A lot can change in four years. Let's rewind to January 2020, when the talk of the town was how the Recording Academy was going to recover from firing its first female CEO, Deborah Dugan, shortly after she came aboard. To make matters worse, Dugan’s bombshell lawsuit against the Academy—in response to being placed on leave by Grammy—alleged sexual harassment, corruption and a tainted voting process.
Dugan looked to be an ideal Academy boss when she was hired, having followed a successful tenure in the biz with an effective stint as head of the (RED) nonprofit co-launched by Bono, which enlisted the private sector to help raise funds to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. She was showered with accolades from the likes of Forbes, Elle and the powerhouse insider group PTTOW!, which presented her with its Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award. She co-chaired the board of The Moth and has served on the boards of such nonprofits as London- and Nairobi-based Girl Effect and public arts and education org CITYarts. But it wasn’t long before her genuinely disruptive approach to running the Academy ruffled the wrong feathers.
Despite the ruckus raised during Dugan’s rapid rise and fall—and her full-throated indictment of an entrenched Boys’ Club culture—not much has changed in Grammyland. Interim Chair Harvey Mason Jr. is now full time CEO. Besides (intermittently) upping the number of nominees in the Big Four, minimal categorical tweaks and some truly commendable diversity outreach as regards the voting membership, the institution remains the same. In the years since Mason took over, one can make the case that certain snubs and winners have been as mind-boggling as ever.
The Dugan-Academy battle ended up being an afterthought at the actual Grammys. The morning of Music’s Biggest Night in 2020, the world received devastating news that Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi and others were killed in a tragic helicopter accident. Los Angeles was especially stunned. Six weeks later the pandemic started. And in June 2021 Dugan and the Academy reached an agreement via private arbitration. An $8m settlement ensured no further details would be forthcoming.
Fortunately, we have a piece of history enshrined in this cover image from the HITS 2019 Holiday Special.
