Music Industry

Did You Know Each Grammy Award is Made Out of Grammium?

For the last 40 years, every Grammy trophy has been crafted by John Billings and his crew in a 2,000 square-foot facility in Ridgeway, Colorado. The New York Times had a nice feature on him.

The awards are made of a custom metal alloy called grammium (yes, really), and are cast from three molds: one for the base, one for the gramophone cabinet and one for the tone arm, which holds the bell. After the pieces are cast, they go through a series of filing, sanding and polishing processes, and the gramophone cabinet and tone arm are plated in 24-karat gold.

Once dry, the three pieces are assembled, and each award is laser-etched with a unique serial number for authenticity. The Grammys used during the television broadcast are for show; Mr. Billings and his team engrave the names of winners onto plates after the event.

The full story can be found here.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 40187 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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