A Grammy submission is not a Grammy nomination. When an artist’s team announces work “submitted for Grammy consideration”, the work has been entered into the Recording Academy’s process. It has not been shortlisted, voted a nominee, or guaranteed a place on any nominations list. The Academy’s published process has several separate stages, and a submission is only the first.

This matters now because first-round voting for the 2027 Grammy Awards ran from 12 to 22 October 2026, and nominees will be announced on 16 November 2026. Until 16 November, every 2027 story can only honestly describe a submission, a reported submission, or a campaign — not a nomination. This explainer sets out, from the Academy’s own guides, how an entry moves through screening and voting, who may submit and vote, and why the public cannot vote.

Four different words, four different things

Four words are used almost interchangeably in headlines, and they mean four different things. Keeping them apart is the whole of this explainer.

An entry is a recording, video, film or other work formally submitted for consideration during the Recording Academy’s Online Entry Process. The Academy’s FAQ puts it plainly: “Entries are recordings submitted for GRAMMY consideration.” An entry is a candidate for consideration, nothing more.

An eligible entry is an entry that has passed the Academy’s checks: it was released inside the eligibility period, it meets the category’s requirements, and it has been placed in an appropriate category. Eligibility is about whether the work is allowed to be considered, not about whether it is good.

A nominee is an entry that voting members have voted onto the final shortlist in its category. In most categories there are five nominees. In the four General Field categories — Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist — there are eight. A nominee is announced publicly, on 16 November 2026 for the 2027 awards.

A winner is a nominee chosen by a second round of voting, announced on Grammy night itself, 7 February 2027. Most coverage that says an artist has been “nominated” when they have only been submitted has skipped two full stages of this sequence.

The practical test is a date test. A story before 16 November 2026 describing a 2027 outcome can only describe a submission or campaign, because nominees have not been determined. A story using “nominee” before that date for the 2027 awards uses the word incorrectly.

Stage 1: the Online Entry Process — who can submit, and when

The Grammy process begins with the Online Entry Process (OEP). For the 2027 awards it ran from 7 July to 21 August 2026. The Academy states: “If a recording or work is not formally submitted, it cannot be considered for a Grammy Award or a Grammy nomination.” A work released late in the eligibility period still had to be entered by 21 August, though eligibility ran to 28 August.

Only registered media companies and Recording Academy members (voting and professional) can submit. A media company is a business whose core function is creating, aggregating and promoting audio/video content, with verifiable product in national U.S. distribution on approved streaming platforms. Registration closed on 14 August 2026. Fans, journalists, and artists not working through a member or registered company cannot submit directly.

The eligibility period covers works released between 31 August 2025 and 28 August 2026, available for sale via general distribution within those dates and through the final-ballot deadline. A work outside the window, or inside it but never entered, cannot be considered. Both conditions must be met.

Submitters may include an Artist Intent statement explaining why a work was entered in a category or genre. Screeners may consider it. It is context, not a vote or a guarantee.

Stage 2: screening — the manual vetting most headlines skip

Once received, each entry is individually and manually vetted by Awards staff for eligibility. The Academy says it “can receive more than 20,000 eligible entries during a single Grammy season” — not an exact 2027 count, but the order of magnitude. A process starting above 20,000 entries and ending with five nominees per category, across 100 categories, narrows drastically. Most entries cannot become nominees.

The Awards Department and genre screening committees then manually review entries for correct category placement. The voting guide is explicit: “The purpose of genre screening committees is not to make artistic or technical judgements about the submissions, but rather to ensure each entry is eligible and placed in its proper Category.” Screeners do not rank songs or choose nominees. An entry that fails screening never reaches the ballot; one that passes has achieved only that.

“For consideration” means a work is available to be considered by voters — not that voters have considered, liked, or voted for it. Like a job application, submission means being in the pile, not being shortlisted. Coverage dropping “for consideration” and keeping only the artist’s name and award reports the application as if it were the appointment.

Stage 3: first-round voting — the members decide the nominees

Following screening, voting begins. The Grammy process has two voting rounds. First Round Voting determines the nominees for the majority of categories. Final Round Voting determines the winners. For the 2027 awards, first-round voting opened on Monday 12 October 2026 and closed on Thursday 22 October 2026. At the time this article was written, on 28 October, first-round voting had closed six days earlier, but its results — the nominees — had not been announced and would not be until 16 November.

Only Recording Academy voting members can vote, in either round: working music creators including artists, producers, songwriters and engineers. Registered media companies, professional members and Grammy U members cannot vote. The companies that submit entries do not vote on them.

Voters vote only in their areas of expertise. Under the standard “10/3” structure, a member may vote in up to ten categories across up to three genre fields, plus the four General Field categories. Ballot Plus, new for 2027, lets members with verified multi-genre credits vote in up to 15 peer-related categories. Both structures keep voters judging work where they have professional standing.

The top five finalists in each category become nominees, except the General Field categories, where the top eight do. Producer of the Year, Non-Classical and Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical also have five. Ballots are tabulated by the independent accounting firm Deloitte. There is no public tally or leaderboard before 16 November.

Stage 4: final-round voting — and why the public vote does not count

Final Round Voting runs from 10 December 2026 to 7 January 2027 and determines the winners, revealed on 7 February 2027 at Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu. Only voting members may vote. The Academy calls the Grammys “music’s only peer-voted honor”: the voters are vetted working creators, not the public, critics, or a sales chart.

That is why public votes, fan campaigns, streaming numbers and social media polls do not count. A campaign can raise awareness, and teams may run “for your consideration” campaigns under the Academy’s voting and solicitation guidelines, but no public vote is added to a ballot. A song can be the year’s most-streamed and receive no nomination, or be nominated with modest streaming. Public consumption and peer voting are independent systems.

The number of categories an artist is submitted in proves nothing. Fifteen entries means fifteen separate category votes, by different voters in many cases. A long submission list evidences a broad campaign, not broad voter support — the only support that produces a nomination.

How to read a Grammy submission story: a checklist

When a headline says an artist has “submitted” work, check five things. (1) Date: before 16 November 2026, it cannot report a 2027 nomination. (2) Verb: “submitted”/”for consideration” versus “nominated” — only the second describes a nominee. (3) Source: team/label announcements describe campaigns; Academy announcements describe results. (4) Category count: many submitted categories are not many nominations. (5) Eligibility: released 31 August 2025–28 August 2026 and entered by 21 August 2026, or it cannot be a 2027 nominee.

“Grammy-nominated” from a previous year does not carry forward: each year’s nominations are determined afresh. A past winner’s new work is likewise not a nominee by virtue of the earlier win. The process restarts annually.

The timeline is the safest guide: entries closed 21 August 2026; screening followed; first-round voting ran 12–22 October; nominees are announced 16 November; final-round voting runs 10 December–7 January; the ceremony is 7 February 2027. See our full timeline in the Grammy Awards 2027 explainer, and the four new ‘Encore’ songs. Neither a chart position nor a submission predicts a nomination.

The distinction is not pedantry. A nomination means voting members placed a work among the top five (or eight) of more than 20,000 entries. A submission means a form was filed before a deadline. Reporting submissions accurately avoids false expectations and false disappointment. The silence between 22 October and 16 November is the process working as designed.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Grammy submission the same as a Grammy nomination?
No. A submission (an entry) is a work formally entered for consideration during the Online Entry Process. A nomination is an entry that voting members have voted into the top five in its category (top eight in the four General Field categories). Nominations for the 2027 Grammys are announced on 16 November 2026.

Who can submit a work for Grammy consideration?
Only registered media companies and Recording Academy members (voting and professional members), during the Online Entry Process. For the 2027 awards that window ran from 7 July to 21 August 2026. Work that was not formally submitted cannot be considered, even if it was released inside the eligibility period.

Who votes for Grammy nominees and winners?
Only Recording Academy voting members — working music creators including artists, producers, songwriters and engineers. Media companies, professional members and Grammy U members cannot vote. The public does not vote. First-round voting determines nominees; final-round voting determines winners.

How many entries does the Recording Academy receive?
The Academy says it can receive more than 20,000 eligible entries in a single Grammy season, and that the total varies each year. Each entry is individually and manually vetted for eligibility, then screened for category placement, before voting members see it on a ballot.

Updated: 28 October 2026. First-round voting for the 2027 Grammys closed on 22 October 2026; nominees will be announced on 16 November 2026. Update this explainer on the same URL when the nominations are announced.

Sources

• Recording Academy / GRAMMY.com, “How To Submit Your Music For The 2027 Grammys: Deadlines, Grammy Nominations, Grammy Voting Process & More” — https://www.grammy.com/news/2027-grammys-how-submit-music-guide/
• Recording Academy / GRAMMY.com, “How To Vote In The 2027 Grammys: A Complete First Round Voting Guide For Grammy Voters”, updated 9 October 2026 — https://www.grammy.com/news/how-to-vote-2026-grammys-voting-guide/
• Recording Academy / GRAMMY.com, “Grammy 101 | Frequently Asked Questions about the Grammy Awards” — https://www.grammy.com/awards/faq/

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