Hollywood writers are allowed to work on the 50th Grammy Awards, according to an interim agreement between Grammy Awards and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) yesterday.

Last week, WGA said it would not picket the music event, so yesterday's announcement further ensures the show will continue in its traditional format of presenters giving awards and musicians performing hit songs.

"Professional musicians face many of the same issues that we do concerning fair compensation for the use of their work in new media," said Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West.

"In the interest of advancing our goal of achieving a fair contract, the WGAW Board felt that this decision should be made on behalf of our brothers and sisters in the American Federation of Musicians and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists," Verrone added.

The WGA's move to allow the Grammys to proceed without interference means that the kudocast will be able to use the 10-20 actors who usually serve as presenters.

The decision is seen as a relief for the beleaguered music industry, which has feared that picket lines would deter artists from performing on or attending this year's kudocast, a crucial promotional platform for record labels and artists and for CBS which will carry the telecast.

Last week, the WGA began informal talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, offering a glimmer of hope that formal contract negotiations would eventually resume.