The Grammys

In looking at this year's list of Grammy nominees, I was reminded of two things.

1. Why I never bother to watch the Grammys, and...
2. Last year's list of nominees.

It's never a surprise to find that Jay-Z, U2, or Bruce Springsteen are up for another award. After all, the awards are based around big-name, chart-topping artists, regardless of whether their current outputs live up to their previous efforts. Each year, similar groups of musicians arrive in Los Angeles, attend a few parties, and walk away with another souvenir to add to their trophy case.

And honestly, that's all completely fine.

The Grammys are nothing more than business as usual for the music industry. The main goal is TV ratings, so it's natural that the artists with the most airplay and record sales will be the ones taking home the awards.

With that being said, I'm more than happy to turn off my TV on Grammy night. I'm not a part of the target audience of the show, so there is no sense in worrying about which multi-platinum artists win and lose. I listen to a number of artists who have won Grammys, but only because I enjoy the music, not because of record sales, awards, or any other industry-related nonsense.