You’ve probably already seen Muff Winwood’s words of wisdom – and heard about Warner/Chappell’s Mike Smith collecting the first ever Sir George Martin Award from Damon Albarn.
But there was so much more going on at MBW’s first A&R Awards in association with Abbey Road Studios in London on Wednesday (November 2).
Winners at the UK-focused event crossed the worlds of artists, producers, songwriters, managers, publishers and labels – with a strong showing from both the independent and major sides of the industry.
Below you can check out a video of the highlights, which features individual A&R Award winners such as Warner/Chappell‘s Amber Davis (Hip-hop/Grime), Virgin EMI’s Ashley Forbes (A&R Administrator), Dirty Hit‘s Jamie Oborne (Rock/Alternative) and Ministry Of Sound‘s David Dollimore & Dipesh Parmar (Electronic/Dance).
There’s also footage from our Artist Loyalty Award, presented to Colin Lester by his long-term friend and artist client Craig David.
As you can see in the video, the Independent Label Of The Year award went to Because Music, whose founder Emmanuel de Buretel cheekily thanked Alain Levy for sacking him from EMI – a moment which he said directly led to the creation of indie Because in Paris.
The Management Company Award (also known as The David Enthoven Award) went to September Management, whose founder Jonathan Dickins proudly spoke of the young and talented team he’s building at his independent business (pictured).
Ben Mortimer, Co-President at Major Label Of The Year, Polydor Records, thanked the record company’s artists and gave a shout-out to former boss Ferdy Unger-Hamilton – who’s just been revealed as the new President at Sony‘s Columbia Records UK.
Same time next year, yeah?
Music Business Worldwide
