, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="NYT090605">{{cite news|first=Ben|last=Sisario|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Polka Music Is Eliminated as Grammy Award Category|page=C5|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/arts/music/05polk.html |url-access=subscription |date=June 5, 2009|access-date=October 18, 2010|archive-date=May 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510005556/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/arts/music/05polk.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In same-genre fields, the traditional and contemporary blues categories and the traditional and contemporary folk categories each were consolidated into one per genre due to the number of entries and the challenges in distinguishing between contemporary and traditional blues and folk songs. In the world music field, the traditional and contemporary categories also were merged.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In the [[Classical music|classical]] field, its main category [[Best Classical Album]], was discontinued because most recipients in the category had also won in other classical categories for the same album. Classical recordings are now eligible for the main [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] category.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

A few minor name changes were also made to better reflect the nature of the separate categories. The Recording Academy determined that the word "gospel" in the [[Gospel music|gospel]] genre field tends to connote images and sounds of traditional soul gospel to the exclusion of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). Therefore, the field and some categories were renamed as Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/news/the-academy-continues-evolution-of-grammy-awards-process |first1=Tim |last1=McPhate |title=The Academy Continues Evolution Of GRAMMY Awards Process|website=Grammy.com|date=April 6, 2011|access-date=December 14, 2017|archive-date=August 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829130514/http://www.grammy.com/news/the-academy-continues-evolution-of-grammy-awards-process|url-status=live}}</ref>