I guess the award had nothing to do with album and concert sales?
The process begins with members and record companies submitting entries, which are then screened for eligibility and category placement. The Academy's voting members, all involved in the creative and technical processes of recording, then participate in (1) the nominating process that determines the five finalists in each category; and (2) the final voting process which determines the GRAMMY winners.
http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Voting/
There are about 11,000 voting members. It has nothing to do with album sales or concert attendance. In other words, there is no general public input.
Accoding to wikipedia, "Taking the long way" debuted #1 in both the US general and country album charts. It's got a dual platinum RIAA certification, suggesting it sold more than 2 million times in the US alone. Worldwide sales are estimated at 2.7 millions.
The most successful song "Not ready to make nice" also made apperances in a number of single charts (US, Canad, #2 on itunes etc) meaning it also sold quite well.
Those numbers are not as impressive as some of their earlier albums, but there are tons of bands around that would love to have that kind of sales.
I don'think anybody loses money there right now....