Abbey Road reveals the winners of the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards 2024 04 Oct 2024
This evening (Thursday 3 October), Abbey Road Studios has unveiled the winners of the 2024 Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, during a celebratory event across the iconic Studios One and Two. Hosted by Edith Bowman, the evening included incendiary live performances from Maverick Sabre’s YOURS collective, JNR Williams and Aziya, while recognising the winners and finalists from this year’s MPAs. The 2024 competition saw a remarkable rise in submissions, with entries increasing by over 50% from last year. Showcasing a range of global talent, over 22,000 images from 28 different countries were submitted, across six open categories.
Speaking about the winning images at this year’s Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, Abbey Road’s MD Sally Davies says: "I’m continually amazed by the incredible standard of photography that we see, and this year’s selection truly stands out as our best yet! The remarkable growth of the MPAs in just three short years highlights the awards' prestige, and the heartfelt enthusiasm from the artistic community reflects the richness of music photography as an art form. At Abbey Road, we are passionate about recognising, nurturing, and celebrating talent in this vital area, and we can’t wait to see what next year will bring!”
MPAs lead Judge Rankin adds: "The work this year has surpassed my expectations, it’s really elevating the standard to new heights. While last year's submissions were impressive, this year's entries have been extraordinary. We’ve received an overwhelming 22,000 images, making the selection process both challenging and inspiring. After much deliberation, we’ve chosen some truly outstanding pieces that represent the very best of what the music photography community has to offer. All the nominees and winners should be incredibly proud of themselves!"
In the awards’ open categories, Andreia Lemos took home the Undiscovered Photographer of the Year award, supported by adidas, for her image of Amyl and the Sniffers. Speaking about working with the band, Andreia says, ‘No one comes close to bursting my heart open in anticipation as Amy does - finger restlessly hovering over the trigger’. The Music Moment of the Year category, supported by Outernet London, was decided by public vote, with Tom Pallant winning for his shot of Blur at the band’s second Wembley Stadium show in July 2023. Tom says ‘Knowing Graham would launch his guitar 20 feet in the air, I was ready to capture the exact moment… It’s the only time I’ve ever shouted “YES!” out loud after getting a shot’.
Francis Mancini won the Live Music category for his captivating photo of Darren Styles, while Lemphek secured the Underground Scenes Award with an image of BBQ frontman Hui Zu and Bad Tailor guitarist Chen Hongmin, sharing a shoey on stage at Hard Stick Festival VII, a music festival geared towards remote cities. Lauren Harris earned the Making Music Award with her shot of Joesef. Lauren says of the photo - ‘Small, intimate, quiet moments like this are why I shoot - giving an insight into life off-stage’. Adrien H. Tillman secured the Jazz: The Rebirth of Cool award with his photo of legendary American saxophone player Billy Harper - a fixture of the New York jazz scene for decades. In the invited categories Alexa Viscius won the Editorial award with a portrait of bnny and Bolade Banjo was awarded the Portrait category for his photo of Jamaican artist Popcaan.
To honour an incredible 53-year career, the legendary photographer Jill Furmanovsky collected this year’s prestigious ICON Award. The award was presented on stage by Noel Gallagher, with Nile Rodgers, Debbie Harry, David Gilmour, Siouxsie Sioux and Sting also sending affecting video tributes.
Noel Gallagher says of Jill Furmanovsky “Best photographer ever!”
Jill has captured some of Abbey Road’s most iconic moments, including Pink Floyd's 1975 Wish You Were Here recording sessions and Oasis' Be Here Now sessions in 1997. In 2017, she became Abbey Road's first-ever photographer in residence, before joining the judging panel for the MPAs' inaugural awards in 2022. Throughout her career, Furmanovsky has collaborated with a roster of music legends, from Bob Marley and Led Zeppelin to Joy Division, Amy Winehouse, The Pretenders, and Blondie.
From 8 October to 12 November, the public will be able to see this year’s nominated MPA entries in close-up when they are displayed throughout the walls of the Royal Albert Hall, as part of a new partnership between Abbey Road and the iconic concert hall. Later this month, Abbey Road Music Photography Awards is joining forces with The Other Art Fair for their milestone 100th Global Edition at London’s Truman Brewery. The exhibit will celebrate how music photography continues to shape culture, at the same time recognising its significance as an art form. ICON recipient Jill Furmanovsky will present some of her most iconic imagery alongside hand-picking photographs from this year’s MPA open category finalists, spotlighting the images that resonate most with her.
Also new for this year, Abbey Road continues its mission to create opportunities for both new and established talent with launch of a new digital platform designed to showcase many of the photographers who have been recognised and awarded through the competition. Entitled the MPA Directory it will launch on 28 October on the MPA website, as an essential resource for artists, labels, managers and creatives searching for the most exciting and accomplished talent in music photography. Its aim is to build community, showcase talent and boost exposure, creating a space to generate opportunities for paid work. The MPA Directory will feature profiles of this year’s nominees and winners, alongside those from 2022 and 2023, and curated images from established photographers.
List of full winners and nominees below. *Bold* denotes the winner
OPEN CATEGORIES
Undiscovered Photographer of the Year (Supported by adidas)
Charlie Barclay Harris [Stone]
Isaiah Johns [Yves Tumor & Chris Greatti]
Izzy Nuzzo [Drake]
Leila Afghan [Nayana IZ]
Andreia Lemos [Amyl and the Sniffers]
Music Moment of the Year (Supported by Outernet London and voted for by the public)
Sam Neill [Fred Again..]
Tom Pallant [Blur]
Danielle Agnello [Souls of Mischief]
Zachary Zephir [Travis Scott]
Chris Suspect [Daikaiju]
Live Music Award
AF CORTES [Daikaiju]
Alec Castillo [Iggy Pop]
Francis Mancini [Darren Styles]
Isaiah Pate [Glaive]
Lorenzo Reali [Nayt]
Underground Scenes Award
Adam Ziegenhals [Hogg]
Lemphek [Hui Zu & Chen Hongmin]
Jodi Rogers [Max Kelan]
Lance Webber [Lolly Gaggers]
Marcus Maddox [Malice K - Cheeky Maa]
Making Music Award
Mariana dos Santos Pires [Léa Sen]
AF Cortes [Making Moves]
Maninder Ram [Lancey Foux]
Lauren Harris [Joesef]
RxAxLxF [CHOVU]
Jazz: The Rebirth of Cool
Adrien H. Tillmann [Billy Harper]
Christaan Felber [Cécile McLorin Salvant]
Diogo Lopes [Ezra Collective]
Lauren Luxenberg [Shabaka]
Leszek Gawin [Shabaka]
INVITED CATEGORIES
Editorial
Alexa Viscius [bnny]
Bet Bettencourt [Tems]
Murry Deaves [Static Dress]
James Robjant in collaboration with Patrick Waugh [King Krule]
Bolade Banjo [Headie One]
Xavier Tera [Rosalia]
Jack Chipper [D Double E]
Portrait
Jackie Lee Young [Devendra Banhart]
Bolade Banjo [Popcaan]
Elliot Hensford [Adekunle Gold]
Harry Steel [Oversize]
Jennifer McCord [Arlo Parks]
Gavin Bond [Liam Gallagher]
Shenell Kennedy [Unknown T]
Callum Walker Hutchinson [Raye]
This year's MPAs judging panel features a stellar lineup from the creative industries, led by founding judge and renowned British photographer Rankin (Madonna, Björk, Miley Cyrus). The panel includes U.S. photographers Raven B Varona (Adele) and Pooneh Ghana (Olivia Rodrigo), British photographers Ashley Verse (Stormzy) and Sam Rockman (Limp Bizkit), along with Vanity Fair’s Creative Development editor David Friend, Abbey Road's Artist in Residence Jordan Rakei, Beth Ditto, Jason Williamson (Sleaford Mods), jazz musician Moses Boyd, artist Bimini, and Decca Records A&R Director Rachel Holmberg. Simon Wheatley joins the panel to judge the Underground Scenes category.
For more information on this year’s MPAs, please visit.
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THE HEADLINES
IMPF says members should reject AI deals that do not value songs properly (see News)
Which songs do we replay the most? (see Analysis)
Spotify Wrapped 2025 goes live (see Digital)
Daddy Yankee files lawsuit against former manager and third parties for alleged royalty scheme (see News)
EU touring: Impact of Brexit worsening, says UK Music report (see Reports)
ORCA released a report analysing the economic investments and social impact of nine leading independent record labels (see Reports)
Jorja Smith’s label requests share of royalties from ‘AI-cloned’ song (see News)
A creative nation is a thriving nation (see Opinion)
Australian report also highlights how other non-US English-speaking countries are hit by algorithms (see Reports)
AI slop: Spotify, Tunecore, and credibility (see Comment)
Warner Music signs deal with Suno, settles lawsuit (see News)
EC sends UMG its statement of objections to Downtown acquisition (see News)
20 years of Spotify — who’s winning, losing and making money? (see Features)