Organisers of the Grammy Awards have requested an agreement from the Writers' Guild Of America which would give them the green light to go ahead with this year's awards bash on 10 Feb.
Technically speaking the Grammy's have no contract with the Guild so, unlike last week's Golden Globes, are less likely to fall foul to the ongoing writers strike that has been crippling Hollywood. But Grammy producers Cossette Productions is on a list of companies the Guild claims to be off limits, and fears have risen that writers will picket the event, due to take place in LA on 10 Feb, and that union-friendly artists would not feel able to attend, even if they are nominated.
A spokesman for the WGA had previously said the Grammys would be 'beneath the radar' of the strike, but following the cancellation of the Golden Globes last week and growing speculation as to whether next month's Oscars will not go ahead, it seems organisers of the US's flagship music awards don't want to leave anything to chance.
The boss of The US Recording Academy, that stages the awards, yesterday said they were looking to enter into an agreement with the WGA similar to that signed with David Letterman's production company Worldwide Pants, which has allowed the two Letterman produced US talk shows to return to the air with Guild support. RA CEO Neil Portnow told reporters: "[The agreement] would both allow the talented writers for the show to be compensated fairly for their valuable services and allow us to demonstrate support for the creative community of writers in a tangible and meaningful way".
The Guild said it was considered the Recording Academy's request. As previously reported, the Guild's members are striking over disagreements regarding writer royalty payments in the digital age.