Music industry mogul Steve Stoute took the liberty of taking out a full page ad in the New York Times Style section to voice his displeasure with the NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences). Stoute feels the Grammy’s are shutting out more popular artists to give shine to the lesser unknowns in some of their categories. However how do you explain artists such as Justin Bieber, Drake and Eminem, losing in such categories as Best New Artist & Album of The Year to artists like Esperanza Spalding and Arcade Fire? To Mr. Stoute's credit, this is not the first time this has happened. Kanye West
and 50 Cent have experienced the same fate at the Grammy's, in categories that most people felt they should have won. The NARAS should recognize the cultural shifts in the popular music genre and make the proper adjustments. Stoute thinks:
"Over the course of my 20-year history as an executive in the music business and as the owner of a firm that specializes in in-culture advertising, I have come to the conclusion that the Grammy Awards have clearly lost touch with contemporary popular culture. My being a music fan has left me with an even greater and deeper sense of dismay — so much so that I feel compelled to write this letter. Where I think that the Grammys fail stems from two key sources: (1) over-zealousness to produce a popular show that is at odds with its own system of voting and (2) fundamental disrespect of cultural shifts as being viable and artistic. "