Songwriters Society of North America (SONA) honors songwriter activists with awards Raye, rossgolan, Willie “Prophet” Stiggs, Thomas Schererand late Andrea Martin at the SONA Warrior Awards held at the Skiball Center on Sunday (October 6) in Los Angeles.
Now in its fourth year, the SONA Warrior Awards have been upgraded to a larger room. This year, the event brought together more than 450 supporters from the worlds of songwriting, publishing, streaming and more, who came together to commemorate the “often unsung, unsexy work of advocacy,” SONA executive director and songwriter Michelle Michelle Lewis said.
In his opening remarks, Lewis addressed some of the key issues facing the writing world today. Referring to recent cultural events like the Paris Olympics and the Democratic National Convention, she said: “Have you ever noticed that every shared experience has a recognizable, memorable soundtrack? … These huge The connection between cultural moments is those huge fucking songs, right? Songs have never been more important, but their value has never been less.
“If you don’t pay the songwriter, who’s going to write the song? Please don’t say artificial intelligence. The nature of people consuming music through streaming and short video clips puts songwriters at the bottom of the queue,” Lewis said.
The first award was presented to British artist/songwriter RAYE, who has been a vocal advocate for songwriters since her song “Escapism.” Last year launched her into the pop mainstream. Her award was presented by her co-writer and executive producer, Mike Sabasand pay homage to her work Abby: “Of course.” Keaneher sister and fellow artist. She accepted the Warrior Award remotely from the UK
Throughout the evening, honorees highlighted a variety of issues that matter most to songwriters today. As Golan accepts an award from a fellow songwriter benny blanco”, he pointed out: “If an artist who doesn’t create sells their work for hundreds of millions of dollars, why doesn’t the title of the publication say ‘Artist extorted $200 million from working songwriter?’ That’s what it’s called. Forced. That’s not songwriting. When an artist wins a ton of awards, even if they’ve stolen songwriting and publishing credit for decades, that’s called vanity. This is not songwriting.
Golan continued, “If you want to take credit for something you didn’t do, then pay something, or [master] point [to songwriters]because we don’t owe you our publishing…it’s never too late to correct it.
Advocating for underperforming songwriters with no production ability to receive master points was a common refrain throughout the evening. This is a growing movement in the music industry, which previously would not have considered offering this service to songwriters unless the writer was an A-list hitmaker. In the last year, a number of independent labels including Facet Records, The Other Songs, Nvak Collective and Good Boy Records have made it the standard for offering this service. However, such concessions are still rare for records released by major labels.
The award is Thomas SchererPresident of BMG Global Catalog Records and Music Publishing, lifelong drummer, introduced by members of Eurythmics Dave Stewart. “As a drummer and a true lover of music, Thomas gave me hope,” Stewart said in his emotional introduction. “I am proud to present him with the Son of a Warrior Award because he is a true warrior. , a soldier fighting for the motherland.
An award was also given posthumously to the writer Andrea Martin In recognition of her contribution to the R&B genre through songs recorded by Toni Braxton, Monica and Leona Lewis, among others. Her family, including her two surviving children, accepted the award.
After being introduced by his teenage son, Willie “The Prophet” StigSONA Warrior Awards Night is over. As co-founder, president and CEO of the Black Music Artists Alliance (BMAC), Stiggs delivered an emotional acceptance speech, describing his journey from personal experience with police brutality to becoming a black songwriter, artist and high-profile figure in the music industry. The journey of a top advocate for stewardship. “Four years [after BMAC was created,] Our commitment is unwavering,” Stiggs said.
In his speech, Stiggs also announced a new BMAC executive training program, which, in his words, “will invite 10 executives each year to participate in an executive training and coaching program at one of the industry recruiting firms. This will be a A year-long program that helps black executives advance to the next stage of their careers.
