Great video game soundtracks and their composers will soon get the recognition they deserve on the world stage.
The Recording Academy, the group responsible for handing out the much-coveted Grammy awards, has recently announced there would be adding a category dedicated to video game soundtracks in the 2023 GRAMMY awards.
The Academy will also add video game soundtracks to its deliberation in other categories in light of recent amendments to its various categories.
Grammy Category for Video Game Soundtracks Details
The Recording Academy mentioned in its announcement that it is adding a category dedicated to video games in its deliberation process in nominating and picking a winner for a Grammy award.
The category in question, the Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media, was added by the Recording Academy to recognize "the excellence in score soundtrack albums made up predominantly of original scores and created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current video game or interactive media released within the qualification period."
The Recording Academy didn't specify the years which are included in the qualification period in its announcement, meaning that video games soundtracks and their composers that may be qualified to receive a grammy but are outside of the qualification period might not be receiving a grammy.
The category's addition is part of the Recording Academy's annual process of its commitment to grow alongside the "ever-changing musical landscape."
The decision is also borne from the process of accepting proposals from the music creators and professionals that are members of its membership body, which consist of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals.
Additionally, the category for video game soundtracks has long been demanded by people for years, according to GameSpot.
The Recording Academy also added video games into the qualifications of the Music For Visual Media Field: Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media category, as it now includes video games in its qualifications.
Significance Of The Grammy Category Addition
The Recording Academy's decision to create or add a category specifically for video games will make the first time that video game music will be honored in the Grammy Awards, but it isn't the first time a video game soundtrack won a Grammy, per Destructoid.
Civilization IV composer Christopher Tin won the Best Instrumental Arrangement with a Vocalist award for the game's main menu music, "Baba Yetu," in 2011, making Civilization IV the first video game to have won a Grammy Award, per Ars Technica.
However, the game's Grammy Award went through an indirect way of getting it. Since a video game soundtrack category has yet to be added to the 2011 Grammy Awards, Tin received the Grammy for "Baba Yetu" due to its addition to his 2009 album "Calling All Dawns."
"Baba Yetu," or "Our Father" in Swahili, was used as Civilization IV's main menu theme when the game was released in 2005.
