Deborah Dugan

The Recording Academy’s Board of Trustees has voted to terminate Deborah Dugan as President/CEO of the organization. Dugan has been on a paid administrative leave since Jan. 16, 2020.

According to a statement from the Recording Academy, the decision was made with full support of the Executive Committee, based on two independent investigations into allegations made by and against Dugan. A total of 37 witnesses were interviewed, and “each investigator had free rein to fully investigate all of the allegations that were made against Ms. Dugan and by Ms. Dugan against the Recording Academy,” a statement from the Recording Academy noted.

The statement noted that additional factors in the decision to dismiss Dugan from the President/CEO role include “Ms. Dugan’s consistent management deficiencies and failures,” and the “unwarranted and damaging media campaign she launched in an attempt, without justification, to derail the Grammy Awards show, including her false allegations that the system was—in her words—”rigged” and that the Academy was “corrupt.”

In January 2020, Dugan filed a complaint against the Recording Academy, in which Dugan described the “sexual harassment to which she was subjected by Joel Katz, Esq.,” an entertainment attorney and tenured executive at the Academy.

Dugan’s complaint also stated that her Recording Academy predecessor, Neil Portnow, “allegedly raped a female recording artist.” The alleged artist was not named in the complaint. The complaint claims that the board was aware of the incident, and that is why Portnow’s contract was not renewed. The complaint also claimed Dugan was asked to offer Portnow a $750,000 consulting contract and that “Katz and his law firm are paid an exorbitant amount of money by the Academy.” The complaint also claimed Dugan’s assistant Claudine Little was sharing information from Dugan’s emails with Academy board members and executives. Dugan’s complaint also stated that some board members on “secret committees” that select the Grammy nominees represent or have relationships with nominated artists, and that the “Board uses these committees as an opportunity to push forward artists with whom they have relationships,” that “the Board manipulates the nominations process to ensure that certain songs or albums are nominated when the producer of the Grammys (Ken Ehrlich) wants a particular song performed during the show,” and that “the Board is permitted to simply add in artists for nominations who did not even make the initial 20-artist list.”

The newly-issued statement from The Recording Academy on Dugan’s exit says,

“All of this led the elected leaders of the Academy to conclude that it was in the best interests of the Academy to move on. This is not what we wanted or what we expected when we hired Ms. Dugan last year. At the time, we placed our trust in her and believed she would effectively lead the organization. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. Though she made some valuable contributions, Ms. Dugan failed to perform her job duties as promised and expected.

Although we did participate in some settlement discussions at Ms. Dugan’s request after she stated that it was her desire to leave the Academy and be bought out of her employment contract, we were ultimately compelled to dismiss Ms. Dugan as our President/CEO. Not removing Ms. Dugan from the organization at this time would have caused us to compromise our values. We could not reward her with a lucrative settlement and thereby set a precedent that behavior like hers has no consequence. Our members and employees, and the entire music industry, deserve better than that.”

The Recording Academy will soon begin a search for a new President/CEO.

“Our focus will be on moving forward with the transformation agenda we initiated prior to hiring Ms. Dugan, and on working to improve the Academy. Much of this work has been happening but much of it is yet to come. We realize that we are not perfect, but we want you to know that our attention and energy will remain squarely on you and on the positive changes we are making together. We will not be distracted from that.  We will use this moment to reflect on where we can be better, and pledge to realize a future in which our organization is known for its diversity, transparency, creativity, mutual respect, and overall excellence.”

The complete statement from the Recording Academy sent to members today (March 2, 2020) follows:

Dear Members:

As you know, Deborah Dugan has been on a paid administrative leave of absence since January 16, 2020. We are writing to let you know that, earlier today, the Board of Trustees voted to terminate Ms. Dugan’s employment as President/CEO of the Recording Academy.

This decision of the Board, with full support of the Executive Committee, was based on:

Two exhaustive, costly independent investigations relating to Ms. Dugan and the allegations made against her and by her. These investigations were carried out by experienced individuals with no prior relationship to the Academy, interviewed a combined total of 37 witnesses, and reviewed numerous relevant documents and emails. The investigators were not given any directives about what specifically to investigate or what conclusions, if any, they were expected to reach, and they were not limited by the Academy in terms of what witnesses they could interview or files or documents they could review. Each investigator had free rein to fully investigate all of the allegations that were made against Ms. Dugan and by Ms. Dugan against the Recording Academy.

The unwarranted and damaging media campaign that she launched in an attempt, without justification, to derail the GRAMMY Awards show, including her false allegations that the system was—in her words—“rigged” and that the Academy was “corrupt.”

Ms. Dugan’s consistent management deficiencies and failures, and other factors.

All of this led the elected leaders of the Academy to conclude that it was in the best interests of the Academy to move on.

This is not what we wanted or what we expected when we hired Ms. Dugan last year. At the time, we placed our trust in her and believed she would effectively lead the organization. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. Though she made some valuable contributions, Ms. Dugan failed to perform her job duties as promised and expected.

Although we did participate in some settlement discussions at Ms. Dugan’s request after she stated that it was her desire to leave the Academy and be bought out of her employment contract, we were ultimately compelled to dismiss Ms. Dugan as our President/CEO. Not removing Ms. Dugan from the organization at this time would have caused us to compromise our values. We could not reward her with a lucrative settlement and thereby set a precedent that behavior like hers has no consequence. Our members and employees, and the entire music industry, deserve better than that.
The Board’s decision to dismiss Ms. Dugan closes one chapter in the Recording Academy’s history. It also begins a new one. In the coming days, we will initiate a search for a new President/CEO who will leverage the Academy’s diverse membership and rich history and help us transform it to better serve our members today and into the future. As we structure this new search, we will look carefully to see where the last one led us astray and make any necessary changes going forward.

It is not uncommon for organizations and leaders to part ways after a short period. It usually happens without rancor. Unfortunately, in this case, Ms. Dugan sought to damage our reputation on her way out, and it is likely we will see more attempts to disparage the Academy in the coming weeks. We regret that, as members of the Academy, you have had to endure so much recent negativity.

From this point forward, our focus will be on moving forward with the transformation agenda we initiated prior to hiring Ms. Dugan, and on working to improve the Academy. Much of this work has been happening but much of it is yet to come. We realize that we are not perfect, but we want you to know that our attention and energy will remain squarely on you and on the positive changes we are making together. We will not be distracted from that. We will use this moment to reflect on where we can be better, and pledge to realize a future in which our organization is known for its diversity, transparency, creativity, mutual respect, and overall excellence.

Thank you for your support and continued service and commitment to the Recording Academy.

-The Executive Committee of the Recording Academy