The Recording Academy announced it is adding two new categories for the 2026 Grammy Awards in its effort to evolve with the "ever-changing musical landscape."
Those two categories are "Best Traditional Country Album" and "Best Album Cover."
The existing "Best Country Album" category has been renamed "Best Contemporary Country Album," the academy said.
It doesn't seem coincidental that this change-up in the country category comes after Beyoncé won "Best Country Album" this year for "Cowboy Carter," which sparked a lot of criticism regarding the more "traditional" country artists that were nominated.
The new "Best Album Cover" category will be part of the academy's packaging field of awards. The existing "Best Recording Package" and "Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package Categories" have been combined into the single category of "Best Recording Package," in addition to the new album cover award.
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The academy said the requirements for "Best Recording Package" and other categories in the field have been updated to include physical albums sold directly to fans through an artist’s or label’s website.
There's also been a change in the classical music award field. Now, composers and lyricists/librettists are eligible for Grammy recognition alongside all other key creative personnel, including artists, producers, and engineers on winning albums, the academy said.
"The Academy's top priority is to represent the music people that we serve each year," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. "That entails listening carefully to our members to make sure our rules and guidelines reflect today’s music and allow us to accurately recognize as many deserving creators as possible. As we kick off another exciting GRAMMY Season, we look forward to celebrating the amazing power of music and its ability to bring so many people together."
The 2026 Grammy Awards will take place Sunday, Feb. 1, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Nominations for the 2026 GRAMMYs will be announced Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
