Ousted Grammy Chief Asked Recording Academy for $22M to Leave "Quietly"

Source: (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images) / (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

Ousted Grammy Chief Asked Recording Academy for $22M to Leave Quietly

It’s that time of the year in the music industry again, where everyone tries to do anything in their power to attend the Roc Nation Pre-Grammy Brunch. People will clout chase with little regard for self-respect just be close enough to sneak a picture of Hov and Beyoncé. Luckily for the clout chasers this year, one person has already gone above and beyond to show their a$$ for Grammy week–and they placed the bar so high it probably won’t be touched.

For a little over a week, rumors have been swirling that The Recording Academy was allegedly being blackmailed by a former executive ahead of Grammy weekend. The Academy has now broken its silence and confirmed to Billboard that on January 10, six days before the Academy’s then-CEO/President Deborah Dugan was placed on administrative leave, she asked for a $22 million settlement to leave the academy “quietly.”

In a memo sent prior to Jan. 10 to the Recording Academy’s head of human resources, Dugan, who started Aug. 1, accused the Recording Academy of paying exorbitant legal bills, improper voting conduct and conflicts of interest among members of the board of trustees and outside legal counsel, according to a source. The Recording Academy would not confirm the counter offer or if there were any terms attached to Dugan’s proposed settlement, but in a letter sent to the Academy’s membership on Monday (Jan. 20), board chair Harvey Mason Jr. said that Dugan’s attorney “informed the Executive Committee that if Ms. Dugan was paid millions of dollars, she would ‘withdraw’ her allegations and resign from her role as CEO.”

Of course, many would see this as textbook blackmail or even extortion, but this seems to fit more under retaliation. Last week, Dugan was placed on leave after a senior female staffer, the director of administration Claudine Little, accused her of alleged misconduct, including bullying. According to Billboard, “The Recording Academy has hired two independent third party investigators to address the allegations. The investigations are expected to wrap in early spring.”

The Recording Academy reportedly did counter Dugan’s request with a multi-million dollar offer–though much less than $22 million–which she turned down. Her initial deal with The Recording Academy, which is a non-profit organization, was for three years with an annual salary of slightly less than $1 million, plus bonuses, according to Billboard’s sources. You can see why a $22 million dollar settlement is an absurd amount to request in comparison to salary per year on a contract of three years.

The Grammys are in a few weeks and all eyes will be on the Academy, so we can all expect this to get ugly if a settlement isn’t reached before the big night. Grab your popcorn and stay tuned!