Did you know that Tuesday this week was officially 2022’s longest day?
It’s all downhill from here, folks. We don’t want to put a dampener on your summer vibes, especially if you’re popping down to Worthy Farm today. (May those clouds, pregnant with H2O, hold back their tears for you this weekend 🙏.)
But the winter nights will, eventually, inevitably, draw in. And you know what will help make ’em much more bearable?
Why, only the most enjoyable night out in the UK music industry calendar!
The A&R Awards, the annual event recognising the very best of the UK music industry’s creative community, will return to central London on the evening of Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
- Venue: The Grand Connaught Rooms, Holborn/Covent Garden area.
- Tables: A limited number of tables are on sale now. (See ‘How do I buy a table?‘ below.)
Once again, the A&R Awards will see a mix of songwriters, producers, labels, publishers and artist managers celebrated for their achievements in the prior 12 months.
And once again, both the ‘major’ and ‘independent’ sectors of the business will get their dues.
Presented by Music Business Worldwide, this year’s ceremony is already shaping up to be one for the ages.
You can expect the usual mix of individual and team awards, plus The A&R Awards’ trademark special moments – including The A&R Icon Award, Trailblazer: The Richard Antwi Award, and, of course, The Sir George Martin Award.
For 2022’s event, some things will be different, but brilliant. And some things will be the same, but brilliant.
The latter category includes our long-running association with Abbey Road Studios, who we’re delighted to confirm have stepped up for the sixth year as headline partner of the A&R Awards.
“The A&R community remains the lifeblood of the industry, guiding extraordinary talent to new heights.”
Isabel Garvey, Abbey Road Studios
Isabel Garvey, MD of Abbey Road Studios, said: “We’re thrilled for Abbey Road Studios to support the A&R Awards for a sixth year. The A&R community remains the lifeblood of the industry, guiding extraordinary talent to new heights.
“At Abbey Road, we’ve been building new rooms for writers and producers, enhancing our existing studios and developing new tools to connect producers, writers, artists and A&Rs when working remotely, so we’re excited to see the A&R teams rewarded in this way.”
Shortlists will be unveiled – and voting will begin – for this year’s awards in the autumn.
How do I buy a table?
Platinum and Gold tables are available now for purchase – and, fair warning, we expect them all to be gone by the end of the summer.
To some people’s annoyance (sorry, but also kinda not sorry), we deliberately keep the A&R Awards to a limited (but swish) space.
We mainly do that so we don’t have to shoehorn in new awards that don’t really meet the ethos of the evening, just to sell extra tables.
It’s the right decision. But unfortunately, it also means we sell out quick.
To lock in your company’s table/s today, please email Rebecca@musicbizworldwide.com.
More information is available on the official A&R Awards website here.
What if I want to sponsor the event?
A range of high-visibility sponsorship opportunities for the A&R Awards 2022 are available across various categories.
All parties interested in supporting the A&R Awards 2022, please contact: Dave@musicbizworldwide.com
one last thing.
Those of you who were at the A&R Awards last year – and what an immense evening that was – will remember that the much-missed Ashley Forbes posthumously won the ‘A&R Administrator’ award.
Collecting that award from the stage, Dan from Bastille called on us to rename it, in Ashley’s honour, ‘The Forbesie’.
Obviously, that’s happening in November.
See you there.Music Business Worldwide