The Recording Academy changes World Music category to Global Music

Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The Recording Academy has changed the Best World Music Album category to Best Global Music Album, citing the need to avoid connotations of colonialism.

"As we continue to embrace a truly global mindset, we update our language to reflect more appropriate categorization that seeks to engage and celebrate the current scope of music from around the world," the Recording Academy said in a statement on Monday.

The organization said it spoke with artists, ethnomusicologists and linguists from around the world about updating the name.

"The change symbolizes a departure from the connotations of colonialism, folk, and 'non-American' that the former term embodied while adapting to current listening trends and cultural evolution among the diverse communities it may represent," the Recording Academy continued.

The Best World Music Album award was first handed out to Mickey Hart's Planet Drum in February 1992.

The Recording Academy announced in June new rules and guidelines for the Grammy Awards including the renaming of the Best Urban Contemporary Album category to Best Progressive R&B Album and new eligibility for Best New Artist.

The nominees for the 2021 Grammy Awards will be announced on Nov. 24.