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At the Oscars, some songwriters are left in the dark

At the Oscars, some songwriters are left in the dark | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2015 file photo, Common, left, and John Legend pose in the press room with the award for best original song for "Glory" from the film, "Selma" at the Oscars in Los Angeles. Che "RhymeFest" Smith earned credit from the Grammys for his songwriting work on “Glory,” but not at the Oscars because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences limits the number of nominees in the best original song category to four. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK – For Grammy-winning producer-songwriter Alexander Shuckburgh, the Academy Awards are so close and yet so far.

Shuckburgh should be celebrating as an Oscar nominee since a song he co-wrote — “All the Stars” from the “Black Panther” soundtrack — is competing for best original song on Sunday.

But he isn’t.

That’s because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences limits the number of nominees in the best original song category to four, forcing one of the song’s five writers to take a backseat. Shuckburgh shares writing credit with Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Anthony Tiffith and Mark Spears.

Some feel that Shuckburgh should be able to call himself “an Oscar-nominated songwriter.”

Linda Moran, the president of Songwriters Hall of Fame, says “it is definitely not fair to limit the number of writers.”

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Abbey Westbury

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