What Does BTS’s Grammy Boycott Reveal About Western Music Institutions?

When all seven members of BTS reportedly declined to submit their comeback album Arirang for the 69th Grammy Awards, the decision became more than an awards-season headline. It brought up a more profound issue on the criteria used to define successful artists in Western music establishments who have achieved true worldwide success.

The dispute is around the proposals of a special category in Best Asian Pop Music Performance. The Recording Academy can give such a category a voice such as greater recognition for Asian artists, but BTS’ status is sure to get some people to think about the possibility of separate recognition being yet another form of separation.

When Inclusion Starts Looking Like Segregation

Positive intents sometimes lead to having categories created. They can help educate voters and give artists from minorities a shot at going into the big shows.

The problem or challenge comes when a region turns into a perceived permanent border. When that’s the case in the case of Korean, Latin or other non-English music, it stretches the overall point to imply that these artists are not considered popular music anymore – but exceptions to it.

Successful music in other languages may be regarded as a variant of English-language music; English-language music may seem to be centre stage.

BTS and the Changing Meaning of Global Success

The importance of BTS’s place is different from the other groups because they don’t solely rely on the traditional western gatekeepers. From its international fan base to its stadium tours to its streaming numbers and direct-in-the-fan’s-home musical interaction, this artist is proof that artists can create cultural influence in other nations beyond the traditional routes of the industry.

This redistributes the power. A generation of listeners can easily switch back and forth between Korean pop, Latin, and Japanese releases to western chart hits and consider language to be of no relevance.

It seems more and more old-fashioned to these listeners that music first has to lend itself to some kind of a Western institutional framework.

Recording Academy’s Difficult Position

The Recording Academy can claim that it isn’t a requirement of the music industry for the record to come with a different genre of music that it prevents an artist from entering the General Field awards, such as Album, Record of the Year or Song of the Year.

However the institutional issue is more complex. Artist placement in the awards valuation scheme and the organization of their campaigns directly depend on the categories.It affects the way voters find music, and the placement of artists in the awards system.

The question is thus not just whether Asian artists are in line or not for awarding those big prizes. Whether the building promotes the criterion of comparing world music, instead of music origin or language.

Wider Challenge for Western Culture

It’s a sign of the overall shift in cultural power that BTS has so firmly supported the cause. Musical markets in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East are maturing, with the formation of highly mobile streaming services, award platforms and entertainment industries.Central Asia musical markets are becoming stronger with better developing entertainment industries, easier access to streaming, and better awards platforms in the region.

The prestige that can come from the West remains high, but no longer is it unique in granting cultural legitimacy to the rest of the world. Now, however, for international artists there are more and more viable alternatives.

Future of Global Music Recognition

The BTS hysteria eventually makes Western award houses doubt about “mainstream”. Music structures based on the mostly English language assumptions can not be implemented in a cultural global music system.

Creating dedicated categories of visibility is good, walking down the path to the centre is good as well. Diversifying awards is a good thing, but perhaps eventually it will be more important because the audience has become a “crossing-race marksman” rather than out of a mandate of diversity.

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