MiCannes Awards 2024

Now in its third year, international music business networking event MiCannes took place June 4-7th, reaching record attendance. After the successful addition of the inaugural MiCannes Awards to last year’s event, we continue to grow the Awards, hosted at a beautiful outdoor Awards lunch event in the garden of the elegant Mondrian Hotel in Cannes (formerly The Grand), attended by 80 distinguished guests.

MiCannes panels also took place at the Mondrian whilst film screenings/talks were held at the nearby Eden Hotel and Spa.

The MiCANNES Committee comprises over 20 International music and entertainment entrepreneurs who jointly created the MiCANNES Awards in 2023. Encouraging excellence in the international music scene and inspiring a future echelon of talented creators, the awards aim to also promote creative and business people networking together.

The founders commissioned a young and upcoming sculptor to create a distinctive award - starting with a set of stunning cheetah head trophies. Sculpted by Knox Field, an emergent British sculptor who specialises in sculpting birds and animals.

Knox sculpted each award personally and says: “It’s been an absolute honour to be chosen to sculpt these cheetah heads for the MiCANNES Awards winners. I hope the recipients get as much pleasure from receiving one of these sculptures as their Award as I got from making it.”

Note: The MiCannes Awards are voted by a growing voting academy consisting of the MiCannes board and the wider international committee, a select number of executives and artists and now some past MiCannes Award winners.

MiCANNES Award 
Scuplted by Knox Field

2024 Award Winners

Living the Beatles’ Legend

The Untold Story of Mal Evans by Kenneth Womack

MiCannes Music Book of the Year

Sponsored by Flip 180
and presented by David Stark of Songlink International

This gem of a music book has garnered some great comments in the press, including: “He saved them from a car crash, snuck them drugs, and inspired ‘Let It Be’ ’’ The detailed story of the Fab Four’s driver, bodyguard, and confidant - Mal Evans captures Beatlemania up close.” — Tim Adams, The Observer

“Womack has done a meticulously researched job in not only piecing together the roadie’s viewpoint of the Beatles’ story, but also in depicting the tragedy of a man who was so in love with the group he destroyed his own life.” — Ray Connolly, The Daily Mail

Kenneth is currently in the USA, so we asked David Stark of Songlink to collect the award on Kenneth’s behalf and he read a short message from Kenneth.

MiCannes
Best New Talent Award

Petch

MiCannes
Songwriter of the Year

RAYE

MiCannes
Music Tech Innovation
of the Year Award 2024

AI and specifically Chat GPT

Sponsored by New Media Law

This was a difficult one. There were 2 strong contenders, AI and AF, also known as Air Fryers. Both of them are great at what they do and are relatively new innovations and can do wondrous things. One of them can make your lunch brilliantly and cheaply and the other one may make your lunch or suggest you a recipe but may also eat your lunch, whether you like it or not.

We decided that AI and Chat GPT in particular should get the award as we believe in and encourage innovation, but, with a small caveat; that we suggest we keep an eye on how AI develops and it needs some form of regulation.

We also asked AI: Will AI put me out of the music business? And it replied: In short…”.. AI will not completely put you out of the music business. While AI technology is advancing rapidly and can assist in various aspects of music creation, there are certain elements of music production and performance that are deeply rooted in human emotion and creativity, which AI cannot fully replicate. AI tools like MuseNet and ChatGPT can aid in generating music compositions and lyrics, but they lack the personal touch and emotional depth that human artists bring to their work. The essence of art lies in the unique perspective and experiences of individual creators, which AI cannot entirely replace…”

That’s nice to know! Of course, AI could be lying, so we asked it if AI can lie? and it said: Yes, AI can lie. So, in the meantime, we give this award to Chat GPT on behalf of AI in general, in the hope that we all benefit from what AI can bring, but, we and you have been warned to keep an eye open.

MiCannes
Artist of the Year

Sponsored by
Copyright Rescue International

As mentioned above, RAYE smashed it as a songwriter, but also as an artist in 2023 and because of her brilliant recordings, fantastic heartfelt vocal delivery both live and on record and her overall vibe as an artist, RAYE is the first to win a double award: MiCannes Artist of the Year, as well as Songwriter of the Year.

Amazing. Congrats to Raye.

We will track her down and make sure that she receives both awards in person soon!

RAYE

MiCannes
Music Publisher of the Year

Notting Hill Music

Presented to Dave Loader and John Saunderson of Notting Hill Music
by Shelley Morgan, COO of Flip 180

The Notting Hill Music Group is a truly international music publishing operation founded in 1990 as the international division of a Japanese Corporation (NTV), and it became Notting Hill Music following a successful management buyout in 1993 and has rapidly become one of the world’s leading independent music publishers.

The company is now the publisher of over 300 UK Top 40 hits including Beyonce, Calvin Harris, Kygo and Britney Spears. Led by former manager Andy McQueen (ex Manager of The Damned and still Captain Sensible’s publisher), and MD Dave Loader (ex Virgin/Caroline/Brixton Academy etc) and A&R maestro and unabashed Head of Mischief John Saunderson, Notting Hill Music is a modern independent publisher which is unique, passionate, uncompromising, inspired, committed, sync aware... and, just a little bit special. All these things combine to make them our Music Publisher of The Year..

MiCannes
Song of the Year

Flowers
by Miley Cyrus

What can we say… best selling single globally of 2023, 8 weeks no 1 in US, no 1 in 40 countries, billions of streams. You can’t get this song out of your head (with apologies to Rob Davis!). It’s a smash and now a standard and many people’s song of 2023, including ours..

Collected on the day by David Stark of Songlink International on behalf of Miley Cyrus, until we work out how to get it to her!

Music Documentary
of the Year

George Michael: Portrait of an Artist

Presented by Laurie from Animaze and Andy Woodford, co-producer of upcoming doc “The Marquee: Birthplace of Rock” (and last year’s winning documentary producer) to:

Simon Napier Bell

Simon is a bit of a legend and innovator himself from managing The Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Sinéad O'Connor, Ultravox, Boney M, Sinitta, Wham! (including that extraordinary China concert, way ahead of it’s time), Alsou and Candi Staton, among others; to writing hit songs… Dusty Springfield approached Napier-Bell and Vicki Wickham to write an English lyric to an Italian song she had heard at the Sanremo Festival, composed by Pino Donaggio. The result was the classic "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me”… As a writer of 4 books (autobiographies) including “Black Vinyl White Powder”, producer of 4 docs including one on Frank Sinatra, there’s not much that Simon hasn’t done in the music business. MiCannes is delighted to present Simon in person with this award, which, in an impassioned acceptance speech, Simon pointed out was (incredibly!) the first Award he has been presented with in his 60 year career in Music…

The Malcolm Dunbar

MiCannes A&R of the Year Award

Anton Powers

Presented by sponsor John Saunderson and Korda Marshall (last year’s winner of this award)

DJ, Producer, Artist, Radio DJ on Kiss, ex Warner A&R now Ministry of Sound A&R, Anton Powers is the epitome of the modern A&R. Korda reminded the audience of the relevance of this A&R Award being named after legendary A&R man Malcolm Dunbar, still sadly missed by all at MiCANNES, who had given Korda his first break as a musician; and John read out a thank you speech from Anton.

MiCannes Icon Award

Jeremy Marsh

Presented by last year’s (Icon Award) winner, Nigel Elderton, European president of Peer Music, and former Chairman of PRS (award sponsored by Flip 180).

Jeremy Marsh has had a long and illustrious career in the music business, from Virgin Records in the 80’s to labels including Warner Bros, RCA, BMG, to upstart indie Telstar; also as a director of the BPI and the Silver Clef charity, and back to a long period at Warners, and still now consulting for Warners and the Azoff Music Company and more. There’s not much he hasn’t done in the ‘biz’ and we love the fact that he’s still giving his all and happy to help others to do so.

He’s an Icon of the music business and we are happy to recognise him as one.

Manager of the Year

Hugh Gadsdon

Presented by Shelley Morgan, COO of Flip 180 and Ian Penman, of New Media Law , MiCannes board member.

Hugh Gadsdon’s career started at school age with a job in the post room at Noel Gay Music in Tin Pan Alley (Denmark Street) in the 70’s, and worked his way through as a radio plugger of a huge number of hits, to working with Mark Dean at Innvervison and also with legendary publisher Bryan Morrison and signing Haircut 100 and later at Morrison Leahy Music as head of A&R. Hugh even managed to share Soho offices with New Media Law for several years in the early 2000’s and come out unscathed!

He started Hugh Gadsdon Music publishing HGM, signing Ian Dench/Apple Mosaic, who went on to become EMF. First single ‘Unbelievable’ written by Dench, reached No.3 in the UK charts & No.1 in the US Billboard chart. Soon Hugh moved into management with clients including buzz band Symposium, legendary producers Langer/Winstanley, Owen Morris and newcomer and soon to be legend Charlie Andrew and legendary British act Madness…. It’s probably his longtime management of Madness that gives him this accolade reflected in his unbounding energy and commitment to the band, reinventing them and driving their touring, merch, beer, fanbase and music to the highest levels (rooftop of Buckingham Palace anyone?) and recently as Madness’s album Theatre of the Absurd Presents C'est la Vie in Nov 2023 was their 13th album and the first no.1 studio album in the UK

We asked his colleague Gareth White for a quote about Hugh: “Hugh's the ultimate people person, he has an ability like no one I’ve ever met to walk into any situation and command the room. He can be hard when he needs to be, but his main qualities are his confidence, charm and humour. He has an uncanny ability to remember everyones partners/children's names and show an interest in everyone he meets. He’s been a mentor and father figure to me over the last 15+ years and shown an immense of belief in me personally & my career development, the same can be said with all of the artists we’ve worked with together. All of whom he’s put his heart, soul and often his own money into furthering their careers always putting the artists first. It’s been quite a ride so far and if anything Hugh seems to have more energy (possibly espresso fuelled…!) than when I first met him a couple of decades ago and it was fantastic to hear his career is being recognised with this award. Very well deserved!”