By most accounts, the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was a huge success that had some memorable speeches and performances. The Rock Hall's recent trend of having large induction classes is a necessary and positive move after years of honoring the bare minimum number of artists and the institution's general neglect of the special categories.

The only downside to large induction classes (if you can call it that) are the practical time constraints of the ceremony to honor all of these people. How do you properly create tributes to 14 inductees with video packages, induction speeches, acceptance speeches, and performances, all within a reasonable time limit? It's a difficult challenge for producers who are forced to make hard decisions about what to cut to shorten things up.

Unfortunately, at the 2022 ceremony the Rock Hall failed on even the basic minimum requirements for three of its inductees: Elizabeth Cotten, Harry Belafonte, and Sylvia Robinson. Similar to previous years, those inductees were honored with short video segments outlining the importance of their careers. But unlike every other inductee* in the history of the Rock Hall, there was not a designated person to officially "induct" them into the Hall of Fame. It's a huge missed opportunity to connect the inductees to contemporary artists and simply to welcome them into the institution. It's a troubling sign that the producers could dispose of this foundational tradition that makes the induction ceremonies special.

An absolute bare minimum ceremony segment for ALL inductees (living or dead, in attendance or not) should have the following:

• Video package describing the inductee's career
• Having someone say the words, "It's my honor to welcome [inductee] into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame"
• If the inductee is alive, they should be given the opportunity to give a speech

That's it! Adding on presenter speeches, tribute performances, or allowing family members to accept on a deceased inductee's behalf are all great too, and should happen if there's time, but are understandable to omit when there are other living, present inductees to get to. The fact that the Rock Hall decided to overlook this minimal requirement with these three inductees is extremely unfortunate, and hopefully isn't the beginning of a trend.

See also The Rock Hall's Shameful Treatment of Dire Straits from 2018