Popular Music
Popular music as opposed to Art Music (Western classical and jazz) represents more than 90% of global music consumption. Highly commercialised and covering numerous genres, it is predominantly youth led and prone to fashion.
The Musicians’ Company is determined to play a role in ensuring that popular music and its practitioners and educators receive the respect they deserve for their high professional standards, and wishes also to recognise the skills and creativity of the many musicians who earn their livings in this genre.
The Company has thought long and hard about how best to fulfil its primary mission of helping excellent young professional musicians at the start of their careers when they have chosen pop as their preferred genre. Our conclusion is that this is best done by working with the leading academic institutions who educate and prepare young professional musicians for a successful life in pop music, by offering annual awards to outstanding students at three institutions : the Academy of Contemporary Music, BIMM London, and The BRIT School. For BIMM and ACM there is an annual award to at least one student of a significant sum of money to help with their studies and – arguably more importantly in the long term – the prestige of being recognised by a professional music institution with a 500+ year history of supporting excellence. For the BRIT School the Award supports the overall work of the Music Programme.
The Company is nurturing a long-term relationship with each Institution. A senior Company representative attends their annual Graduation or Award ceremonies and presents the Company’s award certificate and cheque.
Music Direction in Music Theatre Award
Popular Music Lifetime Achievement Award
Contemporary Music Award (ACM)
Music Technology Undergraduate Award (City University)