Ken Ehrlich To Step Down As Grammys Executive Producer

Ken Ehrlich

The Recording Academy has announced the executive producers for its 2020 and 2021 broadcasts. Longtime producer/executive producer Ken Ehrlich will step down as executive producer for the Grammy Awards following the 2020 broadcast, which will mark his 40th anniversary, having produced his first Grammy Awards in 1980. For the 2021 broadcast, Ben Winston will succeed Ehrlich as the sole executive producer for the 63rd Grammy Awards.

“Ken’s imprint on the GRAMMY Awards and the music industry are well-known and represent the kind of work and vision that legends are made of,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. “Having worked closely with Ken for almost half of his tenure with the show, I have seen first-hand the vision, extraordinary musical knowledge, and passion he brings to every minute of the process, and the spectacular results and memorable GRAMMY Moments that have been delivered. It’s an honor to celebrate his 40th anniversary with the GRAMMYs. I also recognize the wonderful opportunity ahead by bringing the immensely talented, innovative, and well-respected Ben Winston into the family, and we look forward to his enthusiastic and forward-thinking approach to presenting music on television.”

“To have been a part of the growth of the GRAMMY Awards into the preeminent music awards show of our time has been one of the highlights of my professional life, and I’m grateful to the Recording Academy and to our partners at CBS for their support and for trusting my vision over the past four decades,” said Ehrlich. “I have also been the happy recipient of having an incredible group of people who have worked on the show over the years, and of course the most amazing cadre of musical artists who bring their own creativity and brilliance to the GRAMMY stage year after year. I want to wish my successor Ben the best as he assumes the executive producer role. I am confident that his abilities in all aspects of production will both ensure the legacy of the GRAMMY Awards and also instill a new creative direction for the show.”

“It’s an absolute honor to be executive producer of the GRAMMYs for 2021,” said Winston. “I feel excitement and nerves in equal measure on taking on this role, but mostly I feel immense gratitude to the Recording Academy for this wonderful opportunity. I also want to salute Ken, who has done an absolutely remarkable job over the last 40 years.”

Ehrlich is the founder of AEG Ehrlich Ventures. Throughout his time spearheading the Grammys, he has become known for creating interesting and unexpected performance pairings—Eminem and Elton John, Prince and Beyoncé, and Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, and Joe Walsh—to help make the Grammys one of the most-watched entertainment specials in television history. In his almost 50 years as a producer, Ehrlich has created and worked on numerous award shows and live events, including the Emmy Awards, the MTV Movie Awards, and the Latin Grammy Awards. He has also produced dozens of specials for broadcast and cable networks for artists including Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, John Legend, the Rolling Stones, and Justin Timberlake. Ehrlich directed the Las Vegas residencies of both Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, and was honored by the Producers Guild of America with the Visionary Award in 2007.

Winston is a multifaceted producer, director, and writer with award-winning credits that span television, movies, music videos, and commercials. A six-time Emmy Award winner and a 22-time nominee, he has produced a multitude of shows including The Late Late Show with James Corden, co-created Carpool Karaoke, and Drop The Mic and has produced many music specials for artists such as Bruno Mars, Sam Smith, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber to name a few.

In the live event space, Winston was recently the executive producer for the Global Citizen Nelson Mandela 100 Concert in South Africa, with Beyoncé and Jay Z as headliners. He was a producer of the Brits awards three times and the Tony’s twice. In documentaries, he has produced a multitude of work including In The Hands Of The Gods, I Am Bolt and is a producer on the upcoming Motown movie for Showtime. Winston, who won the first-ever Emmys for Apple and Snapchat shows last year, also won a Brit award for Best Director of a music video, three years in a row. Winston is a partner at production company Fulwell 73.

The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will take place Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, and broadcast on the CBS Television Network.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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