Recording Academy & MusiCares Raised Over $24M for Charitable Activities During GrammyWeekend

The Recording Academy raised almost $9 million on Sunday (Feb. 2), the day of the 67th annual Grammy Awardsto aid in relief efforts related to the devastating wildfires that hit the Los Angeles area beginning on Jan. 7. Over the course of the entire Grammy weekend, the Recording Academy and MusiCares raised more than $24 million for charitable activities, according to an academy spokesperson.

The almost $9 million raised on Grammy Sunday will be split between MusiCares, Direct Relief, the California Community Foundation (CCF) and the Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF). Money raised at other Grammy Weekend events, such as the MusiCares Persons of the Year event honoring the Grateful Deadwill go to MusiCares’ ongoing initiatives to support music professionals in need.

The partnerships with Direct Relief, CCF and PCF amplify the efforts of MusiCares Fire Relief, which the Recording Academy and MusiCares launched soon after the wildfire crisis began. All money raised will remain in the community and be used to aid those impacted.

Attendees, viewers, music industry partners and corporate sponsors were encouraged to donate throughout Sunday’s telecast. All funds raised from the telecast will be used to support this new partnership, which will serve not only Los Angeles area music professionals but the broader needs of others impacted in the Los Angeles community.

Sunday night’s CBS telecast was seen by 15.4 million viewers according to Nielsen Live Plus Same Day Ratings. Academy sources say they are pleased with the ratings numbers, even though they are down from last year. In order to be sensitive to the fire situation in L.A., they delayed and significantly scaled back traditional marketing efforts and expected a bigger dip in ratings, the sources say.

Despite the ratings dip, the CBS broadcast was the most social TV program of all time, according to the academy, with 102.2 million interactions — more than any other sports, news and entertainment program in history.

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