Chance the Rapper Co-Signs Fans’ Petition for Grammys to Consider Awarding Mixtapes

Music fans are taking a stand against the Grammy Awards nomination process and Chance the Rapper is in full support.

Max Krasowitz, created an online petition, via Change.org, to ask the Recording Academy to change the nomination process by adding artists that release free music through mixtapes to the ballots. So far, the petition has garnered over 18,000 digital signatures, including Change the Rapper's signed approval.

The Grammy nomination process has been guided by two main requirements over the years. First, recordings must be released within a given time period (for next year's awards, music released between Oct. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2016 are eligible). Secondly, recordings must "be commercially released in general distribution in the United States, i.e. sales by label to a branch or recognized independent distributor, via the Internet, or mail order/retail sales for a nationally marketed product. Recordings must be available for sale from any date within the eligibility period through at least the date of the current year’s voting deadline (final ballot)."

Krasowitz explains he doesn't agree with the current process and why it should be changed.

"Ridiculously talented artists who are releasing free mixtapes and projects are not getting the recognition they truly deserve," Krasowitz writes. "This means that artists like Chance the Rapper, who are now getting national recognition and performing on national platforms (just this past week Chance performed on the Jimmy Fallon show) are being punished for making their music available to everyone, rich or poor, by releasing their music for free."

Chance most likely signed the petition because the Chicago native is releasing his new mixtape, Chance 3 on Friday (May 13).

A rep from the Recording Academy told Billboard that "the awards process is reviewed and refined on an annual basis."

Due to all the free albums and streaming-only projects, it's likely the 2017 Grammy Awards will have different nomination standards.