Artists not only from rock music but also many genres are inducted into the “Rock & Roll” hall of fame annually.
Nominee announcements for the 2024 ceremony are right around the corner. An eclectic assortment of artists are speculated to become and or return as nominees this year. And out of many of the rumored artists, the majority are not musicians under the rock genre.
Mixed emotions and criticism surrounding the foundation have been prevalent for quite some time.
Much of this controversy stems from the idea that less than nine percent of the inducted roster as of 2023 consisted of female artists, according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The voters are sometimes accused of being prejudiced in favor of white male performers.
In the coming month artists such as Lil Wayne, Coldplay, and Mariah Carey are some of the very few experiencing backlash for even being considered in the ballot. In 1999 Black Sabbath summed up their opinion by stating that “The nomination is meaningless.”
The band curated a letter in which they requested that Black Sabbath not be included on the Rock Hall ballot. In a rolling stone magazine, Osbourne states “Just take our name off the list. Save the ink. Forget about us,” he wrote.
“The nomination is meaningless because it’s not voted on by the fans. It’s voted on by the supposed elite for the industry and the media, who’ve never bought an album or concert ticket in their lives, so their vote is irrelevant to me.”
Many people who follow along with the foundation and its inductions believe it has lost all of its real meaning. Although very respectable artists, not fitting under the rock and roll category feels almost as if the induction is a scam, and that the foundation should just be rebranded as a whole.
Jay-Z, Eminem, Dolly Parton, and Public Enemy are just some of the past inductees who have caused an uprising within rock fans.
Twenty-five years after the publication of their debut album, musicians are eligible for admission into the Hall of Fame. Future eligible yet questionable artists include: Taylor Swift (2032), Kanye West (2029), Coldplay (2024) and Jennifer Lopez in 2025.
Although there is a prolonged dispute between fans and artists against the hall of fame the show must go on. Looking into the upcoming month it’s time to turn our attention to the upcoming class, including past robbed nominees from various years are possibly suspected to return in this year’s ballot, including Chris Cornell, Jane’s Addiction, White Stripes, MC5 and so many more.
