Paul Simon, Carlos Santana protest Grammy cuts

Paul Simon and Carlos Santana are among the artists protesting the elimination of several categories from next year's Grammy Awards.

The new rule states that any categories receiving less than 25 submissions will be eliminated entirely and those genres that generate between 25 and 39 entrants will only receive three nominations.

Simon has personally written to Grammy CEO Neil Portnow to urge the executive to overturn his decision, contending that the current policy will decrease the presence of ethnic music.

He wrote: "I believe the Grammys have done a disservice to many talented musicians by combining previously distinct and separate types of music into a catch-all of blurry larger categories... They deserve the separate Grammy acknowledgements that they've been afforded until this change eliminated them."

Latin rocker Santana also expressed his objection to the guidelines in a note to Portnow, insisting: "We strongly protest this decision and we ask you to represent all of the colours of the rainbow when it comes to music and give ethnic music a place in the heart of music lovers everywhere."

Portnow has defended the Grammys' new policy, telling The AP that Simon and Santana's complaints are misguided because even pop music categories will face cuts.

"This year's awards, in the 53rd [annual gala], there were 34 mainstream categories. Next year, with the changed revision, there will be 20 mainstream categories. That's a significant reduction in mainstream areas. In non-mainstream categories ... there were 71. In the upcoming 54th awards, there will be 54," Portnow said.

"Not only non-mainstream categories were affected here. The facts here don't play that out."

The 54th annual Grammy Awards will be held in early 2012.

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Watch Paul Simon perform at the 1981 Grammy Awards below: