The annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be accompanied by the mass protest action of musicians who are protesting against reduction of the number of nominations from 109 to 78.

Twenty three thousand people, including Paul Simon and Carlos Santana, signed the demand.

According to the decision of the Academy, the best singers will compete in a common category.

“The Best Rock Performance” nomination replaced two separate nominations, which had been for rock performers, duets and groups. The “hard rock” and “metal rock” categories were merged. The “Rhythm and Blues” nomination was reduced from 8 to 4.

Classical music nominations decreased from 11 to 7, ITAR-TASS reports.