The Songwriters of North America honored creators and business figures it sees as leaders in the industry during its annual SONA Warrior Awards on Sunday night, with Raye, Thomas Scherer, Ross Golan, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers and the late Andrea Martin being celebrated at L.A.’s Skirball Cultural Center.
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Songwriters Shane Stevens (Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande) and Bonnie McKee (Katy Perry, Britney Spears) hosted the evening, and presenters included Benny Blanco, Sylvia Rhone, David A. Stewart of Eurythmics, songwriter Michael Sabath and ASCAP president Paul Williams. Golan, Siedah Garrett and Melanie Fiona were among the performers.
Said SONA CEO Michelle Lewis, “I was so excited to celebrate the 2024 Warrior Awards honorees in front of a packed and enthusiastic house filled with songwriters and the people who love us. We’re in the background so much of the time, but songwriters and composers are a brilliant, funny, and entertaining bunch with lots to say. And we clean up well. Shining the spotlight and putting mics on us, it was an inspiring and meaningful night.” (Lewis is pictured above with Stewart and Scherer.)
Raye accept her award via video, after being introduced by Sabath. The rising British star had a good reason for not making it in the flesh: she’d been booked to do a live appearance on prime-time TV that same night, singing a James Brown classic on the American Music Awards’ 50th anniversary special. Raye made history this past March by winning six of seven Brit Awards she was nominated for, and by becoming the first woman ever to win the songwriter of the year trophy there. She’s a strong contender to get a best new artist nomination for the upcoming Grammys.
Paul Williams introduced Sylvia Rhone, Epic’s chairman-CEO, who presented a Warrior Award to the family of Martin. Fiona, who had a hit with the Martin-penned “It Kills Me,” performed a tribute to the late songwriter, whose songs also included R&B hits for stars including Toni Braxton (“I Love Me Some Him”), En Vogue (“Don’t Let Go”) and Monica (“Before You Walk Out of My Life”).
Dave Stewart presented a Warrior Award to Scherer, who has spent nearly three decades at BMG and parent company Bertelsmann as an artist, songwriter, music publisher, producer, label owner, and executive. After already serving as president of music publishing in North America, Scherer was named president of global catalog recordings by the company earlier this year.
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In an entertaining speech, the Eurythmics co-founder said, “He is someone who listens rather than someone who is impatiently waiting to say his piece. And when he does speak it’s truthful, unifying, kind and useful – a bit like Oogway from ‘Kung Fu Panda.'”
He continued, “Everything Thomas and I discussed during my tenure got done, (including) building an app that allowed writers to see their income in a fair transparent way. The artists we loved and talked about slowly had their songs became part of BMG’s huge catalog. Thomas became a juggernaut, an unstoppable force bringing writers together to collaborate in meaningful ways.”
Songwriter, producer and record executive Blanco (Maroon 5, Justin Bieber) presented a Warrior Award to Golan, a fellow songwriter-producer and the host of the songwriter-centric podcast “And the Writer Is…” Golan is known as a powerful advocate for writers, having played a role in passing the Music Modernization Act, and in the Grammys adding songwriters to the album of the year category and abolishing the 33% rule. After picking up his award, Golan performed a song he co-wrote for Ariana Grande, “Dangerous Woman.”
The last honoree of the night was Stiggers, aka “Prophet,” the co-founder and CEO-president of the Black Music Action Coalition, a powerful force in the industry on behalf of racial equity and justice for Black creatives and executives.
Garrett closed out the night at the Skirball with a performance of what might be her signature song, “Man in the Mirror,” the Michael Jackson smash she co-wrote.
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