Entertainers and record companies who intend to submit albums and recordings for the 62nd Grammy Awards will have to do so by August 31, one month earlier than the past nine years.

This means that the Grammy eligibility year runs from October 1 2018, to August 31 2019. This is the second time in 44 years that the award’s eligibility period has been changed.

Music executive and former co-chair of the Grammy Reggae Committee Cristy Barber says the change will not affect submissions for Best Reggae Album.

“It won’t impact us too much, because reggae music is always released early spring through to late summer. The music tends to get more support at radio when the climate is warmer. I don’t really see it impacting us too much,” Barber said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Barber started a campaign three years ago to sensitise persons in the music industry about the importance of signing up and becoming voting members of the Recording Academy. She said artistes and labels tend to change release dates of projects throughout the year.

“The change doesn’t affect a lot of the release schedules. It is kinda crazy that we just found out about it. However, that being said, it’s 2019 and a lot of labels and artistes can change their release dates,” she said.

Barber added that submissions for the Best Reggae Album category have increased over the past five years.

“I’ve always been fighting for the Grammys to give us a second category. But at the same time, we have had to ensure we had enough submissions. If you don’t have the amount, you can lose your category. The problem we have, what they were not doing in the past and are doing now, they’re taking these one rhythm albums which is almost a band-aid for us, because we’re still looking at a bulk of releases, not even making the 100-point mark. About 25 per cent of the submissions on the ballots are various artistes’ albums,” she disclosed.

The Best Reggae Album category was instituted in 1985 with Black Uhuru’s Anthem winning the first Grammy.

Nominees for the 62nd Grammy Awards will be revealed in December. The ceremony is scheduled for January 26, 2020.