The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum President, Terry Stewart, recently responded to a Duran Duran fan about why the band hadn't been inducted yet. The letter appears to be primarily a form letter, but it has been updated to include some interesting new information on the induction process.

Thanks for your comments. We receive literally thousands of emails every year like yours about hundreds of different artists. Consequently, part of this communication is a standard response as to how the induction process works. First of all, the only reason that Duran Duran have not been inducted is that they did not get enough votes to date to make the final ballot. OR, upon making the ballot, they did not get enough votes. There are no conspiracies and no one has veto power.

The Rock Hall has tried to convince everyone in recent years that Jann Wenner does not control the induction process nor is he even currently on the Nominating Committee. The rumors of bands being blackballed may have been true in the past, but don't seem to hold much water these days (e.g. Kiss was nominated this past year).

Please remember the following: Everyone personalizes everything about rock and roll when they are brought into the circle of discussion. This is another way of saying that many fans believe that their opinion is uniquely compelling and definitive. Without metrics (see below), the definition of "rock and roll," who is or was important, and who should be inducted is incredibly subjective.

Nice to hear them admit that it is in fact a subjective process.

As a result, our Nominating and Voting Committees are replete with Inductees (in fact, they are the largest bloc of voters). Someone has to decide, so we built our Voting Committee around the most qualified group possible: the living Inductees, which number around 400 at this time. Thus, folks like Bruce, Metallica, Clapton, Ozzy, Prince and the others are the difference makers. You may disagree, but being an Inductee makes a pretty good case for being the ones who choose.

There have been 234 artists inducted into the Rock Hall over the past 25 years (anyone know how many individuals total?). Subtract the deceased Hall of Famers, and Stewart puts the number of Hall of Fame voters at around 400. The Rock Hall sends out ballots to "more than 500 voters," so the voting really is dominated by Hall of Fame artists. While it's true that the majority of Voting Committee members are Hall of Famers, the 34-member Nominating Committee has just a handful of inductees as members, and they control who makes the final ballot.

With that overview, here’s how the process works. Nomination and induction into the Hall of Fame is not about popularity, records sales, which label the group is on, or anything other than the process below. Unlike baseball, football, basketball or hockey, statistics are not relevant. To be eligible for induction as an artist (as a performer, composer, or musician) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the artist must have released a record, in the generally accepted sense of that phrase, at least 25 years prior to the year of induction; and have demonstrated unquestionable musical excellence. We shall consider factors such as an artist’s musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation and superiority in style and technique, but musical excellence shall be the essential qualification for induction.

The often quoted criteria of "innovation and influence" may not be as important to the Nominating Committee as "unquestionable musical excellence" is, even though it's a much more subjective criteria.

Like it or not, the evaluation of these factors is highly subjective and can only be answered by the votes of our nominators and voters. In addition, even if an artist meets the influence/impact/innovation test, it doesn’t mean that they get inducted automatically. They still need to get the support of both Committees.

The hard part is getting nominated. The vast majority of artists who have been nominated eventually get inducted.

The entire nomination and induction process is coordinated by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in New York City. Artists can be inducted in four categories: Performer, Early Influence, Non-Performer and Side-Men. The latter three are evaluated and decided by separate committees for each category.

[[ Leave those of us in Cleveland who run the Hall of Fame and Museum alone! It's those jerks in New York keeping your favorite band out, not us! ]]

Unlike the other three categories, the selection of Performers is a two-step process.

It begins with a Nominating Committee consisting of a diverse panel of living inductees, journalists, historians, noted musicians, industry heads, etc. In turn, those nominated are sent to a Voting Committee of about 600 people (all living inductees, journalists, historians, music industry management, musicians, etc.) around the world who vote. That said, candidates are reviewed and discussed relative to their impact, innovation and influence on this music that we broadly define as rock and roll. Gold records, number one hits, and million sellers are not appropriate standards for evaluation. Those receiving the highest number of votes and more than 50% of the votes cast are inducted into the Hall. Usually, this means five to seven new performing members each year.

This last paragraph seems out of date. The Rock Hall now predetermines how many inductees there will be each year, and therefore artists don't necessarily need more than 50% of the vote to get in.

Having said all this, I believe that all worthy candidates will be inducted, just not always when they or their fans deem timely. This phenomenon is not unique to us. The sports halls of fame have had many great stars that do not get inducted in their early years of eligibility or for many years to come.

Peace & Soul,

Rock & Roll!

Terry Stewart

President

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Comment on this story over on the Induction Criteria page.

The latest issue of Rolling Stone has a wrap up article about the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. There are some interesting quotes from some of the attendees regarding the future of the Rock Hall (the article is not currently posted online).

Pearl Jam bought a table at the ceremony so they could watch The Stooges finally get inducted after being nominated eight times. Some quotes from Eddie Vedder:

"The Stooges are exactly what the Hall of Fame needs more of... [They are] the true embodiment of rock & roll... One can only hope that the voting committee starts boning up on their Black Flag, X, Sonic Youth and Fugazi to keep it going in the right direction... Iggy's speech was right on. Appreciative, but delivered with the back of his hand. If it hadn't taken so many years, Ron Asheton would've been there."

Vedder has his eye towards the future of the Rock Hall, hoping the bands that influenced him will get inducted before he does (Pearl Jam is first eligible for the 2017 induction ceremony). Vedder also calls out the Rock Hall's 500+ member voting committee which consists of people in the music industry, including the past inductees. And this is where the generational rub comes to a head. In this same Rolling Stone article, it casually mentions that the members of Genesis "had barely heard Phish's music" when they were told Phish would be inducting them at the ceremony. These same members of Genesis are now Rock Hall voters. This isn't to suggest that the members of Genesis aren't qualified to vote for the Rock Hall, it's just that they apparently don't connect with a later generation of artists, even one as huge as Phish. And unlike the Nominating Committee, which at least attempts to get younger by occasionally adding new members, the Voting Committee will always be dominated with aging rock stars who likely prefer their peers and influences rather than their followers.

One last nugget from this article that we didn't catch in the ceremony: It mentions that Paul Shaffer, the musical director for the Rock Hall ceremonies, was "honored for his 25 years of Hall of Fame service." Well deserved.

With the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony just around the corner, it's time to predict who the presenters might be. Here are our picks:

• The Stooges :: Patti Smith
• Genesis :: Chris Martin
• ABBA :: Elvis Costello
• Jimmy Cliff :: Mick Jones
• The Hollies :: Steven Van Zandt

What do you think? Leave your predictions in the comments.

Roger Friedman reports for the Hollywood Reporter that Jann Wenner is considering changing the eligibility rules for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by reducing the eligibility period by five years. Currently artists are eligible for the Hall of Fame 25 years after releasing their first record, but under the new proposal, it would be reduced to 20. Friedman reports that Wenner is motivated by the weak group of artists becoming eligible over the next few years.

The new idea is to change the charter so that it only takes 20 years to get in. That would move up a lot of acts on the ballot that are more current and carry some name value, which would be good for TV rights. Believe it or not, the following would then be eligible for the 2011 ceremony: Guns N’ Roses, Green Day, Public Enemy, Nirvana, Kid Rock and Smashing Pumpkins. Also a possibility right away: Keith Richards as a solo artist.

If the Rock Hall chooses to change the rules next year, it could potentially create the best ballot the voters have seen in many years. It would also make it much more challenging for often-nominated-but-never-inducted artists such as Chic and Joe Tex to get in.

Friedman correctly reported months ago that David Geffen would be inducted this year as a Non-Performer, so clearly Friedman has sources close to the Rock Hall's power players. In this report, Friedman's sources say that Wenner is only "considering" this rule change, so it's certainly not a done deal. It seems to us that the decision may not be finalized until this summer just before the Nominating Committee meets to determine the 2011 ballot. Stay tuned. In the meantime, we'll be preparing to update our database of eligibility dates...

The 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees are: ABBA, Genesis, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff and The Stooges.

The induction ceremony will take place on March 15, 2010 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The ceremony will be again be broadcast by the Fuse Network.

This year, there are twelve nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and just five of them will be inducted. We've done the math, and there are 792 different combinations possible of the five inductees. Here are the five we're predicting will be honored on March 15th:

• KISS: Yes, one of the biggest Rock Hall snubs will likely be rectified this year.
• The Hollies: After waiting 20 years to get nominated, Graham Nash's first band will probably get in on their first try.
• ABBA: One of the biggest bands in the world will get in this year. They were nominated in 2003, but the competition was stiffer then.
• Darlene Love: Only 19% of our voters put her on their ballots, but our voters probably didn't get personally lobbied by Bruce Springsteen. This feels similar to the Ronettes nomination in 2007.
• Genesis: If Genesis gets inducted, they will be the first prog rock act inducted since Pink Floyd in 1996.

We're predicting that the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, The Stooges, Jimmy Cliff, and The Chantels will all have to try again next year.

Over 2400 Future Rock Legends voters cast their ballots in the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll. The top five vote getters are Genesis (on 69% of ballots), ABBA (65%), KISS (63%), The Stooges (55%), and Red Hot Chili Peppers (55%). [The last two years, FRL voters have accurately predicted three out of the five inductees.]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will announce the official 2010 inductees soon. Keep checking Future Rock Legends for all of the latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame news. You can also follow us on Twitter.

The big Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concerts are this week in New York City, and new names are being added to the lineup almost daily. While all of the headliners are Hall of Famers, some of the more recent additions to the lineup aren't yet eligible for the Rock Hall. Does participation in an event like this bode well for an artist's chances of getting inducted into the Hall of Fame in the future?

Let's take a look at who these artists are:

• Tom Morello (performing with Bruce Springsteen) - His best shot at induction is clearly with Rage Against the Machine, not with the now-defunct Audioslave. Morello inducted the Clash into the Rock Hall in 2003, so he's no stranger to Rock Hall events.
• John Legend (performing with Stevie Wonder) - It seems like Legend is always available for big industry events such as this, but he has a long way to go before he becomes a serious Rock Hall contender himself.
• Lenny Kravitz (performing with Aretha Franklin) - The Rock Hall won't hold it against you if you've sold a lot of records, but that certainly doesn't guarantee induction. Kravitz's career got off to a quick start, but has gone off the rails a bit this decade.
• Annie Lennox (performing with Aretha Franklin) - The Eurythmics have been eligible since 2006, and have been seriously considered by the Nominating Committee, so they have a very good chance at getting in someday. Lennox's solo career has been good, but not Hall of Fame-worthy (yet).
• Update: Darlene Love (performed with Bruce Springsteen) - Love is nominated this year for the Rock Hall, so she may be a Hall of Famer soon enough.
• Update: Peter Wolf (performed with Bruce Springsteen) - Wolf is close friends with the many of the guys on the Nominating Committee, and the J. Geils band was nominated a few years ago, so it's always a possibility he could get in.
• Update: Black Eyed Peas (performed with U2) - The BEP are currently touring with U2, so that's likely how they got involved. Future Rock Hall prospects are pretty slim.

Here is the list of participating Hall of Famers: Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Metallica, Jeff Beck, Aretha Franklin, U2, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Dion, Billy Joel, Ozzy Osbourne, Smokey Robinson, Sting, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Fogerty, Ray Davies, BB King, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger, Billy Gibbons, Lou Reed, Jackson Browne, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt.

The concert won't be televised or webcast live, but there will be a four-hour HBO special in November and a DVD release next year.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame expert Charles Crossley, Jr. offered up his analysis of the 2010 nominees over on his message board.

So, let's break up these nominees and examine them based on different criteria, with an emphasis on the criteria people have claimed in the past made a difference about who gets nominated. 
First, by subgenre:

1 pop/rock act (ABBA)
1 vocal harmony act (The Chantels)
1 reggae act (Jimmy Cliff)
1 prog act (Genesis)
1 folk rock act (The Hollies)
1 metal/hard rock act (KISS)
1 rap act (LL Cool J)
1 girls group act (Darlene Love)
1 singer-songwriter (Laura Nyro)
1 alternative funk act (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
1 proto-punk act (The Stooges)
1 disco act (Donna Summer)

So, this year, like last year, each nominee represents a distinctly different subgenre of rock.

Next, by members. Question marks (?) wonders if these members will be added. Any members not listed will not be inducted:

ABBA (Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderssen, Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyndstag)

The Chantels (Arlene Smith, Sonia Goring, Rene Minus, Jackie Landry, Lois Harris)

Jimmy Cliff (himself)

Genesis (Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips (?), John Phillips (?), John Mayhew (?), Phil Collins, Steve Hackett)

The Hollies (Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Anthony Hicks, Eric Haydock (?), Robert Elliott, Bernard Calvert, Terry Sylvester, Mikael Rikfors (?))

KISS (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Eric Carr (?), Vinnie Vincent (?), Mark St. John (?), Bruce Kulick (?), Eric Singer (?))

LL Cool J (himself)

Darlene Love (herself)

Laura Nyro (herself)

Red Hot Chili Peppers (Flea, Jack Irons (?), Anthony Keidis, Hillel Slovak (?), Jack Sherman (?), Cliff Martinez (?), John Frusciante, Chad Smith, Dave Navarro (?))

The Stooges (Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Dave Alexander, Scott Asheton, James Williamson)

Donna Summer (herself)

Next, by previous inductions. Clyde McPhatter was the first person to be inducted more than once into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as a soloist and as a member of the first incarnation of the Drifters. So, when someone is inducted more than once, we say he has joined the Clyde McPhatter club. So, notice the name in bold above? Poised to join the Clyde McPhatter club this year is:

Graham Nash, who is a member of the Hollies, and who was previously inducted with Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997.

Next, by race:

White: 6, possibly 7
ABBA, Genesis, the Hollies, KISS, Laura Nyro and the Stooges. Possibly Red Hot Chili Peppers unless Cliff Martinez or Dave Navarro are inducted with them.

Black: 5 

The Chantels, Darlene Love, Jimmy Cliff, LL Cool J and Donna Summer

Mixed: possibly 1
Possibly Red Hot Chili Peppers if Cliff Martinez or Dave Navarro are inducted with them.

Next, by gender:

Male: 28 at least and maybe up to 43, depending if any of the members with question marks by their names are inducted.

Women: 9

Next, by nationality based on place of birth: 

One Australian (Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers)
One, possibly two, Israelis (Gene Simmons of KISS and Hillel Slovak of Red Hot Chili Peppers)
One Jamaican (Jimmy Cliff)
Four, possibly five Swedes (All the members of ABBA and Mikael Rikfors of the Hollies) 
Eleven, possibly sixteen, Brits
The rest were born in the United States of America, and by and large most of them were born in one of the burroughs of New York.

Next, by the number of top 40 hits on the Billboard 100:

ABBA: 14
The Chantels: 4
Jimmy Cliff: 2
Genesis: 17
The Hollies: 12
KISS: 9
LL Cool J: 14
Darlene Love: 2, unless you count all the hits she recorded with the Blossoms under other names
Laura Nyro: Of course not; that's why everybody else had hits with her songs!
Red Hot Chili Peppers: 7
The Stooges: 0
Donna Summer: 20

Next, by dead members. Currently, there are 5, maybe 6:

The Chantels (Jackie Landry)
KISS (if they include Eric Carr)
Laura Nyro
The Stooges (Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Hillel Slovak)

Next, by number of years eligible:

ABBA, 10th year of eligibility
The Chantels, 27th year of eligibility
Jimmy Cliff, 21st year of eligibility
Genesis, 16th year of eligibility
The Hollies, 21st year of eligibility (a cover of the Coasters' "Searchin'")
LL Cool J, 1st year of eligibility
Darlene Love, 21st year of eligibility
Laura Nyro, 18th year of eligibility
Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1st year of eligibility
The Stooges, 16th year of eligibility
Donna Summer, 13th year of eligibility (a cover of "Sally Go 'Round The Roses")

Next, number of times nominated, including years nominated:

ABBA - two times (2002, 2009)
The Chantels - two times (2001, 2009)
Jimmy Cliff - one time
Genesis - one time
The Hollies - one time
LL Cool J - one time
Darlene Love - two times (1998, 2009)
Laura Nyro - one time
Red Hot Chili Peppers - one time
The Stooges - eight times (1996, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009) 
Donna Summer - two times (2007, 2009)

The previous two years, there were nine nominees, three of which were previous nominees. This year, there are twelve nominees, five of which were previous nominees. The nominators favor groups that have never been nominated over those who have, as do the voters.

Writing on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame blog yesterday, Jim Henke, Rock Hall Chief Curator and Nominating Committee Member, revealed some interesting tidbits about this year's nominations, but not the actual nominees.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Nominating Committee – a diverse group made up of about 30 rock and roll experts, including music executives, music journalists, historians and even a couple of musicians – met in New York City this past Wednesday to compile the ballot for the next Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee election.

The only news here is that the Nominating Committee met on September 9th. Next, Henke explains the nomination process:

Each member of the [Nominating Committee] can suggest up to three potential nominees. In addition, there are three subcommittees – one on progressive rock and heavy metal, one on hip-hop and one on early rock and rollers and rhythm & blues – that convene prior to the big meeting and suggest potential nominees in those categories.

Henke confirms that the Rock Hall is utilizing the genre subcommittees again this year after they were introduced last year. By acknowledging the specific groups, one could reasonably deduce that the there will be at least one nominee on the ballot from each of the three subcommittees.

The big question here is why is the Rock Hall lumping together prog rock and heavy metal? What do they have in common other than the fact they're both underrepresented in the Hall of Fame? It's possible that the genre subcommittee members are fluent in both metal and prog, so they're just combined into one, but that still seems strange. Metallica filled this slot on the ballot last year, leaving the prog rock selection, Yes, without a nomination. Perhaps that changes this year.

Henke also divulges new criteria for becoming a Hall of Famer:

The only official eligibility requirement is that an artist must have released his or her first record at least 25 years ago. Beyond that, the committee evaluates the influence an artist has had on rock and roll, the longevity of the artist’s career and the overall importance. Unlike sports halls of fame, where one can point to the statistics an athlete compiled over the course of his career, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is not based on numbers. In fact, record sales play a very small role in determining who is nominated. As a result, it’s all very subjective. And all of the members of the Nominating Committee are very passionate about their suggestions.

The key line there is that the Nominating Committee evaluates, "the longevity of the artist's career and the overall importance." We have never officially heard that "longevity" is part of the induction criteria, but it's always been a part of our "induction chances" calculations.

Henke continues with more news about this year's ballot:

This year the committee members discussed a very wide range of artists – from those whose careers began in the Fifties to some who are still very active. Overall, more than 50 potential nominees were discussed and debated. Then a ballot listing all of the artists was distributed and each member got to vote for their top 15 artists. That vote determined who will go on the ballot, which is then distributed to the Hall of Fame’s voters – a group that includes all living inductees, as well as various executives, journalists, historians and the like. In the end, 12 artists made the ballot, and five will ultimately be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I can’t say who the nominees are, but I was very happy with the results – it’s a very diverse group of artists in terms of musical styles, eras, etc. But stay tuned – the nominees’ names will be made public soon.

The Rock Hall had nominated just nine artists the previous three years, so bumping up to 12 this year is a welcome development, and one we have been lobbying for.

Look for the official announcement of the nominees to happen within the next couple of weeks.

Future Rock Legends has announced its prediction of the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees: The Stooges, Deep Purple, Chic, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The "5" Royales, Beastie Boys, Joe Tex and Donna Summer. Check out the full story here.

Roger Friedman, former Fox News columnist and now Hollywood Reporter blogger, reports that David Geffen will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, presumably in the Non-Performer category. Friedman also writes that Universal Music Group head Doug Morris will be honored in 2011. Both Geffen and Morris were disciples of the late Ahmet Ertegun, whom the Non-Performer award is now named after.

This Saturday night, the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air live from Cleveland's Public Auditorium on the Fuse network and Fuse.tv. We're heading to Cleveland to cover the ceremony and will be posting updates to Future Rock Legends via our Twitter feed, which you can read and comment on here.

Also be sure to check out the coverage at Cleveland.com, where they'll be exclusively webcasting some pre-ceremony events.

Joel Peresman, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame president and CEO, opened up to MSNBC about the induction process. Read our take here.

Darryl "DMC" McDaniels will perform without his partner Reverend Run, the morning of the induction ceremony at the Hard Rock Café in Cleveland. It will be a "Rock & Roll Brunch" and $15 gets you brunch plus the show. Hopefully this means that Run-DMC will perform together at the induction ceremony later that evening, but that has yet to be confirmed.

In other Rock Hall performance news, Rolling Stone spoke to Jason Newsted about his involvement in the induction ceremony with his old band Metallica.

“I wanted everything to be righteous, because I feel strongly that they have a powerful touring band that’s firing on all cylinders now,” he says. “There’s not a lot of bands that get inducted into the Hall that can still fucking knock it down. We’re all still clear-eyed and clear-minded and able-bodied, and all that, so its not something that always happens. We’re getting called out pretty early, so for us to be strong and capable to still mow everybody down, as it would be expected, is a fantastic thing.”

With Metallica's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, it may give other metal pioneers hope that they will someday be inducted as well. Kerry King from Slayer is skeptical about his band ever getting honored.

"Only because... Didn't Metallica get in this year or last year or something? And I'm like, oh yeah, they've experienced and experimented with more of a pop angle, so I can definitely see them," he said. "Whether our time comes and people say, 'You're going to go into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.' I'd kind of be surprised if we did because we are the anti-everything."

Slayer are one of the "big four" bands of thrash metal, along with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth, so they may have a good chance of getting in if the Hall of Fame ever decides to widen its net to cover heavier rock genres. Future Rock Legends currently gives Slayer a 30% chance of future induction.