AI is Everywhere, But Awards Go Only to People: Harvey Mason Jr. on the Future of Grammy

AI has infiltrated music unnoticed. Over 18 months, Grammy Awards CEO Harvey Mason Jr.'s position has shifted: from skepticism ("AI will never write Nevermind") to acknowledgment—the technology is now ubiquitous in studios, especially in pop and R&B. The legendary producer doesn't recall a single recent session where AI didn't help at some stage. The question: how to distinguish between a tool and a replacement?

Music by Algorithm

In studios, AI is now at every step: generating chords, filling in drums, writing verses, creating demos and background vocals. Some artists simply drop a prompt and get a finished track; others use AI as a real-time co-author. On Deezer, over 50,000 AI songs are uploaded daily—this is not growth, it's an explosion. The paradox of 2026 music: everyone uses the tool, no one admits it. Suno CEO compared it to Ozempic: "Everyone takes it, no one talks about it." Fans don't want to hear about AI (52% of respondents), so even forward-thinking artists hide the tool. The industry practices a "don't ask, don't tell policy."

Grammy Between Human and Machine

Recording Academy chose to regulate, not ban. The rule: human creativity must be "more than de minimis" (more than minimal). In practice, this is almost impossible to verify—there are no AI detectors yet. Committees ask for documentation and trust authors' honesty. The rules are practical, however:

• If AI sang background vocals—no singing award, but a composition award might be possible
• If a person sings well, even with AI assistance—a performance award is possible
• If AI created the entire track—no unique category exists
• If human labor is insufficient—the application is rejected

The problem is visible from afar: 50,000 songs a day will soon flood 24,000 annual nominations.

Big Artists Are No Longer Hiding

Diplo openly stated: "I take the best voice from AI, I don't need a singer." 50 Cent posts memes with AI versions of his songs. Grimes creates openly. Timbaland released an album with a virtual AI artist under his brand. Young people aren't afraid at all—Gen Z experiments more actively than the guitar generation.

"The point is not whether AI can create good music.

The point is whether it will create a new sound that resonates with the audience," — Harvey Mason Jr.

What This Means

Federal legislation is needed: No Fakes Act (protection of voice and face), Train Act (access to training data and fair royalties), CLEAR Act (transparency). Without it, platforms and Recording Academy improvise. Harvey believes: people will create new genres and sounds that AI won't predict. The question is whether we'll give them time and space while lawmakers lag behind.