Sound On's Josh Mateer wins A&R of the year award at MiCannes Awards

05 June 2025 - Press release

Today, at the MiCannes Awards in Cannes, Josh Mateer, SoundOn's Head of A&R for EMEA, was honoured with the JSM A&R of the Year Award.

The Award was conceived after the death of the legendary A&R man, Malcolm Dunbar and recognises excellence in the discovery and development of new talent.

Previous winners include Anton Powers of Ministry of Sound (2024), who presented Josh with his award in Cannes, and Korda Marshall, Mushroom (2023).

Josh joined SoundOn - TikTok's music distribution and promotion service - in 2022 after well over a decade of success at major labels where he held various A&R & marketing positions across Warner Music Group & Sony Music Entertainment in both London and Los Angeles.

In his role as Head of A&R for SoundOn, EMEA, he leads signing strategy and artist development across key markets, with the goals of working with the widest possible range of exciting new artists whatever stage they're at in their career, and to energise and engage artists both on and off the TikTok platform.

Josh's industry-recognised talent for A&R and artist development has led to some incredible success stories during his tenure at SoundOn, including highlights below:

WizTheMc's 'Show Me Love', which overtook Ed Sheeran's Azizam to reach number 3 on the UK's Official Singles Chart on May 2, and reached number 10 on the Billboard Global 200, and has had over 10bn views on TikTok to date. As well releasing a new version featuring global superstar Tyla, which was performed at Coachella on day of release
LeoStayTrill, whose breakout track 'Pink Lemonade' has marked him out as one of the UK's most promising new artists.
A Top 40 album from M Huncho and Potter Payper, for "36 Hours" SoundOn's inaugural album project as a distributor.
A UK Christmas number 3 with Sidemen's Christmas Drillings
Charlie Jeer's viral hit 'Her Eyes' which went to #1 on the Global Viral 50 on Spotify.
Working with UK alt-pop breakout star Nxdia, who has rapidly become one of the fastest growing artists in the country with multiple sold out shows & 100M+ streams on Spotify

Josh said: "It's a genuine honour to be thought of for such an award. I'm grateful to the artists, our partners, and all the team at SoundOn, without whom I would not be able to do what I do. A&R is a rapidly changing game, but what will always be a critical part of our job is the pursuit of great music and its delivery to audiences. I'm proud to say that's what we are achieving as best in class at SoundOn."

John Saunderson, MiCannes Board member and Head of Creative, Notting Hill Music Group (UK), and sponsor of this award, commented: "Josh is at the cutting edge of A&R in the UK and globally. From his time pioneering A&R strategy at Warner Music's Parlophone Label Group to more recently his innovations and key signings at TikTok's SoundOn (Nxdia, WizTheMc, LeoStayTrill) Josh is someone who has continuously pushed the boundaries of modern A&R and we're delighted to have selected him for this years award."

Nichal Sethi, Head of Sound On EMEA, added: "Josh is a worthy winner of this award, which is evidence of how the industry, artists and managers recognise his talents and his ability to find and promote great new artists. Thanks to Josh and the wider team, Sound On is one of the most powerful/effective/influential distributors in the business, already responsible for a long list of successful artist campaigns and hit singles, with many more successes in its future."

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