Photo courtesy National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.

Music is a very big business -- the U.S. recording industry produced about $12 billion worth of CDs, cassettes, LPs and singles in 2004 [ref], and most people listen to some of them every day. At the GRAMMY^® Awards, the industry recognizes the people who create all this music. Unlike many other music awards, the GRAMMYs recognize artistic and technical achievements rather than sales success.

The GRAMMY ceremony itself has a red carpet, a throng of reporters and winners who thank the Academy, much like the Oscars and the Emmys. Awards night at the GRAMMYs, though, has as much to do with live performances as with who takes home the statuettes.

But who nominates the artists, and who selects the winners? In this article, you'll learn the answers to these and other questions about the GRAMMYs.

Musical Fields Recognized by the GRAMMYs
Album Notes	Musical Show
Alternative	New Age
Blues	Package
Children's	Polka
Classical	Pop
Comedy	Production, Classical
Composing/Arranging	Production, Non-Classical
Country	R&B
Dance	Rap
Film/TV/Visual Media	Reggae
Folk	Rock
Gospel	Spoken Word
Historical	Surround Sound
Jazz	Traditional Pop
Latin	World Music
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