Well, that was a bit special.
The A&R Awards, MBW’s UK-focused annual awards ceremony in association with Abbey Road Studios, took place yesterday evening (November 8) in central London.
As we announced earlier this week, the A&R Icon Award – recognizing a career’s work that has forever changed the face of the music business – was collected by legendary Island Records founder, Chris Blackwell.
Blackwell, 85, was introduced on stage by YouTube‘s Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen. A heartfelt and reverential video message to Blackwell from Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group, was played to a hushed room.
(Chris Blackwell’s speech, as the 500+ attendees of the awards all know, was a jaw-dropping moment. MBW will be publishing that speech, alongside the tributes from Cohen and Grainge, soon.)
Big winners at the A&R Awards 2022 included P2J (Producer Of The Year), Kid Harpoon (Songwriter Of The Year), Cat Burn’s Go (Song Of The Year), Atlantic Records UK (Major Label Of The Year), Universal Music Publishing UK (Publisher Of The Year: Category 1), September Management (Artist Management Company), Owain Davies (Manager Of The Year), Dirty Hit (Independent Label), Stellar Songs / Tim & Danny Music (Publisher Of The Year: Category 2), and Michael Adex (the Richard Antwi: Trailblazer Award).
An array of individuals also picked up awards for their work in music over the past year, including Jo Charrington (A&R Of The Year: Pop/R&B), Samuel Adebayo (Contemporary Black Music), Chris Briggs (Adult Contemporary), Anton Powers (Dance/Electronic), Amy Morgan (Alternative/Rock), and James Bullock & Matt Prior (A&R Administrator / ‘The Forbesie’).
The closing award on the night was another very big deal: the Sir George Martin Award, which recognizes a contemporary music executive or entrepreneur who has garnered widespread respect amongst the creative community.
The 2022 Sir George Martin Award was presented to Guy Moot, Co-Chairman and CEO of Warner Chappell Music globally.
Moot was introduced on stage by his friend, the Grammy-winning producer Salaam Remi – who flew in especially for the event from Miami.
You can see a full list of winners from last night’s awards below.
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR – SUPPORTED BY ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS
- P2J
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR – SUPPORTED BY HIPGNOSIS Song Management
- Thomas Hull (Kid Harpoon)
SONG OF THE YEAR – SUPPORTED BY HIPGNOSIS Song Management
- Go – performed by Cat Burns (Burns/Morgan & Writers Jonah Stevens / Willie Tannergard)
The Artist To Watch Award, in Partnership with VEVO DSCVR
- flowerovlove
A&R OF THE YEAR: ADULT CONTEMPORARY
- Chris Briggs – Sony Music UK
A&R OF THE YEAR: CONTEMPORARY BLACK MUSIC – SUPPORTED BY SPOTIFY
- Samuel Adebayo – Island
A&R OF THE YEAR: ELECTRONIC/DANCE
- Anton Powers – Warner Music UK
A&R OF THE YEAR: POP/R&B – SUPPORTED BY CONCORD
- Jo Charrington – EMI Records
A&R OF THE YEAR: ALTERNATIVE/ROCK – SUPPORTED BY SESSION Studio
- Amy Morgan – September Management
A&R ADMINISTRATOR (‘THE FORBESIE’) – SUPPORTED BY PPL
- James Bullock & Matt Prior – Sony Music Publishing
MANAGEMENT COMPANY (THE DAVID ENTHOVEN AWARD) – SUPPORTED BY CENTTRIP
- September Management
MANAGER OF THE YEAR – SUPPORTED BY YOUTUBE SHORTS
- Owain Davies – OD Management
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR (1) – SUPPORTED BY MILK & HONEY
- Universal Music Publishing UK
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR (2)
- Stellar Songs / Tim & Danny Music
INDEPENDENT LABEL
- Dirty Hit
MAJOR LABEL – SUPPORTED BY VOLY MUSIC
The Richard Antwi: Trailblazer Award
- Michael Adex
The Sir George Martin Award
- Guy Moot
The A&R Icon Award – supported by YouTube Music
- Chris Blackwell
Music Business Worldwide