GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — April may have gotten off to a cold, gray start in Michigan. But for Rich Parrott IV, it's all sunshine right now - both literally and figuratively. As he logs onto an interview over Zoom, it's clear he's traded in his winter gear for some light, warm-weather clothes. At least for the weekend.
Parrott is in Las Vegas where the 64th Annual Grammy Awards will be taking place Sunday, April 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. This year Parrott is a voting member of the awards ceremony, which honors the best work in music over the past year.
"It's surreal, because I just look at myself like a regular guy, you know? I'm just a fan of music. Just to have an opinion, just to have some type of say in this thing that I love is just a gratifying feeling," he said.
Modesty aside, there's a reason Rich's opinion is important enough to the music industry that he's voting in one of the most prestigious award shows in America. Rich is the CEO of the Global Money Group, which is a top music blog platform covering an array of genres.
"That really changed my life. That's what really opened up a lot opportunities for me to be a partner with great companies and deal with a lot of record labels. And then, my work with that is what got me into the academy for the Grammys," he said.
Parrott started out as a self-proclaimed "band geek" at Wyoming Rogers High School. By age 18, he knew he wanted to do something with his life that involved music. He became an artist, creating his own beats and music.
"I started reaching out to every label I could, and everybody gave me a good 'no.' It just didn't happen for me," he said.
But Rich's deep love for music wouldn't allow him to give up and he started the blog platform at the urging of his brother Michael. Global Money Group has since become a source for independent and major artists in the music industry.
"We've got everything from online and physical magazines to Spotify playlists, interviews and music reviews. If you like music, we try to come up with the best music for you," he said.
"We cover everything from hip hop, R&B, pop, rock, Latin music, EDM, anything that you could think of that you might like, you can find there."
Rich's path to the Recording Academy came when he found out someone in his line of work is a voting member. To apply to be a member himself, he had to get two recommendations. He got one from a friend and one from an artist. Then finally, in June 2021 he got word that he had been named a voting member.
"That really changed my life. It was just such a gratifying moment. I called my mom and I was just crying," he said.
Being a member means more than just voting for the awards. Rich also submits music for consideration, he does music advocacy work and he's also mentoring a college student at USC as part of the Grammy University Program.
So what does a voting member of the Recording Academy listen for when they're trying to decide who should receive a Grammy this year?
"For me, it's really just the care put into the music. That's something that always resonates for me even just covering music on my own where I just love to hear effort. The character that goes into music really shines through when you just hear artists giving it all that they've got," he said.
"They're really making great music and being daring, not trying to go with the flow of what's safe, but actually just going for what you like. That really resonates for me and helps me make my decision," he said.
Watch the full interview here:
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