Paola Nicole Marrero Rodríguez, also known as paopao, has contributed to a Latin-GRAMMY-winning piece of work — one of the highest accolades in all of music. And her alliance with the Latin Recording Academy extends to its sister academy; paopao is outwardly passionate about the world's leading society of music people, and what it means to her.

"I feel like the amount of Latin representation and participation at the Recording Academy isn't as high as we'd like it to be," paopao says in a heartfelt letter below, as Final Round Voting rolls on ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs. "Being able to be a voice and a minority representative is something I don't take for granted."

Are you a member of the Recording Academy who's unsure about the ways Final Round Voting plays an important role in the voting process? If not, are you simply curious about how being a Voting Member can shift the music landscape in a more fair, transparent and equitable way?

If so, read on from a powerful missive from paopao about all of the above, her personal road to the Recording Academy and Latin Recording Academy, and more.

Read More: How To Vote In The 2024 GRAMMYs: A Complete Final Round Voting Guide For GRAMMY Voters

The following has been edited for clarity.

I first started my journey with the GRAMMY family during my freshman year in college as part of GRAMMY U — the Recording Academy's membership program dedicated to uplifting aspiring music creators and professionals.

Last year, I became a voting member of the Recording Academy shortly after also becoming a member of the Latin Recording Academy. Officially becoming a member has offered me additional opportunities, many of which I feel people aren't aware or taking advantage of.

I like to think of it as a web made up of everyone who is anyone in the music industry. Because there are so many creators in the Latin music community, including songwriters and engineers, who are unaware that they qualify to become a member, I want to be a voice to spread the word and make sure my peers know about this incredible opportunity.

As a Latin artist in the música urbana community, being a part of the Recording Academy has been so important because my peers and I have the opportunity to shape Latin music within the broad spectrum of the music industry, not just within our community.

I feel like the amount of Latin representation and participation at the Recording Academy isn't as high as we'd like it to be, and being able to be a voice and a minority representative is something I don't take for granted. Latin music is becoming part of our culture and music globally, and as members of the Academy, we're helping change how our music is heard and seen across the world.

Starting Thursday, Dec. 14, until Jan. 4, 2024, we'll look at this year's GRAMMY nominees and vote for who we believe are making a lasting impact on music. Our votes will determine who will win an award at the 66th GRAMMYs.

"GRAMMY" is a massive word in the music industry. It's a huge stamp of approval and carries a lot of weight because being a music creator isn't easy. On the creative path, there are a lot of things working against you. So, to win a GRAMMY and to be recognized by your peers for your music, is that reassurance that you were right to make that leap and that all your hard work is paying off. It tells you that people are actually listening, and that you have what it takes to impact music and make history.

If we want to see better representation within Latin music, we need to be vouching for the work and creators we think deserve it by using our votes. We can't complain about the outcomes on Nominations Day or GRAMMY Sunday if we're not willing to take action. As with anything, if we want something to change, we must be part of that change.

Being a voting member is also a privilege that not everyone has, so it's up to us to be educated members of this community and really listen and do our research and evaluate the quality of the music on the ballot, not just vote for our friends or what we think is most popular. I've discovered so many new artists and music just through participating in the voting process, so it's rewarding, too!.

The Recording Academy has given us a voice to express to the world what remarkable music is to us — the people who live and breathe music. So, use it. Tell other voting members to use it. Together we can push music and the culture forward.  

Learn more about the upcoming 2024 GRAMMY Awards season. Interact with the dynamic GRAMMY Awards Journey online resource to learn about the GRAMMY Awards process in full. View the official Rules and Guidelines for the 2024 GRAMMY Awards. Visit the GRAMMY Award Update Center for a list of real-time changes to the GRAMMY Awards process.

50 Percent Of The Recording Academy's 2023 New Member Class Are People Of Color

The Recording Academy is thrilled to announce the launch of the My Academy Hub mobile app, the official app for members of the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy. Enabling easy access to all your membership information and key resources, the My Academy Hub app is the ultimate tool for managing your Academy membership from anywhere, anytime — right at your fingertips. Plus, the app is the best way to stay connected to your Academy community. 

Download the My Academy Hub app in the App Store and Google Play.

Benefits of the My Academy Hub app include:

• Receive Timely Notices: Stay up-to-date on important alerts and news from the Recording Academy and Latin Recording Academy.

• Access Key Deadlines: Never miss a deadline for GRAMMYs submissions, GRAMMY voting, or other important events.

• View Your Membership Details: View your membership status, type, expiration date, and more.

• Browse Your Benefits: Access exclusive discounts, member perks, and more member benefits right from the app.

• Events: Browse and register for upcoming Recording Academy and Latin Recording Academy official events.

Your in-app journey will be tailored to reflect your affiliation with either the Recording Academy or the Latin Recording Academy. In the case of dual membership, the default view will be the Recording Academy dashboard, with the flexibility to seamlessly switch to the Latin Recording Academy dashboard as needed. The Latin Recording Academy experience supports English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The My Academy Hub app also brings the Recording Academy dashboard right to your fingertips and triggers push notifications announcing the latest Recording Academy news and updates, including key deadlines and updates to the GRAMMY Awards process. You can also update your Academy member information seamlessly and keep your privacy safe via a biometric login.

Plus, keep an eye out for product function updates. 

Download the My Academy Hub app at the App Store and Google Play today to stay connected to your community at the Recording Academy and Latin Recording Academy.

2024 GRAMMYs: See The Full Winners & Nominees List

Every passing year is significant to the Recording Academy, but 2023 ticked a noteworthy number of boxes for the world's leading community of music professionals. 

From achievements in the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) space, including a significantly diversifying membership class, to the millions of dollars granted to the music community by MusiCares, this year has been a watershed for the Recording Academy.

As we wave goodbye to 2023 and welcome 2024, here's a breakdown of the Recording Academy's achievements and initiatives from this banner year.

Serving & Representing Underrepresented Groups

The Academy's 365-day-per-year commitment to DEI paid off in a major way in 2023.

A record-breaking diverse group of 2,400+ music creators joined the Recording Academy this year as part of our 2023 New Member Class. In a demonstration of the Academy's commitment to remaking its overall membership, 50% of the new class are people of color, 46% are under the age of 40, and 37% are women. Full statistics surrounding the demographics of the new class can be found here.

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Read More: Recording Academy AAPI Members & Leaders On Where The Fight's Led Them And The Road Ahead

 The Recording Academy also supported students of color and students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across a number of initiatives. With support from our partners at United Airlines, the official airline partner of the GRAMMY Awards, the Recording Academy, our DEI team, and the Black Music Collective provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience at this year's GRAMMY Week for a select group of HBCU students. Made possible by United, 10 HBCU students from across the U.S. were gifted travel to attend the 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards, and the coinciding, week-long GRAMMY Week celebration in Los Angeles. The students also attended professional development programs in New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.

For the third consecutive year, the Black Music Collective teamed up with Amazon Music to award five students with the "Your Future Is Now" scholarship, which awarded students at HBCUs $10,000 scholarships and the opportunity to be part of an immersive rotation program with Amazon Music and Recording Academy department leads. Elsewhere, the second annual Quinn Coleman Memorial Scholarship, presented by the Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum, awarded a scholarships and internships at the Recording Academy or Latin Recording Academy to five students from across the country.

Celebrating Marginalized Creators, Voices & Organizations

As 2023 winds down, the world is in turmoil, and as always, the Recording Academy has risen to this challenge. This year, the Academy joined many organizations and causes to support creators from marginalized groups and communities.

The Academy joined the Biden-Harris administration's first-ever U.S. national strategy to counter antisemitism; we hosted a listening session with Recording Academy leadership specifically curated for creators in Jewish music and collaborated with the Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance to present a panel discussion commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. In June during Black Music Month, the Black Music Collective partrnered with the White House to host its first-ever Juneteenth Concert Juneteenth concert, which featured performances from Jennifer Hudson and Ledisi.

In May during Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we celebrated Recording Academy members and leaders from the AAPI community.

On Indigenous Peoples' Day in October, our DEI team hosted a conversation with the cast and crew of "Reservation Dogs" to discuss the Indigenous community and their musical offerings to the world. Hosted by the Recording Academy's Executive Vice President of Communications, Sean Smith, the panel discussion featured the show's composer Mato Wayuhi and music supervisor Tiffany Anders, followed by a performance from Vincent Neil Emerson.

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The Recording Academy also gave back to the LGBTQIA+ community. For the first time ever, GLAAD, the non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization, collaborated with Live Nation and the Recording Academy to present an expanded Spirit Day Concert in Los Angeles. Hosted by Frankie Grande and featuring an exciting lineup of performers and emerging young musicians, the event took a stand against LGBTQ youth bullying and provided a possibility model for the next generation to explore, learn, and grow into a future filled with empathy and kindness.

Serving & Supporting The Music Community

The Recording Academy does a lot more than hand out awards. And, naturally, this extended to the broader music community. Across all of 2023, the Recording Academy, led by our Washington, D.C-based Advocacy & Public Policy team, fought for creators' rights and elevated important policy issues that stand to affect the community

In April, the two-day GRAMMYs on the Hill 2023 event brought together congressional leaders and music makers to recognize those who have led the fight for creators' rights. The 2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards, the premier annual celebration of music and advocacy in Washington, D.C., addressed the changing music landscape, celebrated music champions and pushed the industry toward progress. Sponsored by City National Bank and benefitting the GRAMMY Museum, this year's GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards honored 13-time GRAMMY winner Pharrell Williams, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) for their contributions to support music creators.

The Recording Academy also fought for creators on Capitol Hill via the annual Advocacy Day, where Academy and U.S. Congress leaders announced the reintroduction of the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act, leading the federal effort to limit the use of song lyrics in court and legal cases. As well, District Advocate Day 2023, the largest grassroots advocacy movement for music and its makers, saw Recording Academy members from across the country visit the local district offices of their elected representatives in Congress to discuss issues affecting the livelihoods of songwriters, performers, and studio professionals; the event, held in October, also hosted the first-ever GRAMMY Advocacy Conference, which provided another opportunity for Academy members to connect with each other and engage with the issues no matter where they live.

Elsewhere, the Academy addressed AI head-on with the Human Artistry CampAIgn, as well as a number of other initiatives to ensure music creators are top of mind when it comes to AI and copyright law.

During GRAMMY Week 2023, the Advocacy team fought for fair pay at 4th annual GRAMMY Fund Brunch and spotlighted music policy for members of Congress.

Celebrating & Recognizing Excellence In Music

There's a reason why the annual GRAMMY Awards are known as Music's Biggest Night around the world. And 2023, was no different. The Recording Academy celebrated music creators of all kinds at this year's GRAMMY Awards.

At the 2023 GRAMMYs, artists broke records and made history. Most notably, Beyoncé broke the all-time record to become the artist with the most GRAMMY wins in history, counting 32 GRAMMY wins to date. Elsewhere, Kim Petras became the first trans woman to win the GRAMMY for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, winning for her collaboration with Sam Smith, "Unholy."

The 2023 GRAMMYs also saw the debut of five new GRAMMY Awards categories, which included: Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical, won by Tobias Jesso Jr.; Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media, won by composer Stephanie Economou for Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn Of Ragnarok; Best Spoken Word Poetry Album, won by J. Ivy for The Poet Who Sat By The Door; the inaugural Best Song For Social Change Special Merit Award, won by Shervin Hajipour for "Baraye" and presented by First Lady Jill Biden; and several other GRAMMY categories.

Next year at the 2024 GRAMMYs, the Recording Academy will celebrate even more artists and creators with the debut of three new GRAMMY Award categories: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.

Impacting The World Through Music & Arts

For the Recording Academy, elevating music and the arts isn't an end to itself — it furthers change the world over. That's why this year the Academy collaborated with the U.S. government and several pro-social organizations to promote peace, diplomacy and democracy through music worldwide.

In September, the Academy joined United Nations Human Rights to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights alongside United Nations Human Rights representatives in NYC. In conjunction with this, the Recording Academy, the official Music Partner of Right Here, Right Now Music, with the support of United Nations Human Rights, committed to international Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concerts that aim to promote climate justice and rights-based climate action.

The Recording Academy is working to harness the power of music to promote social justice around the world through several global initiatives supported by United Nations Human Rights. The multifaceted Right Here, Right Now Music initiative is designed to engage major artists to use their talents and unique platform to elevate awareness of climate justice.

The Recording Academy also partnered with U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to help launch the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, an international initiative that will promote peace, diplomacy and democracy through music worldwide; during the launch event, Quincy Jones received the inaugural Peace Through Music Award.

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Celebrating The 50th Anniversary Of Hip-Hop

You may have heard that 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. And the Recording Academy didn't just rise to the occasion — it led the charge. 

At the 2023 GRAMMYs, hip-hop took over the GRAMMY stage all night. In addition to the star-studded hip-hop tribute at the 2023 GRAMMYs, Dr. Dre was the recipient of the inaugural Dr. Dre Global Impact Award and Kendrick Lamar solidified his GRAMMYs legacy with three GRAMMY wins for his groundbreaking 2022 album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, including Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song.

Clearly, that hip-hop revue at the 2023 GRAMMYs was just the beginning. Featuring an astonishing cross-section of hip-hop's most crucial originators and innovators, the once-in-a-lifetime live concert special "A GRAMMY Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop" closed out the hip-hop celebration on the highest of notes.

Elsewhere, the GRAMMY Museum launched the immersive Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit, while MusiCares, in partnership with Vivid Seats, launched Humans of Hip Hop, a program directed at providing resources tailored to the needs of the hip-hop community nationwide.

To top it all off, the Recording Academy partnered with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to host a celebration for the 50th anniversary of hip-hop at her D.C. residence. This historic event featured performances from Lil Wayne, MC Lyte, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Jeezy, and many more.

Read More: GRAMMY.com’s 50th Anniversary Of Hip-Hop Coverage: A Recap

Giving Back To The Music Community

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MusiCares, the philanthropic arm of the Recording Academy and the leading music charity that provides a safety net of health and human services for the music community, has helped countless music people through mental, physical and financial challenges. In 2023, MusiCares continued and expanded their mission.

This year alone, MusiCares distributed $6.06 million in financial assistance and preventative care to 5,000 music professionals.

They also launched The Day That Music Cares, the music community's first annual day of service, as well as the Resilience On The Road Toolkit, a living suite of resources to help music people foster and maintain their well-being on the road  Last but certainly not least, MusiCares partnered with Togetherall to expand mental health support for music people.

Supporting The Next Generation Of Music Creators & Leaders

As one of the core pillars of the Recording Academy's year-long mission, we aim to inspire and support the next generation of music creators and professionals by providing opportunities, enrichment and mentorship. We achieved this goal via multiple initiatives this year.

In January, we announced our 2023 class of #GRAMMYsNextGen Ambassadors and Advisors; the program is intentionally designed to engage the under-40 music community and recognize the best and brightest power players behind the scenes of the music that drives culture today.

In August, GRAMMY U, the Academy's membership type for emerging professionals and creatives pursuing a career in the music industry, expanded its membership program by opening its eligibility to allow all individuals aged 18-29 who are actively taking an alternate path towards a career in music to apply for this premier program. This expansion created a more inclusive space for the future leaders and creative pioneers of the industry.

The GRAMMY Museum, the world-class leaders in music education, launched many initiatives aimed at supporting emerging artists and aspiring students. The 2023 installment of their GRAMMY Camp program welcomed Gracie Abrams, G Flip, Moore Kismet, Paul Klein from LANY, and Lizzy McAlpine as this year's guest artists; they discussed their career paths and helped students prepare for the music industry. In March, the GRAMMY Museum also launched its third annual GRAMMY In The Schools Fest, which provided music career exploration sessions for students and featured educational panels and workshops featuring artists and industry professionals. 

Across many of our Recording Academy Chapters, we celebrated the next generation of music leaders and creators. The New York Chapter's GRAMMY Career Day in October provided students with an in-depth exploration of the music industry, while the Los Angeles Chapter celebrated the NEXT Class Of 2023, which provided real-life experiences to Voting and Professional Members 21-35 years of age to foster their budding careers as they begin their paths as future leaders of the music industry.

The Recording Academy thanks all members and industry professionals who aided us in our ongoing mission to support all music people. We'll see you in what is sure to be a thrilling, productive 2024!

*—With additional reporting by John Ochoa*

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

The 2024 GRAMMYs are so close that we can taste it — and we're now in one of the most critical stages. The Recording Academy is undergoing final round voting, where our esteemed membership will select who will bring home the golden gramophones at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 4.

Said membership doesn't just work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a fair, equitable, transparent process, from peer to peer: they're vocal about just how important final round voting is, as we round the corner to Music's Biggest Night.

Here are five affecting clips of Recording Academy members discussing the import and impact of this critical component of the Academy's voting process — which stretches from Dec. 14 to Jan. 4.

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In the above clip, artists from family-music great Justin Roberts to violinist Jannina Norpoth and beyond elucidate why final round voting gives members a chance to uplift their peers and change the trajectory of music history.

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Here, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. moderates a discussion between the Recording Academy Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Chelsey Green, and Tammy Hurt, Chair of the Board of Trustees, with timely information about how voting for the 2024 GRAMMYs works.

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Above, moderator Qiana Conley speaks with Houston rapper First Born and music producer Trooko about what everyone should know about the nature and process of final round voting.

Pivoting from Instagram to TikTok, watch country-rapper and R&B star Breland expound on why final round voting is an indispensable part of the GRAMMYs mission.

Last but certainly not least, watch Big Easy R&B-adjacent visionary Dawn Richard expound on why every vote is critical to the future of music globally.

Learn more about the upcoming 2024 GRAMMY Awards season. Interact with the dynamic GRAMMY Awards Journey online resource to learn about the GRAMMY Awards process in full. View the official Rules and Guidelines for the 2024 GRAMMY Awards. Visit the GRAMMY Award Update Center for a list of real-time changes to the GRAMMY Awards process.

Keep watching this space for more info about the 2024 GRAMMYs on Feb. 4!

How To Vote In The 2024 GRAMMYs: A Complete Final Round Voting Guide For GRAMMY Voters