LONDON, UK (Top40 Charts/ ASCAP Official Website) The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) held its 31st annual Awards tonight at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Hosted by ASCAP Senior Vice President, International
Roger Greenaway and Vice President, Membership Seán Devine, the gala dinner and awards presentation honored those songwriter, composer and publisher members of PRS for
Music - the UK's Performing Right Society - whose repertory is licensed by ASCAP and was among its most performed works in the U.S. during 2011.
Among the honorees and special guests in attendance were ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams,
Annie Lennox, Mike d'Abo, Justin Parker, Patrick Doyle,
Craig Armstrong, Cathy Dennis, Julian Gingell, Dan McGrath, Steve Mac, Josh Phillips, Barry Stone, Keith Strachan and Matthew Strachan.
Pop singer/songwriter
Taio Cruz was named Songwriter of the Year for the second year in a row. Cruz was awarded for the songs "Break Your Heart," "
Without You" and "Dynamite." Writer/producer
Steve Mac was on hand to receive the Song of the Year honor for the smash hit single "You Make Me Feel," recorded by Cobra Starship.
Universal
Music Publishing was named Publisher of the Year for its most-performed winning songs "
Dog Days Are Over" (Florence and the Machine), "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall," "Paradise," "
Viva La Vida" (Coldplay), "Five O'Clock" (T-Pain) and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Eurythmics).
President of Universal
Music Publishing
Europe & UK Paul Connolly commented: "I'm thrilled that our songwriters continue to write hit songs that people want to hear all over the world. As their honored music publisher, this ASCAP Publisher of the Year Award is testament to their creativity, professionalism and hard work -- and to that of my colleagues at Universal. This award is for all of them."
As part of ASCAP's ongoing commitment to support emerging music creators, rock troubadour
Frank Turner was honored with the ASCAP Vanguard Award in recognition of his work. Turner was touring and recording his upcoming album in the US, but sent a video acceptance. Turner recently played at the Olympic Opening ceremony in London to an audience of 80,000 people. Previous ASCAP Vanguard Award honorees include Taio Cruz, Calvin Harris, Kate Nash, Bat for Lashes and Plan B.
Songwriter Justin Parker was in attendance to collect the first ever Foundation Stone award, a brand new award that celebrates the new creators and architects of the songwriting industry.
The evening was highlighted with a special performance by hit songwriter Mike d'Abo. Former lead singer in the group Manfred Mann, d'Abo gave live renditions of his songs "Handbags and Gladrags" and "Build Me Up Buttercup."
A total of 20 Song Awards were presented throughout the evening. Those being honored included U2 for "
Beautiful Day" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," Florence and the Machine for "Dog Days Are Over,"
Phil Collins for "In the Air Tonight,"
Annie Lennox for "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),"
Jessie J for "Price Tag," and
Coldplay for "Viva La Vida," "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" and "Paradise." For a complete list of winners, go to www.ascap.com.
Honorees in the Film and Television Theme categories were:
Lorne Balfe (Sherlock Holmes)
Patrick Doyle (Thor and Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
Craig Armstrong (In Time)
Cathy Dennis, Julian Gingell, Barry Stone(American Idol)
Josh Phillips, Dan McGrath (Dancing With the Stars)
Elizabeth Fraser ("
Teardrop" from House)
Keith Strachan, Matthew Strachan (Who Wants to be a Millionaire)
About ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business -- from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With 450,000 members representing more than 8.5 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. https://www.ascap.com
