Recording Academy
Legal name: National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 956052058
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Phone
- 877.637.6816
- Rating confidence
- Limited
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $104,588,401
- Expenses
- $104,366,687
- Assets
- $139,918,739
- Liabilities
- $56,124,935
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
69 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HARVEY MASON JR (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- PANOS A PANAY (PRESIDENT)
- JOHN LOKEN (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING)
- SEAN SMITH (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS)
- ROSE POLIDORO (VICE PRESIDENT, PARTNERSHIPS)
Highest reported compensation
- HARVEY MASON JR (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $957,004 total reported compensation
- PANOS A PANAY (PRESIDENT): $807,145 total reported compensation
- BRANDEN CHAPMAN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $599,498 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of the Recording Academy is to recognize excellence in the recording arts and sciences, cultivate the well-being of the music community, and ensure that music remains an indelible part of our culture. As CEO, Mason works closely with the Academy's Board of Trustees and senior management team to advance the Academy's goals and mission. He also serves as CEO of MusiCares® and is on the boards of the GRAMMY Museum®, Latin Recording Academy® and Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation®. Under his tenure as Interim President/CEO, in addition to the accomplishments noted above, the Academy launched a new Songwriters & Composers Wing and the Black Music Collective; hired its first-ever Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer; advocated effectively for music creators in Washington, D.C., for pandemic relief; and helped MusiCares COVID-19 Relief raise and distribute more than $24...
What it reported doing in 2024
The recording academy produces the grammy awards, the only peer-presented award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 36
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: Limited
- Program expense ratio: Limited
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.7%; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.34; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
- Governance: 42 of 42 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
- Leadership: top reported pay $957K · 69 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $27.9M reported
- Consistency: 15 of 15 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 23 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 12 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.