Rock Hall nominations may reflect transition

At a moment of transition for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a new class of nominees for induction in 2020 puts generational and Notorious B.I.G. genre-based

divides on full display: The Notorious B.I.G., Whitney Houston, the Dave Matthews Band and Motorhead are among the first-timers on the ballot, while returning acts getting another chance include Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Judas Priest, and Rufus featuring Chaka Khan.

The 16 nominees up for inclusion at next year’s ceremony — scheduled to take place May 2 in Cleveland — are rounded out by Kraftwerk (nominated five times previously), MC5 (four previous nominations) and Todd Rundgren (one), plus newcomers Pat Benatar, Soundgarden, T-rex, Thin Lizzy and the Doobie Brothers.

The wide swath of options may reflect what the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation’s incoming chairman, John Sykes, called a need to evolve, amid criticism about the diversity of the inductees. Sykes, president of entertainment enterprises for the radio conglomerate iheartmedia and a former MTV executive, will take over Jan. 1.

“The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame could become irrelevant because rock as we knew it in the ’60s is beginning to age out,” Sykes told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

Musicians are eligible for nomination 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording. A nominating committee then makes its picks, which are voted on by more than 1,000 insiders, who are instructed to consider “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.” (Fans also can vote at rockhall.com beginning Tuesday.)

Inductees will be announced in January.