2020
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A STRONG ACADEMY FOR ALL MUSIC CREATORS Our Chair Crispin Hunt and CEO Graham Davies look at the challenges facing music creators, our progress to strengthen the Academy and future plans. The Academy has had a successful year at a time when creators have needed to come together more than ever. While 2020 has been phenomenally difficult and there are many challenges ahead, it’s in such times that we need community and common purpose. Thank you for supporting each other, the Academy, and for uniting in our collective purpose to create a positive future for songwriters and composers. Our response to the Covid-19 crisis, and continued work on behalf of our members through our 76th year, has been the first full year under our new The Ivors Academy name. We finished 2019 having concluded a major overhaul of our identity, we finished with a surplus, and ambitious plans for growth and renewal. From the first day of the lockdown to now, the Academy Board, Committees and staff have been committed to doing everything we can to tackle the urgent need for Government and industry support for creators. And as we hopefully emerge from the worst of the health crisis, we are renewing our efforts to put creators at the heart of the music industry’s recovery. The crisis shone a light on the need for us to tackle the long-term structural flaws in the music industry, which we have done in partnership with the Musicians’ Union through our campaign to Keep Music Alive and Fix Streaming, alongside Tom Gray and the #BrokenRecord campaign. After months of campaigning and gathering over 17,000 petition signatures we secured a Government inquiry into streaming. The inquiry will run into 2021 and has already heard powerful testimonies from Academy members Fiona Bevan, Soweto Kinch and Tom Gray - to whom
Graham Davies, CEO
we are very grateful. We had similar success in our #NoMusicBuyouts campaign reversing disgraceful moves by Discovery Networks to cancel music royalties in the future, and we plan more campaigning in 2021 against coercive businesses practices that affect media composers. We are building an Academy that can speak with a loud voice and bring about positive change. We launched the Academy Youth Network, Youth Council and Under 25 membership category to encourage the next generation of music creators to become part of our community. We have added the talents of Emma McClarkin, Julia Montero, Emily Saunders, Hope Winter, Imogen Williams, Jin Jin, Hannah Vasanth, Tre Jean-Marie, Cassie Kinoshi, Tim Garland, Soweto Kinch, Ailís Ní Ríain, Lloyd Coleman, Shiva Feshareki, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Robert Mitchell, Bankey Ojo, Carly Paradis, Claire Batchelor, Hannah Peel, Jo Ranger, Richard Cassell, Kojo Samuel and Charlene Brown to our Academy Board and Committees. We also added new talents to the executive team welcoming Mark Taylor, Julia Rowan, Maria McMillan and Jenny Goodwin. Our thanks go to Board Directors Paul Hartnoll and Stephen McNeff, who stood down from the Board to support the Academy’s commitments to championing equality, diversity and inclusion. We were thrilled to welcome new volunteer leaders to the board of our charity, The Ivors Academy Trust, this year. They are Cliff Fluet (Chair), Lucy Francis (Deputy Chair), Natasha Baldwin, Michael Dugher, Sally Anne Gross, Melanie Johnson, Peter Leathem, and Danny Poku. We’re delighted our friend and former trustee, Silvina Munich, has agreed to be Special Advisor to the Trust. As a community we have benefited from our innovative partnership with Apple Music, which is bringing increased profile and members through the new Rising Star Ivor Novello Award. We are very grateful to Apple, PRS for Music, BBC Radio 3, the nominees and industry partners who supported The Ivors and The Ivors Composer Awards in a year when we have been unable to present the awards at physical ceremonies. Our
Crispin Hunt, Chair commitment to celebrating the most outstanding achievements in music creation this year remained undaunted. The Apple Music partnership is one of a number of relationships the Academy has built over the past year including PRS for Music, the Council of Music Makers, the Musicians’ Union, the Independent Music Publishers Forum, Help Musicians UK and Kopinor. The new partnership with Copydan has seen us distribute nearly £400,000 since June 2019 to individual writers. We have launched The Ivors Academy Trust and are beginning fundraising in earnest. It is already bringing more financial support for the Academy to pursue education, bursaries and outreach – including the launch of the Music Creators Mentoring Programme this year, a partnership between the Academy and Help Musicians. We are acutely aware of the need to address inequality and diversity deficits in the industry. Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group are leading our work to challenge injustice and promote equality of opportunity. We also created a new Ethics Committee, with lawyer and human resources expert Charlene Brown as Chair, to support setting up a new ethical framework which will include award-giving and membership. Our Board and Committees have never been more diverse in their membership and we have a robust 12-point plan to drive positive change across everything we do. It was with great sadness that we lost Rupert Hine, Board member and Songwriting Committee member, who sadly passed away after a long and fearless battle with cancer. The Academy published tributes to Rupert and the other members and friends who we lost over the past year. In spite of all these challenges, the Academy team has managed to work remotely, cut costs and find new ways of working with professionalism and dedication. Our thanks go to our members for their trust and support over the past year and we look to the coming year with renewed purpose and energy.
FELLOWSHIP Fellowship of the Academy recognises excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation, and is the highest honour we bestow. Recipients join a roster of greats including Annie Lennox OBE, Sir Paul McCartney, Pierre Boulez CBE, and Sir Elton John. As well as lifetime membership of the Academy, each Fellow receives a dedicated Ivor Novello Award. This year we welcomed three new Fellows to the Academy - trailblazing singer and songwriter Joan Armatrading CBE, extraordinary music creator and artist Kate Bush CBE and genre-defying composer Julian Joseph OBE.
“I’ll treasure this statue of Euterpe always and ask her to sit on my shoulder while I work.” Kate Bush CBE
“Every songwriter would be honoured to receive an Ivor Novello Award. And I feel especially privileged to have been invited to be a Fellow of the Academy.” Joan Armatrading CBE
“I’m very privileged and honoured to receive this Ivor Novello Fellowship Award, it means a great deal to be recognised.” Julian Joseph OBE
©James Joseph Music Management
A POWERFUL CREATORS’ VOICE Julia Rowan, Policy Coordinator at the Academy, gives an overview of campaigning and lobbying over the past twelve months. Over the past year, the Academy has strengthened its campaigning and tackled a variety of policy issues. We are proud to represent music creators, and are committed to ensuring that creators’ voices are heard by the industry and policy-makers. This means working in partnership when there is a common purpose, and taking an independent stance when it is the right thing to do for our community. It begins with representing creators at the UK Music table, the umbrella body that represents the country’s commercial music industry. Although UK Music is sometimes faced with the need to strike a balance of different interests, our goal is that when the industry lobbies Government, songwriters and composers are a key part of the conversation. Our partnership with the creative side of the industry has grown stronger under the Council of Music Makers, where we collaborate with the bodies representing performers, producers, artists, and their representatives. Together we set out the British Music Strategy, which culminated in a set of recommendations we presented to Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, in March - just before the Covid-19 crisis. Although some points remain relevant in the long term, such as the need
Julia Rowan, Policy Coordinator at the Academy for touring musicians to have easy and cost-effective access to the European market postBrexit and the case for fiscal incentives, Covid-19 has shifted priorities. Following the outbreak, the Academy has repeatedly urged Government to provide immediate financial support to our members whose earnings have been affected. When the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme was finally added to the other support measures, many of our members were still left wanting. Although they were facing genuine hardship, they did not meet the Government’s eligibility criteria for any of the support schemes. In our weekly meetings with DCMS and through other lobbying channels, we stressed that no creator should be left behind. When it became apparent that it was unlikely existing schemes would be amended, we began pushing for sectorspecific subsidies. It became clear that the whole creative ecosystem was in peril, and
in July the Government put £1.57bn towards the creative industries support package. This was welcome news, as we knew at least some of the core infrastructure that sustains our members would be able to pull through. We were also pleased to see this included grants for commissioning of new compositions, as we are acutely aware of the impact that coronavirus has had not only on songwriters, but also on our composer community.
“However, we have remained vigilant and have been clear in our communications with Government that this support should reach everyone in the supply chain and across the UK – not just the biggest venues and institutions. The UK’s creative sector is made first and foremost of people, and creators in particular form the bedrock of any artistic output.”
As we emerge from the worst of the health crisis, we are facing challenging economic circumstances. Creators must be at the heart of the music industry’s recovery, and we will continue calling on broadcasters, commissioners and event organisers to support this recovery by playing and championing our contemporary composers. We also worked hard from within the industry to provide emergency financial relief, promoting the hardship funds for which our members were eligible and co-creating coronamusicians.info, a centralised hub where musicsector workers could find a comprehensive list of guidance and direction to support.
to raise awareness around the hardship creators are facing due to streaming revenue being mostly negligible, and calling for a Government review to conclusively expose all the inequities this broken market is built upon - so we can work together to fix what is not working.
Covid-19 has exacerbated some of the music industry’s existing flaws. Following the disappearance of live music, cancellations of songwriting sessions and significant reductions in PRS payments due to business closures, songwriters have been left to rely on revenue from music streaming. Of course, we already knew how badly streaming paid music makers, but with Covid-19 it became a matter of survival. The failures in the streaming market are posing an existential threat to the creation of music – the very product that streaming sells.
At the end of July, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee recommended that the Government investigate the market for recorded music to make sure that music creators receive a fair reward. And in October the Committee launched an inquiry into the economics of music streaming, asking if the streaming model was fit for purpose, particularly for music makers. We were thrilled to see that our campaigning had worked and our calls were listened to. It shows that when we speak up as a united creator voice, we can get the attention of policy-makers.
At the same time as thousands of music creators took to social media to challenge the #BrokenRecord music industry, we formed an alliance with the Musicians’ Union, under the banner Keep Music Alive, to tackle longstanding inequalities in the music industry. In May the Alliance launched the Fix Streaming campaign, aiming
The Academy submitted written evidence on behalf of our members, highlighting the plight of music creators and proposing a number of policy interventions ranging from copyright reform to regulation of the major music groups and oversight of streaming platforms’ algorithmic curation,
to name a few. We also encouraged our members and creators at large to submit evidence and tell their story. It is vital that politicians hear directly from creators, and it is fantastic that MPs heard directly from so many songwriters and composers. As well as seeking written evidence, the Committee holds a number of verbal evidence sessions, which heard from music creators, performers and musicians.
“We are hugely grateful to Academy members Tom Gray, Fiona Bevan and Soweto Kinch – as well as Ivor Novello Awardwinner Nile Rogers – for championing all music creators by giving powerful evidence to MPs on the Committee.” I cannot stress enough how positive this inquiry has been in our campaigning activity to ensure that the streaming market is equitable and transparent for the whole music ecosystem. A huge thanks also goes to Tom Gray for his #BrokenRecord campaign, which was instrumental to this coming to fruition. As the
inquiry continues into 2021 we will, with creators and the MU, continue lobbying and campaigning to reform wrongful business practices. Streaming isn’t the only issue the Keep Music Alive Alliance is looking at. After the initial stages of the Covid-19 crisis, we picked up where we left off in the fight against coercive commissioning practices in media composition. In 2019 we conducted a survey amongst UK composers for screen, which found that 41% of respondents had been required to give away more of their mechanical rights than they wished to, and 35% said they had been subject to full buyouts or work-for-hire in the previous 5 years. We presented these results to relevant stakeholders, such as the BBC, Netflix, Sky, PRS, MCPS, the MU, Manners McDade and COOL Music, during a meeting and two public events. In December 2019, we spoke up against the alarming statement by Discovery Inc. that they were going to only work with those willing to accept full buyouts and, should composers refuse, Discovery threatened to strip their music off existing shows. It was incredibly encouraging to see that after music creators - and the Academy with them - raised their voice, Discovery reversed their decision. It shows that when we come together, we truly can affect change. But the battle isn’t over. We are committed to doing everything we can to preserve creators’ rights. We have called out Epidemic Sound’s detrimental business model, purported as benefiting creators; and alongside fostering
meaningful dialogue with industry stakeholders, we are in the process of developing a commissioning code of practice for broadcasters and educational content and initiatives so the least experienced media composers can know what to look out for and be empowered to create a better professional future for themselves and their fellow creators. We also haven’t lost sight of the domestic and international copyright landscape. We are inputting to trade negotiations with countries across the globe, as this moment could be pivotal in redefining the rights framework and safeguarding creators’ remuneration. In particular, the Academy is lobbying for the UK to align with the standards of protections set out in the EU
Copyright Directive, whilst actively opposing harmful practices making their way into the UK’s legislative framework through trade channels. We also plan to do this via regular dialogue with the Intellectual Property Office, as it assesses the current UK copyright regime. There are many other issues we continue to work on, including the impact of technological innovation, such as Artificial Intelligence and metadata, on the music creating profession. It is clear we can only achieve meaningful change together, as a community of creators. So whatever your concerns are, get in touch to share your experience or learn more about what we’re up to, and help us bring about the change you want to see.
THE IVORS WITH APPLE MUSIC 2020 Announced on 2 September, The Ivors 2020 was a year like no other. Presented by Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1 we celebrated outstanding achievements in songwriting and screen composition. Here are some of this year’s winners. For all the nominees, winners photos and videos visit ivorsacademy.com and our social channels.
Labrinth, winner of Best Television Soundtrack for Euphoria.
“I’m so excited for the future.” Mysie, winner of the first Rising Star Award with Apple Music.
“You’ve made my day, my week, my month, my year, the next ten years.” Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, winner of PRS for Music Most Performed Work for Giant. Written with Calvin Harris, Jamie Hartman and Troy Miller.
“I can’t quite believe it, this is just such an honour.” Steve Mac, Songwriter of the Year.
“This is the one that’s probably the most important because it’s about the songwriting and the skill of the pen.”
“The honour of a lifetime.” Dave, winner of Best Contemporary Song for Black. Written with Fraser T Smith.
Little Simz, winner of Best Album for Grey Area. Written with Inflo. ©TAMIYM
“I’m so proud and happy to receive this award.” Jamie Cullum, winner of Best Song Musically and Lyrically for Age of Anxiety.
“This is very surreal and absolutely wonderful.” Simon Poole, winner of Best Original Video Game Score for Draugen.
PROMOTING EQUALITY THROUGH EVERYTHING WE DO Wesley John, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at the Academy, and Emily Saunders, Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, explain our ongoing work to create an inclusive and representative Academy. This year has brought the urgent need for greater equality and representation across the music industry and society into sharp focus. Moments of injustice, inequality, intolerance and hate across the world have highlighted the overdue need for solidarity, equality and inclusion. The music industry, and the UK’s community of music creators, has an important role to play in making this happen. Equality, diversity, and inclusion matter deeply to the Academy at its core. As the professional home for all music creators we take our responsibility to champion a more diverse and inclusive music industry seriously. We all want to see a music industry free of prejudice and discrimination, and everyone should have the same opportunities to succeed – regardless of their background or identity. There are no quick and easy solutions, but we are committed to making change happen. This year we have worked hard on increasing the diversity of our Board and Committees. This has been achieved through a mixture of members standing aside and creating new opportunities through co-options so we have the space we need for new perspectives. Since the start of 2020 we’ve welcomed 23 new members to our Board and Committees. During the year our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group have worked with staff, the Board and Committees to create a 12-point equalities action plan for the Academy. As well as creating the plan we have begun work in earnest. Our Board has increased its diversity – seeing equal gender
Wesley John
representation (up from 38% female representation at the start of the year), 25% of Directors from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background (up from 6%), and representation of Directors with a disability up to 13% from 6%. It’s important that we celebrate music creators from all backgrounds - and it’s been a joy to listen to our special takeover playlist for Black History Month on Apple Music, curated by Board Director Jin Jin. The playlist is a wonderful exploration of black British musical talent. For UK Disability History Month we have worked with the MU to promote a new rider for venues and disabled music creators to communicate needs and improve accessibility. We’re delighted to welcome lawyer
Emily Saunders
and human resources expert Charlene Brown as Chair of the Academy’s new Ethics Committee. The Committee will advise the Board on setting up a new ethical framework for the Academy’s activities - including award giving and membership. How we give awards and recognise achievements, and our standards as a community of music creators are integral parts of making the organisation as diverse, inclusive and driven by social justice as possible. While championing equality, diversity and inclusion is not a new focus for our priorities, much more needs to change, and we are committed to making progress, which is why we have published an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan to set out our goals and commitments.
“We must all actively be anti-racist in our words and deeds. We as an organisation will always condemn the actions that explicitly do not protect and serve all regardless of race. We will seek solutions through meaningful dialogue, so that sooner rather than later, we can all breathe.” Academy Director Orphy Robinson, following the killing of George Floyd
Orphy Robinson MBE, Academy Director
Action Plan 2020-2022 Organisation 1. By the end of 2020 to have established internship opportunities toward increasing diverse representation in middle and senior positions across the music industry. 2. By the end of 2020 to have commenced structured collation of Equal Opportunities personal data for all members and participants in our awards and activities. 3. By the end of 2020 to have published available data about pay of the organisation based on gender. 4. By the end of 2021 to have completed research from at least one creator perspective. 5. By the end of 2021 to have reviewed staff recruitment and development policies from an EDI perspective and provided diversity training for all staff, Board Directors and Committee members. 6. By the end of 2021 for the Academy Board and Committees to have achieved a minimum 50% gender balance, 30% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic representation, 10% creators with disabilities, involvement of a minimum of one person aged under 25 and avoidance of London-centric representation. 7. From 2020 we pledge not to hold panel events or hold working groups where all participants are white and male and will aim for the greatest range of voices and perspectives possible. Awards 8. By the end of 2020 to have completed a review of the entry criteria for the awards, and where possible implemented findings, which can remove barriers to the goals of achieving by the end of 2021: o Award entries across the award ceremonies to comprise 50% gender, 30% black, Asian and ethnic minority, 10% creators with disability and avoidance of London-centric representation.
o Award nominees across the award ceremonies to comprise 50% gender, 30% black, Asian and ethnic minority, 10% creators with disability and avoidance of London-centric representation. 9. By the end of 2021 to annually publish data on the diversity of award entries, judges, nominations and winners of awards. 10. By the end of 2021 to have reviewed the Award Access Guidelines seeking input from music creators and industry organisations. 11. By the end of 2021 to have increased the diversity of award audience attendance. Partnerships 12. By the end of 2021 to have established long-term partnerships with socially-engaged organisations, in association with The Ivors Academy Trust that supports the Academy to address areas that have a diversity-deficit. “The importance, significance, and influence of black music creators to popular music and beyond has been one of the undeniable rocks that the global music industry has been built upon. The diaspora has shared unconditionally, its traditions, cultures, inspirational composers, and performers with the world. It is impossible to ignore the stories, stimulus, and innovative impacts on the development of music of all genres. This rich history needs to be embraced, explored, documented, and celebrated, as it will continue to enrich all our lives both today and in the future. The Ivors Academy stands in solidarity with the community of black music creators in UK to champion diversity in the UK music industry, and fight for a fair and inclusive approach for all.” Directors Orphy Robinson, Jin Jin and Daniel Kidane for Black History Month
“We celebrate the brilliant achievements of disabled songwriters, composers and musicians within our own community and communities around us. We acknowledge the rapidly changing circumstances which disabled musicians encounter as Covid 19 exacerbates long-term inequalities. We reflect on the hardships that disabled musicians often experience, including barriers to access, and we are committed to raising awareness of what the music industry can do to promote fairness. As creators we know that music belongs to every one of us. We are united in our call for change.” Jo Thomas, Emily Saunders, Imogen Williams and Alexander Campkin for UK Disability History Month
THE IVORS COMPOSER AWARDS 2020 Announced on 1 December, The Ivors Composer Awards celebrate creative excellence in composition for classical, jazz and sound arts. The winners were revealed during a special broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Here are some of this year’s winners. For all the nominees, winners photos and videos visit ivorsacademy.com and our social channels.
Stage Works award winner Philip Venables for Denis & Katya ©Étienne Grandon
“I’m very encouraged to receive this award … their decision to recognise Horror Vacui as music worth writing and hearing is a real kick. I’m sincerely grateful.” Jonny Greenwood, winner of the Large Orchestral award.
“I’m so inspired to keep making music.” Kathy Hinde, winner of the Sound Art award for Twittering Machines.
Innovation award winner Yazz Ahmed.
“Thank you to The Ivors Academy, this means more than you know.” Renell Shaw, winner of the Jazz Composition for Small Ensemble award for The Vision They Had.
Oliver Vibrans, winner of the Community and Participation award for More Up.
“It’s most humbling when I think of all the other composers…who should be receiving this. What an honour.” Cecilia McDowall, winner of the Outstanding Works Collection award.
Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble award winner Charlie Bates for Crepuscule.
SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY Nicky Carder, Membership Manager at the Academy, explains what new benefits and opportunities are available as a member – and what’s to come. Academy. We want your membership to benefit and support you as much as possible in this rapidly changing world.
Nicky Carder, Membership Manager 2020 has seen huge disruption for many of us, but it is during challenging times that community becomes more important than ever. And The Ivors Academy is, at its heart, a community of music creators. We are continuing to campaign and work with organisations, such as Help Musicians, so creators are able to access desperately needed financial support during these times. We are also delighted that we can now offer membership bursaries to those who face financial barriers preventing them from joining or renewing their membership. As a member-led organisation, it is vital that you, our members, are at the forefront of how we adapt and increase the value of being a part of the
We were excited to see many of our members come together in the spring to create webinars, including the ‘In the Studio’ and ‘Music and Coffee Mornings with Lady V’ to share their experiences with the wider creator community. If you missed any of these sessions, you can watch them on the members area of our website. Not only did these webinars help us share our memberships’ expertise but they have allowed us to break down geographical barriers and engage with creators across the UK and Ireland. Many of whom have been isolated or would have not been able to attend events in London. We are eager to restart physical events in 2021, and also looking forward to continuing our engagement with members across the country. We are now looking at new and better ways to bring our members into the heart of discussions and have reintroduced social elements to our events. This autumn, we started Collaboration Space group discussions- which offer members the chance to network with other members
in rotating breakout rooms to find remote collaborators. We have expanded this event format to offer further virtual member discussions, such as a ‘Future of Classical Music’ members meeting, a virtual Christmas social and a number of other events which will be announced in 2021. The summer of 2020 saw the launch of the Music Creator Mentoring Programme in partnership with Help Musicians and The Ivors Academy Trust. This is the first of a number of programmes that will provide opportunities to develop your career and craft. It offered 50 mentors and 50 mentees from across the membership access to a sixmonth mentoring programme that included training and opportunities to benefit from the vast and varied experience of our members.
“I am now under the guidance of recording and mix engineer Geoff Foster, famous for working with Scott Walker (The Drift), Hans Zimmer, Darren Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan. Such a unique opportunity!” Die Hexen (Mentee)
“Today I had my first one to one with my new music mentor. It was a great session and I have come away with a lot to think about. Thank you The Ivors Academy for such a valuable learning opportunity. I feel excited for every musician of this programme! Here’s to more!”
Nicolette Macleod (Mentee) “I’m thankful to The Ivors Academy and Help Musicians UK for giving me a place on their Music Mentorship Programme.. So exciting, and a great opportunity!” Angelica Mode (Mentee)
“I love working with my mentees here at The Ivors, it’s so great to share ideas and to be creative especially during this uncertain time.” Chris Difford (Mentor)
Our membership bursaries, One of the aims of the project and learning and development was to bring together mentees opportunities, have only been made possible with the from diverse backgrounds support of The Ivors Academy to receive support from their Trust. The Trust is the charity peers as well as mentors. of The Ivors Academy. Its We had double the mentee purpose is to empower, inspire applications than available and enable a vibrant, diverse spaces on the programme, and sustainable community suggesting that there’s great of music creators and - in interest in support and development through schemes so doing - develop, nurture like mentoring. So, we have a and support them to achieve excellence in their craft. number of other learning and development opportunities in the planning stages which we We recognise that Covid-19 has thrown up many expect to announce in early challenges, impacting 2021. careers, earnings, and “Excited to be part of The health and wellbeing. We Music Creators Mentoring recently formed a Mental Health Working Group and Program and fortunate to are working on creating have a fabulous Mentor. more wellbeing support Getting so much out of this for members to provide expansive deep-thinking resources and signpost experience. Thank you” clinical support designed for music creators. Our
Lekiddo (Mentee)
Membership Administrator, Tareic Alphonse, and I are now trained Mental Health First Aiders and can direct members to the most relevant support. We want to grow our role in offering preventative, community support to members throughout 2021 to help to support positive mental health. Thank you for your continued support throughout an incredibly difficult year. We are here to support you and we are committed to putting you – our members - at the heart of everything we do.
MUSIC CREATORS MENTORING PROGRAMME Supported by The Ivors Academy Trust
“Totally blown away by the amazing things my students and mentees are getting up to in these crazy times, the innovative music they are creating, and exploring these new paths in an inspiring first session as a mentor with The Ivors Academy.” Nathan James Deardon, Composer Mentor with The Music Creators Mentoring Programme Photo by Ben Tomlin Photography
DONATE AND LET’S KEEP MAKING MUSIC Donate at ivorsacademy.com/trust
Registered charity no. 1080325
THE VIEW FROM OUR COMMITTEES GARY CARPENTER, CHAIR, CLASSICAL COMMITTEE
The effect of Covid-19 on performing artists and orchestras was immediate as diaries were wiped out overnight. While we end 2020 with cautious optimism about the future, hoping that we have seen the worst of the health crisis, the continuing economic impacts are severe. The Government’s £1.57bn Cultural Recovery Fund was an extremely welcome rescue package - this followed concerted lobbying by many organisations, including The Ivors Academy. While much of classical music is facing many uncertainties, we are determined to get back on our feet as soon as possible.
Publishers Association and PRS which is exploring ways of ensuring that work by living composers feature in post-Covid concert life reconstruction. The BBC’s response has been encouraging; particularly with the ‘Postcards’ initiative which has seen many composers writing for BBC orchestra players in lockdown.
Our first response to the crisis was a letter to Alan Davey, Head of BBC Radio 3, requesting that UK composers remain at the forefront of programming so that when circumstances change, our profile is visible.
This year’s The Ivors Composer Awards was an incredible celebration of the talent in classical composition across the generations, and the importance of returning live performances as soon as is safely possible. While we could not celebrate in person, I’m grateful to our broadcast partners BBC Radio 3 for announcing all of the winners during a special programme, and to
Crispin Hunt and I have both been engaged with the Classical-Covid initiative headed by the Music
Our focus now is on putting composers at the heart of the arts’ recovery by encouraging orchestras and festivals to continue their exemplary record of supporting and commissioning UK composers when a semblance of normality resumes.
our sponsors PRS for Music for their ongoing support. It was wonderful to recognise so many first-time recipients of an award from the Academy, and I was delighted that we honoured choral music composer Cecilia McDowall with an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Works Collection and composer Julian Joseph OBE with Fellowship of the Academy. It would be naïve to suggest the future is rosy - our present problems will almost certainly be compounded by the financial and political fallout from Brexit – but we remain committed to mitigating the effects wherever possible and to fighting, passionately, for our art.
ORPHY ROBINSON MBE, CHAIR, JAZZ COMMITTEE in the near future within the music industry and in the wider world. Despite not being able to meet in person for most of 2020, we created new opportunities to connect and get inspired online. We launched Jazz at The Ivors Academy: Remote Conversations – a series of fascinating discussions with talented jazz composers in the UK, spoke with Julian Joseph about the craft of composition, and interviewed Youth Network Jazz composers Rosie Frater-Taylor and Sahra Gure.
It was another eventful year for the Jazz Committee. Our previous Chair Issie Barrett stood down to pursue other opportunities and I was honoured to take up the position. Issie had done a sterling job leading the Jazz Committee from its inception and we wish her well in her next ventures.
and Bassist Alison Rayner were the well-received winners in the large and small ensemble categories. Added to the 2018 Composer Awards win of Cassie Kinoshi’s, there are positive signs that our work as an Academy to increase diversity and representation through our awards is making a real difference.
Six winners at this year’s The Ivors Composer Awards were 30 and under, demonstrating the exceptional talent amongst the new generation of music creators. I was delighted that Renell Shaw and Charlie Bates picked up Ivor Novello Awards in jazz categories. Renell was recognised for ‘The Vision They Had’, which marked National Windrush Day, and Charlie for ‘Crepuscule’ which had its UK premiere last year with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.
The Jazz Committee has a continued strong commitment to championing inclusion, diversity and equalities awareness, to instigate solutions and strategies within The Ivors Academy membership. The murder of George Floyd rightly disgusted and at the same time compelled many right-thinking people to actively show solidarity with a combined effort online to challenge systemic and historic injustice in all aspects of society.
This year, the Academy welcomed Julian Joseph OBE as its 21st Fellow for his extraordinary talent and immeasurable contributions to jazz in the UK. British-Bahraini trumpet player Yazz Ahmed was also recognised for her trailblazing approach to jazz composition with an Ivor Novello Award for Innovation. 2019 saw two female Jazz composers triumphant at The Ivors Composer Awards. Trumpet player Laura Jurd
I was invited to write a response that was published on our social media platforms and at the same time we also acknowledged #BlackOutTuesday and #BlackLivesMatter campaigning hashtags, when we observed an international day of reflection on Tuesday 2nd July. It is hoped that focused sincere dialogue dedicated to change, and honest initiatives will bring about meaningful change
This year we’ve welcomed five new high-profile Jazz composers to the Jazz Committee, Soweto Kinch, Tim Garland, Cassie Kinoshi, Ayanna Witter-Johnson and Robert Mitchell, who are making their collective presence felt with their invaluable experiences and knowledge. Robert is also a member of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, and is contributing immensely to our work promoting and embedding diversity with ABRSM. Throughout the lockdown we have enhanced connections within the Jazz ecosystem and encouraged new connections with valued industry professional organisations and individuals to create awareness of funding and support for music creators and identify gaps in the Government’s schemes. In a powerful moment for music creators and Jazz composers, committee member Soweto Kinch gave verbal evidence to the DCMS Select Committee inquiry into the economics of streaming. The inquiry followed months of campaigning by the Academy and MU, which the Jazz committee was proud to support. We continue to diligently review, reorganise, enhance and build the Jazz committee’s outcomes towards a more effective campaigning vehicle for our Academy members.
MARK AYRES, CHAIR, MEDIA COMMITTEE and recording studios closed Nainita saw the urgent need to innovate and help music creators to keep working by matching musicians who could record themselves through home studios with media composers. The Academy is proud to host the directory and would like thank Stu Kennedy of Continuata for his support and generosity in developing the app and website. As a Committee we said a fond farewell and thank you to Paul Farrer - who stepped aside - and a warm welcome to new members Hannah Peel, Claire Batchelor, Carly Paradis, Bankey Ojo and Jo Ranger. They bring inspiring new perspectives and ideas to our work. Last year we launched The Ivors Academy and celebrated the passing of the EU Copyright Directive -a campaign into which many of us had invested much time and effort. But the Government has indicated that it will not implement the Directive post-Brexit, so we continue to fight for similar protections to be enacted in our own law. It is vital that we do not accept Work for Hire as our industry’s chlorinated chicken when future trade deals are negotiated. Fair contracting in the media music world continues to be our leading concern, and we have had many meetings and two preCovid seminars on this issue. The Academy has taken a stand against “buyouts” that seem to be pushing towards Work for Hire in all but name, and we are working with colleagues around the world to campaign and remind composers of their rights and to help them assert them. Are publishers working in composers’ interests, or commissioners’? The taking of all but “writer’s share” locks composers out of much of the income from streaming and is not always compensated in commissioning fees. Discovery Channel made a move to convert all their existing and new contracts to Direct Licensing
with no back-end - the composer community came together and said, “No”. Some in the library world are attempting to take even part of “writer’s share” by insisting on a co-writing credit – we believe this to be unconscionable. We believe that creators should freely exercise “the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any […] production of which [s]he is the author” which is enshrined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We support the #YourMusicYourFuture, #BrokenRecord, and Keep Music Alive and #FixStreaming campaigns - the way in which creators are remunerated must change within these disruptive markets. This has become even more urgent as the economic impacts of the pandemic have been felt, in particular where live music has ceased. Despite how tough the pandemic has been for us individually and as a community, the way in which music creators have pulled together has been truly heartening. I would like to say a particular thank you to Committee member Nainita Desai for supporting musicians and composers during lockdown through the Remote Recording Directory. With non-essential work suspended
Your Media Committee is dedicated and passionate about our industry, and we are entering the final year of our current committee terms. If you want to make a difference, please consider standing for election next year to become part of the committee.
HELIENNE LINDVALL, CHAIR, SONGWRITER COMMITTEE As it has all across the world, this past year has presented the Songwriter Committee – and songwriters across the board – with some incredible challenges, while also allowing us to discover our immense resilience and capacity to overcome them through creativity and collaboration. Sadly, we lost two members on the Committee. With heavy hearts, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Rupert Hine, who passed away in June. We were blessed to have his talent, humour and passion to create a better world for creators at The Ivors Academy for the past five years. He will forever be missed. Amanda Ghost stepped down due to other commitments, but we’re grateful that she will continue her involvement with the Academy in the future. To make sure the Committee represents the diverse range of songwriting talent in the UK we’ve been beyond excited to welcome five top-notch new members to the Songwriter Committee: Janée “Jin Jin” Bennett, Hannah V Vasanth, Kojo Samuel, Cassell The Beatmaker and Tre Jean-Marie. Their contributions will be invaluable and broaden our scope even more. We’ve also elected Tom Gray to fill the Songwriter vacancy Rupert left on the Board. At the top of our agenda has been, and continues to be, turning the tide on the continued devaluation of our work. We continue to be at the bottom of the heap, despite great songs being at the core of the whole music industry ecosystem. Some of the biggest music-using platforms, such as TikTok and Amazonowned Twitch, are still not paying songwriters a penny, while others pay us a fraction of what they pay the labels. That’s why we’ve been spearheading the #FixStreaming campaign, to get all stakeholders to come to the table to correct the lopsided distribution of streaming revenue. We’re really
pleased to see that the campaign has resulted in a Government inquiry into the economics of streaming, and I want to extend a big thank you to Committee members Fiona Bevan and Tom Gray for giving such powerful evidence to the Select Committee. We also want to thank all the songwriters who have taken the time to submit written evidence to the inquiry – your contribution will no doubt help highlight the inequities that exist in the current system. We look forward to the rest of the inquiry and the final report with great interest, and we will continue bringing songwriters together to stand our ground, raise our voice and increase how we are valued as the bedrock of the music industry. While fighting this battle, we’ve developed guidelines to somewhat remedy this inequality in the more immediate future, including songwriters getting points on the master (from the label, not the artist), per diems for writing sessions and upfront songwriter fees. I’d like to give a big thank you to our Committee members; Victoria Horn for her inspiring Zoom Coffee Mornings, which featured talks with professional music creators behind some of the biggest hits around; to Tom Gray for initiating
the #BrokenRecord campaign, using his experience in politics to make sure it gained much attention in the media and amongst politicians, highlighting the inequity and music industry dysfunction creators face; and to Jin Jin for spearheading the Academy’s celebration of black British music creators during Black History Month. In a year like no other, it was important that we celebrated outstanding achievements and talent in songwriting through The Ivors and by awarding Academy Fellowships to Kate Bush and Joan Armatrading. While we couldn’t celebrate in person, it was fantastic to see the partnership with Apple Music bringing The Ivors to a whole new, global audience. Finally, I want to thank all our Committee members for their passion, talent, dedication and determination to create a more equitable, prosperous and diverse future for songwriters. Please join us in our mission.
OUR PEOPLE
LED BY CREATORS
Thank you to everyone that has contributed to the Academy over the past year for your passion, time and energy. The Ivors Academy Board Crispin Hunt (Chair) Daniel Kidane Emily Saunders Emma McClarkin Gary Carpenter Helienne Lindvall Hope Winter Imogen Williams Jin Jin Jo Thomas Julia Montero Marc Sylvan Mark Ayres Martyn Ware Orphy Robinson MBE Tom Gray William Sweeney Finance and HR Committee Crispin Hunt Helienne Lindvall Julia Montero (Chair) Marc Sylvan Orphy Robinson MBE Simon Winters William Sweeney Classical Committee Adam Gorb Ailís Ní Ríain Alexander Campkin Daniel Kidane Dobrinka Tabakova Gary Carpenter (Chair) Jenni Roditi Lloyd Coleman Lynne Plowman Nicola LeFanu Paul Patterson Sally Beamish Shirley Thompson Shiva Feshareki Stephen McNeff
Jazz Committee Ayanna WitterJohnson Cassie Kinoshi Ed Puddick Emily Saunders Fini Bearman Ivo Neame Jason Yarde Orphy Robinson MBE (Chair) Paula Gardiner Robert Mitchell Soweto Kinch Tim Garland Tom Haines Tom Hewson Media Committee Bankey Ojo Carly Paradis Claire Batchelor Dan McGrath David Lowe Hannah Peel Jo Ranger Kevin Sargent Marc Sylvan Mark Ayres (Chair) Mark Gordon Mat Andasun Nainita Desai Richard Jacques Tess Tyler Songwriter Committee Anna Neale Richard Cassell Emily Phillips Fiona Bevan Hannah Vasanth Helienne Lindvall (Chair) Iain Archer Imogen Williams Jake Gosling Jim Duguid Joel Baker Kojo Samuel Tom Gray Tre Jean-Marie Victoria Horn
Youth Council Andrew Chen Carmel Smickersgill Eleanor Parker Emma McGrath Hope Winter (Chair) Imogen Williams (Chair) Jake Morgan Joseph DeRuiter Jo Ranger Kizzy Crawford Molly Toner Rosie Frater Taylor Sam Johnson Tom Prince Will Davenport Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group Alexander Campkin Andrew Chen Anna Neale Daniel Kidane Emily Saunders (Chair) Hannah Vasanth Hope Winter Imogen Williams Jo Thomas Kojo Samuel Mat Andasun Nainita Desai Robert Mitchell Shirley Thompson Tre Jean-Marie Will Davenport Ethics Committee Crispin Hunt Charlene Brown (Chair) The Ivors 2020 Judges Alexandra Hamilton Anna Phoebe Joel Baker Andy Barlow Ben Bartlett Pauline Black
Blair Mowat Steve Booker Bruce Woolley Caroline Devine Damian Coldwell Dan Adams Dan Jones Daniel Kidane David Housden Deborah Mollison Dyo Esmeralda Conde Ruiz Fini Bearman Ghetts Helienne Lindvall Nick Hodgson Iain Archer Imelda May Jade Leamcharaskul Jessica Jones Jessica Kelly Jessie Ware Joan Armatrading Joel Cadbury John Altman Joris De Man Joseph Talbot Juliette Jackson Karen Poole Katie Melua Laura Rossi Lily Allen Lisa Stansfield Marc Sylvan Miranda Cooper Nao Niamh Houston Nile Rodgers Nitin Sawhney Omar Orphy Robinson Richard Jacques Richard Jacques Robin Beanland Sacha Skarbek Shaznay Lewis Tara Creme Toby Jarvis Tom Odell Vince Pope
The Ivors Composer Awards 2020 Judges Aaron Cassidy Ain Bailey Alcyona Mick Alice Farnham Alison Rayner Anna Picard Anne Lovett Camilla George Carol Main MBE Cathy Heller Jones Christian Mason Christopher Augustine Cleveland Watkiss MBE Clifton Harrison Colin Matthews Deborah Keyser Dominique Gendre Fenella Humphreys Fiona Maddocks Gabriella Teychenne Gary Carpenter Gavin Higgins Geoff Hannan Gweneth-Ann Rand Haroon Mirza Igor Toronyi-Lalic Jane Chapman John Casken John Slack Julian Joseph Kate Romano Lisa Meyer Lloyd Coleman Lucy Schaufer Lynne Plowman Madeleine Mitchell Mark Forkgen Martel Ollerenshaw Michael Bawtree Naomi Belshaw Nathaniel Facey Ned Bigham Pelin Opcin Pete Harrison Raymond Yiu Richard Henry Roger Wright
Ruby PhilogeneDoran MBE Sally Groves Stan Sulzmann Stephen McNeff Tansy Davies Thomas Guthrie Toks Dada The Ivors Committee Caroline Devine Daniel Kidane Dyo Fini Bearman Helienne Lindvall (Chair) Iain Archer Karen Poole Laura Rossi Marc Sylvan Nile Rodgers Orphy Robinson MBE Paul Gambaccini Richard Jacques Shaznay Lewis The Ivors Composer Awards Committee Bill Sweeney Dobrinka Tabakova Ed Puddick Fini Bearman Gary Carpenter Harriet Wybor Orphy Robinson Shiva Feshareki Stephen McNeff Yumi Cawkwell The Ivors Academy Trust Cliff Fluet (Chair) Lucy Francis (Deputy Chair) Natasha Baldwin Graham Davies Michael Dugher Sally-Ann Gross Melanie Johnson Peter Leathem Danny Poku Silvina Munich
IN MEMORIAM In the following pages we honour those we have lost from the songwriting and composing community over the last year
Ken Hensley songwriter and musician 24 August 1945 - 4 November 2020
Toots Hibbert songwriter, singer and musician 8 December 1942 - 11 September 2020
Spencer Davis musician, songwriter and bandleader 17 July 1939 - 19 October 2020
Erick Morillo music producer and DJ 26 March 1971 - 1 September 2020
Eddie Van Halen musician and songwriter 26 January 1955 - 6 October 2020
Peter King jazz saxophonist and composer 11 August 1940 - 23 August 2020
Johnny Nash singer-songwriter 19 August 1940 - 6 October 2020
Harold Singer jazz saxophonist and bandleader 8 October 1919 - 18 August 2020
Helen Reddy singer 25 October 1941 - 29 September 2020
Annie Ross singer, songwriter and actor 25 July 1930 - 21 July 2020
Scott Mac Davis singer, songwriter and actor 21 January 1942 - 29 September 2020
Peter Green guitarist, singer and songwriter 29 October 1946 - 25 July 2020
Juliette Gréco singer and actor 7 February 1927 - 23 September 2020
Judith Dyble singer-songwriter 13 February 1949 - 12 July 2020
Dennis Wickens composer and musician 6 April 1926 – 17 September 2020
Ennio Morricone composer and conductor 10 November 1928 - 6 July 2020
Ronald Bell (Khalis Bayyan) musician and songwriter November 1951 - 9 September 2020
Sonja Grossner composer 14 December 1942 – 3 July 2020
John Mandel musician, composer and arranger 23 November 1925 - 29 June 2020
Phil May singer and songwriter 9 November 1944 - 15 May 2020
Vera Lynn singer 20 March 1917 - 18 June 2020
Brian Hodgson musician and songwriter - 15 May 2020
Keith Tippett pianist, composer and bandleader 25 August 1947 - 14 June 2020
Betty Wright singer and songwriter 21 December 1953 - 10 May 2020
Rupert Hine record producer, musician and songwriter 21 September 1947 - 4 June 2020
Little Richard singer-songwriter 5 December 1932 - 9 May 2020
Steve Priest musician and songwriter 23 February 1948 - 4 June 2020
Ty rapper and songwriter 17 August 1972 - 7 May 2020
Bonnie Pointer singer and songwriter 11 July 1950 - 8 June 2020
Brian Howe singer and songwriter 22 July 1953 - 6 May 2020
Donald Weller jazz musician and composer 19 December 1940 - 30 May 2020
David Greenfield songwriter and musician 29 March 1949 - 3 May 2020
Jonathan Whitehead composer 21 October 1960 - 26 May 2020
Tony Allen drummer and composer 12 August 1940 - 30 April 2020
Mory KantĂŠ musician, singer and songwriter 29 March 1950 - 22 May 2020
John Gregory composer and bandleader 12 October 1924 – 23 April 2020
Florian Schneider musician and composer 7 April 1947 - 21 April 2020
Krzysztof Penderecki composer and conductor 23 November 1933 - 29 March 2020
Lee Konitz jazz musician 13 October 1927 - 15 April 2020
Bob Andy singer-songwriter and record producer 28 October 1944 - 27 March 2020
Kenny Young songwriter, musician and producer 14 April 1941 – 14 April 2020
Bill Martin songwriter 9 November 1938 - 26 March 2020
Dmitri Smirnov composer and translator 2 November 1948 - 9 April 2020
Manu Dibango musician and songwriter 12 December 1933 - 24 March 2020
John Prine singer-songwriter 10 October 1946 to 7 April 2020
Julie Felix folk singer and songwriter 14 June 1938 - 22 March 2020
Adam Schlesinger musician, songwriter and singer 31 October 1967 - 1 April 2020
Kenny Rogers singer, producer and songwriter 21 August 1938 - 20 March 2020
Bill Withers singer and songwriter 4 July 1938 - 30 March 2020
Genesis P-Orridge musician, writer and performance artist 22 February 1950 - 14 March 2020
Alan Merrill singer, songwriter and musician 19 February 1951 - 29 March 2020
McCoy Tyner jazz musician and composer 11 December 1938 - 6 March 2020
Joe Diffie musician, singer and songwriter 28 December 1958 - 29 March 2020
Lawrence Morgan jazz musician and composer 4 September 1926 - 5 February 2020
Andy Weatherall DJ and producer 6 April 1963 - 17 February 2020
Jerry Herman composer and lyricist 10 July 1931 - 26 December 2019
Pearl Carr singer 2 November 1921 - 16 February 2020
Allee Willis songwriter 10 November 1947 - 24 December 2019
Joseph Shabalala singer, composer and choir leader 28 August 1941 - 11 February 2020
Kenneth Lynch singer, songwriter and actor 18 March 1938 - 18 December 2019
Andy Gill songwriter and guitarist 1 January 1956 - 1 February 2020
Marie Fredriksson singer and songwriter 30 May 1958 - 9 December 2019
Terry Jones actor and songwriter 1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020
Irving Burgie songwriter 28 July 1924 - 29 November 2019
Jimmy Heath saxophonist and composer 25 October 1926 - 19 January 2020
Hylda Sims folk musician 3 April 1932 – 13 January 2020
Neil Peart drummer and songwriter 12 September 1952 - 7 January 2020
Neil Innes musician and songwriter 9 December 1944 - 29 December 2019