The wait is finally over for the biz – the shortlists are now in for the only music industry awards that matter.
Today we reveal the nominees for the Music Week Awards 2018. It was a year of record entries – some of this year’s shortlists have been extended to accommodate the high-quality submissions – and there’s plenty of tough competition among the finalists in the 22 categories.
The Music Week Awards take place on April 26 at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.
The highly prestigious Record Company award will see reigning champions Syco return to fight it out with Atlantic, Columbia, Polydor, Virgin EMI and Warner Bros. Meanwhile, in the hotly-contested Publisher Of The Year category, the three majors – Sony/ATV, Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner/Chappell – are up against indies BMG, Concord, Downtown, Reservoir, Sentric, Spirit B-Unique and reigning champs Kobalt.
This year’s Manager Of The Year award will also be a heavyweight contest, with managers and management teams for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher, Rag’N’Bone Man, Skepta, Stormzy, Clean Bandit and Lana Del Rey all in the frame.
Glastonbury Festival will be hoping to triumph again in the Festival Of The Year category – this year they will be up against British Summer Time Hyde Park, Download, Isle Of Wight Festival, Kendal Calling, Reading & Leeds and Wireless.
Last year saw a series of impressive artist breakthroughs and strong international sales for UK releases, so there will be intense competition in the A&R Award category between the teams behind artists including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Rag’N’Bone Man and J Hus.
The biggest award, The Strat – which recognises an outstanding contribution to the music business – will be announced on the night. Last year’s packed ceremony saw First Access Entertainment CEO Sarah Stennett honoured with the special award.
The Music Week Awards now move into the judging phase, with winners decided by a combination of expert judging panels and a wider group of industry executives.
Tickets and tables for the event are already selling like hot cakes and, with last year’s awards a record-breaking sell-out show, you’re advised to not delay in securing your place at this year’s ceremony. To book, please visit musicweekawards.com. For sponsorship enquiries and to join the likes of the Official Charts Company, PPL, Proper, MQA and Tape as our partners on the music industry’s biggest night out, please contact Ryan O’Donnell on rodonnell@nbmedia.com.
The full list of nominees is below:
A&R Award
• Atlantic Records
• Black Butter Records
• Capitol Records
• Columbia Records
• Dirty Hit
• Island Records
• Polydor Records
• Syco Music
• Warner Bros Records
Artist Marketing Campaign
• Michael Ball & Alfie Boe, Decca Records
• Big Shaq, Island Records
• Lana Del Rey, Polydor Records
• Paloma Faith, RCA Records
• Gorillaz, Parlophone Records
• J Hus, Black Butter Records
• The Killers, Virgin EMI
• Rag’N’Bone Man, Columbia Records
• Ed Sheeran, Atlantic Records
• Sam Smith, Capitol Records
• Stormzy, #Merky
• Wolf Alice, Dirty Hit
Catalogue Marketing Campaign
• The Beatles, UMC
• Belinda Carlisle, Demon Music
• Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, BMG
• Elton John, UMC
• Fela Kuti, Knitting Factory Records
• Vera Lynn, Decca Records
• George Michael, Sony Music Commercial Group
• The Smiths, Rhino
Festival Of The Year
• British Summer Time Hyde Park
• Download
• Glastonbury Festival
• Isle Of Wight Festival
• Kendal Calling
• Reading & Leeds
• Wireless
Grassroots Venue: Spirit Of The Scene
• 100 Club, London
• The Boileroom, Guildford
• Broadcast, Glasgow
• Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
• The Joiners, Southampton
• Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
• Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
Independent Music Retailer
• Banquet
• Drift
• Forever Records
• Rough Trade
Independent Record Company
• 4AD
• Because Music
• Bella Union
• Dirty Hit
• Glassnote
• Matador
• Partisan Records
• Play It Again Sam
Label/Artist Services Company
• Absolute
• ADA
• Caroline International
• Ditto Music
• Kobalt
• PIAS
• The Orchard
• InGrooves
Law Firm Of The Year
• Collins Long
• Hamlins
• Lee & Thompson
• Russells
• Shoosmiths
• Simons Muirhead & Burton
• Van Straten Solicitors
Live Music Agent (Individual)
• Emma Banks, CAA
• Natasha Bent, Coda
• Anna Bewers, UTA
• Alex Hardee, Coda
• Gary Howard, UTA
• Jon Ollier, CAA
• Steve Strange, X-ray Touring
Live Music Promoter (Company)
• AEG Presents
• DHP Family
• Kilimanjaro Live
• Live Nation
• Rockfeedback
• SJM Concerts
Manager Of The Year
• Moe Bah & Kilo Jalloh, 2K Management
• Stuart Camp, Grumpy Old Management
• Polly Comber & Josh Smith, Black Fox / Rocket Music
• Sam Eldridge & Roy Eldridge, UROK Management, & Debbie Gwyther
• Grace Ladoja, Metallic Inc
• Ben Mawson & Ed Millett, Tap Management
• Tobe Onwuka, #Merky
• Stephen Taverner, East City Management
• Iain Watt & Martha Kinn, Machine Management
• John Woolf, A-List Management
Music & Brand Partnership
• Big Shaq / Fifa ’18 / Universal Music Globe / EA
• Dua Lipa / Foot Locker / Warner Music
• Gorillaz / E.ON / Warner Music Partnerships
• James Bay / Topman / Universal Music Globe
• Lady Leshurr / Nike / Sony Music Partnerships
• Modestep / Jägermeister For Ice Cold Gigs
• NME / Thatcher’s Haze
• Pete Tong / Jaguar Land Rover / Universal Music Globe
Music Retailer/Streaming Platform
• Amazon
• Deezer
• HMV
• Rough Trade
• Spotify
PR Campaign
• Foo Fighters, MBC PR
• Liam Gallagher, Warner Bros Records
• J Hus, Imran Malik Publicity
• Vera Lynn, Decca Records
• Muna, Columbia Records
• Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains, LD Communications
• Queens Of The Stone Age, Dawbell
• Ed Sheeran, Atlantic Records
• Sigrid, Island Records
• Steps, Halestorm PR
• Stormzy, Wired PR
• Wiley, Listen Up
Promotions Team
• Atlantic Records
• Island Records
• Plugged In
• Polydor Records
• RCA Records
• Virgin EMI Records
• Warner Bros Records
• Your Army
Publisher Of The Year
• BMG
• Concord Music
• Downtown
• Kobalt
• Reservoir
• Sentric Music
• Sony/ATV Music Publishing
• Spirit B-Unique
• Universal Music Publishing Group
• Warner/Chappell Music
Radio Show
• A.Dot, BBC Radio 1Xtra
• Alex Baker’s Fresh Blood, Kerrang!
• Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6 Music
• Lauren Laverne, BBC Radio 6 Music
• Annie Mac, BBC Radio 1
• MistaJam, BBC Radio 1Xtra
• Danielle Perry’s Sunday Night Music Club, Absolute
• Jo Whiley, BBC Radio 2
Radio Station
• Absolute
• BBC Radio 1
• BBC Radio 1Xtra
• BBC Radio 2
• BBC Radio 6 Music
• Classic FM
• Planet Rock
• Radio X
Record Company
• Atlantic Records
• Columbia Records
• Polydor Records
• Syco Music
• Virgin EMI Records
• Warner Bros Records
Sales Team
• Caroline International
• Demon Music Group
• The Orchard
• PIAS
• Sony Music UK
• Warner Music UK
Ticketing Company
• Ents24
• Eventim
• Gigantic
• See Tickets
• Ticketmaster
• Twickets
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