The 2018 Grammy nominations are out. Last year, Kanye West's "Famous" was nominated for best rap song. Approximately 35% of "Famous" is Jimmy Webb's "Do What You Gotta Do". There are 17 songwriters listed for "Famous", 11 were nominated for the Grammy. Since Jimmy's song is 35% of "Famous", that means on average the other songwriters were responsible for about 4% of the song. Jimmy was denied this nomination because his song was "interpolated."
As an activist for songwriters/creators, Jimmy and his team appealed to the Grammy's for a rule change to protect and recognize songwriters who find themselves in similar situations – where their work is co-opted but not recognized.
Here we share with you the proposal that the Webb team of experts painstakingly created, and the response from the Grammy's VP Bill Freimuth and the nomination committee.
Jimmy asks if you think this is a satisfactory response?
(Click on the links below to read Jimmy's proposal and the GRAMMYS response)
Jimmy's Proposal https://static1.squarespace.com/static/521e0e17e4b021b17d88280c/t/5a1ca1ea53450a9c549877ca/1511825898853/SamplingRulechangeproposalfinal+2.pdf
Grammy Response https://static1.squarespace.com/static/521e0e17e4b021b17d88280c/t/5a1ca40c9140b7c3066c80f0/1511826445048/Grammy+Response+to+Webb+Proposal.pdf