MiCannes Best Artist of the Year:

Sam Fender

Born and raised in North Shields (near Newcastle), Sam Fender discovered his passion for music during his teenage years and released several singles independently beginning in 2017. His sound relies primarily on his traditional American musical upbringing combined with a British rock sensibility. He is known for his high tenor voice and Geordie accent. Recognised for his songwriting style, Fender is the recipient of three Brit Awards.

MiCannes Malcolm Dunbar A&R Award
Sponsored by John Saunderson Music:

Josh Mateer

A&R AWARD Josh Mateer serves as the Head of A&R for TikTok’s groundbreaking artist and label services platform, SoundOn. In this role, he spearheads signing strategy and artist development across Europe, driving SoundOn’s mission to empower artists and deliver global success. Since its U.K. launch, SoundOn has rapidly built a reputation for generating hit records, collaborating with a diverse roster of talent including Leostaytrill, Niklas Dee, M Huncho, Potter Payper, Sidemen, Craig David, Taylor Bickett, Alan Walker, Charlie Jeer, Rain Radio, Kenya Grace, Disco Lines, Piri & Tommy, Chloe Adams, The Stickmen Project, The Academic, Grace Gachot, Florence Road, Wes Nelson, and many more.

MiCannes Music Manager of the Year
Sponsored by Notting Hill Music:

Craig Jennings

MANAGER. Craig JENNINGS is CEO of Raw Power Management having started in management in 1984. Raw Power manages several artists including Bring me the Horizon, Bullet for My Valentine, Don Broco, At The Drive In, Refused, Scarlxrd, While She Sleeps and others.

MiCannes Music Publisher of the Year:

Bucks Music Group

PUBLISHER ksBu Group is one of the UK’s leading and longest running international, independent music publishers. They have a rich musical heritage, having been responsible for launching and developing the careers of music legends including David Bowie, T-Rex, The Move, Black Sabbath and Procol Harum. Our active A&R department continues to discover, nurture and develop new song writing talent across multi genres.

Bucks’ catalogue includes works written by David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Procol Harum, DJ Fresh, James Blunt, Professor Green, Rudimental, Beyonce, CAN, Pete Doherty, Roni Size & Reprazent, David Arnold, Sacha Skarbek, Troy Miller, Seton Daunt, Ash Howes, James Dring, Erol Alkan, Little Barrie, Nadine Shah, Ivory Layne, Erland Cooper, CATTY, Emma Blackery, The Heavytrackerz, Brooke Bentham, Gold Spectacles, Molly Payton, Johnny Madden, Joshua Epithet, Rosbeh, Murdo Mitchell and more.

Label publishing partners include: Heavenly, Nude, Full Time Hobby, Brownswood, Rekids and Arts & Crafts.

MiCannes Artist Icon:

Phil Collins

Phil Collins is an iconic British musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis and had a successful solo career, achieving three UK number-one singles and seven US number-one singles as a solo artist. In total, his work with Genesis, other artists and solo resulted in more US top-40 singles than any other artist throughout the 1980s. His most successful singles from the period include “In the Air Tonight”, “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”, “One More Night”, “Sussudio”, “Another Day in Paradise”, “Two Hearts” and “I Wish It Would Rain Down”.

MiCannes Industry Icon
Sponsored by Chelsea Songs:

Lionel Conway

English music publisher, music entrepreneur and MD / President of music businesses. Los Angeles resident since the 1990s. Conway was first introduced to music publishing via his friend Don Black at NME, taking a summer vacation job in a publishing house under the guidance of Dick James. When James left to form his own company Conway went with him, just at the time of James’ signing of The Beatles in 1964. In 1969 Conway was invited by Chris Blackwell to run Island Records publishing company. Although the Island catalog was lean by comparison, the acts included the likes of Steve Winwood and the recently-signed Free and his move was also on the cusp of Blackwell joining forces with Larry Cordell and bringing in acts like Joe Cocker and The Move. Whilst Island grew in strength Conway also brokered deals for promo and distribution of early Chrysalis and Virgin releases, until Branson decided to open his own publishing arm at the start of the 70s. With a roster of successful artists such as Cat Stevens, Bob Marley, Robert Palmer and the 1978 signing of U2, Conway noted that by the 1980s the Island brand had started to slip against strong competition.

MiCannes Music Book of the Year
Sponsored by Songlink International:

Street Level Superstar: Will Hodgkinson

Less a music memoir, more a work of psychogeography, Will Hodgkinson’s latest book explores the world of Lawrence, former lead singer of Felt and now Mozart Estate. Will joins Lawrence on a series of walks around London’s less fashionable suburbs — places like Golders Green, West Ham, and Beckenham — during the course of which he gently explains how a man that once fronted the 1980s’ most wonderfully pretentious indie band is now singing songs and debating the merits of different coloured fizzy drinks.

Will Hodgkinson is a journalist, author and chief rock and pop critic for The Times newspaper and contributes to Mojo magazine. He has also presented the Sky Arts TV show Songbook, in which he interviews contemporary songwriters.

MiCannes Music Tech Innovation
Sponsored by New Media Law LLP:

DISCO

DISCO is a revolutionary digital content licensing platform owned and operated by SyndiGate which combines decades of experience in content technology with a catalogue of thousands of content products. DISCO blends proprietary technology with world-class licensed journalism, and is an essential tool for news and press publishers, broadcasters, brands and creative agencies who are hungry for fully rights-cleared, trustworthy, multilingual content.

MiCannes Best Talent of the Year
Sponsored by Kala Brand Music Co:

The Molotovs

Smashing out and selling out venues worldwide, The Molotovs have become one of the UK’s hottest young bands. Sharp, punchy anthems delivered with highly charged stagecraft that leaves absolutely nothing in the dressing room and resonates with an eclectic audience of those in the know. They’ve been handpicked by the likes of The Libertines and Blondie to share the stage, and have been championed by Green Day both on stage and in press. With another year of relentless touring and festival appearances, The Molotovs truly are primed for a breakthrough.

Line-up:
Matt Molotov: Guitar/lead vocals/songwriter
Issey Carts: Bass guitar/backing vocals
Will Fooks: Drums

MiCannes Best Song of the Year
Sponsored by Peermusic:

Messy by Lola Young

“Messy” is a song by British singer Lola Young, released on 30 May 2024 as the sixth single from her second studio album This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway (2024). It went viral on the video sharing app TikTok and became her first charting song, peaking at the top of the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, the song reached number one in Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, and Israel. It also peaked within the top ten in several other countries, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, while peaking at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Pop Airplay chart.

MiCannes Music Documentary of the Year:

Blur: To The End

To the End is a 2024 British documentary film about Blur’s reunion in the 2020s and their first album in eight years, The Ballad of Darren. The film is directed by Toby L. It premiered at Sheffield DocFest on 14 June 2024. Released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 19 July 2024.

MiCannes Songwriter of the Year
Sponsored by Notting Hill Music:

Sam Fender

Born and raised in North Shields (near Newcastle), Sam Fender discovered his passion for music during his teenage years and released several singles independently beginning in 2017. His sound relies primarily on his traditional American musical upbringing combined with a British rock sensibility. He is known for his high tenor voice and Geordie accent. Recognised for his songwriting style, Fender is the recipient of three Brit Awards.