More about the Official Rock Hall Ballot

What kind of information do the 500+ members of the Voting Committee receive from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation to help them complete their ballots? Not a whole lot. Included with the Rock Hall ballot is a brochure which contains short biography information about each nominee (which is very similar to the write-up in the press release), a "Selected Discography" listing, and a photo. Surprisingly, there isn't a CD included with some actual music. Is it reasonable to expect the voters (which comprise of "rock experts" and current Hall of Famers) to know the catalogs of each nominee? Is Billy Joel familiar with Afrika Bambaataa? Is Percy Sledge into the Beastie Boys? Who knows, but maybe that's the point. With such a broad range of voters only the artists with widespread impact on rock 'n' roll will likely appeal to enough voters to be inducted.
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