The Recording Academy, the trade body that organises the Grammy Awards in the United States, has merged its Advocacy and Member Services divisions.

In a statement, the Los Angeles-based Academy said that the alignment "creates a broader unit focused on empowering the music community to get involved in creator issues and inform the national conversation with a unified voice."

As a result of the merger, Daryl Friedman - who joined the Academy in 1997 - has been promoted to the ...