Can the Writers’ Strike Save Us From the Grammys?

There’s more terrific news for the music business today, if you can believe it. The Writers Guild announced yesterday that it will not grant the Grammy Awards a waiver that would let the show’s February 10 telecast go unpicketed. “What?� you might ask. “I thought the Grammys were a three-hour unscripted mess!� And, of course, you’d be exactly correct. Still, many nominated musicians are members of the Screen Actors Guild, and they’ve pledged to honor picket lines. Variety names names: Justin Timberlake, Queen Latifah, Tim McGraw, Beyoncé, Jack White, Jon Bon Jovi, T.I., and Fantasia. Additionally, several other high-profile artists traditionally abide by strike rules, like Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, and John Mellencamp, because if they didn’t, it would make their lyrics sound pretty silly.

Will the show happen at all? We hate to say it, but Sunday night’s non–Golden Globe Awards weren’t nearly as painful as we feared they might be, especially since the winners list was posted early on the show’s official Website, thereby sparing us the indignity of actually having to watch Billy Bush say moronic things for an hour. If the WGA can save us from the sight of Fergie being presented with an award ostensibly given for musical excellence, well, worse things have happened, right? Still, as always, we hope for a speedy resolution to the writers’ strike that all sides will find agreeable. Sort of.

Grammys strike chord with WGA [Variety]