General info
The Ivors Academy bestows three types of awards and honour:
- An Ivor Novello Award is bestowed to recognise the music an individual has created;
- An Ivors Academy Honour is bestowed to recognise the actions of an individual in professionally championing music creators, commonly given to non-music creators;
- An Academy Fellowship is the highest honour The Ivors Academy bestows. It recognises excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation.
In addition, there are two types of Ivor Novello Award category; categories that recognise specific musical works and categories that recognise specific individuals for their musical output to date.
An Ivor Novello is unique as it recognises outstanding writing and represents peer recognition with categories judged by award-winning songwriters and composers from across the Academy’s membership.
The following awards are presented at The Ivors:
Awards which recognise specific individuals
RISING STAR AWARD
This Ivor Novello Award honours young, British or Irish songwriting talent who demonstrate exceptional potential, ambition and have begun to capture the imagination of the music creator community.
Anyone can enter a songwriter for consideration and there isn’t an administration fee for this award.
Entries for this award opened on Monday 5 December 2022 and closed at 17:00 GMT on Friday 20th January 2023.
GIFT OF THE ACADEMY AWARDS
Categories for the Gift of the Academy Awards recognise specific individuals for their musical output to date:
- PRS FOR MUSIC ICON AWARD
This Ivor Novello Award honours a British or Irish songwriter, or songwriting partnership, whose career has made an outstanding contribution to UK music. - OUTSTANDING SONG COLLECTION
This Ivor Novello Award honours a British or Irish songwriter, or songwriting partnership, who has created a consistently outstanding body of songs. - SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD
This Ivor Novello Award honours a non-British or non-Irish songwriter, or songwriting partnership, who has had an outstanding career being, or having been, a major influence on the UK music industry. - VISIONARY AWARD WITH AMAZON MUSIC
This Ivor Novello Award honours a British or Irish songwriter, or songwriting partnership, whose musical vision has made an identifiable impact on their fellow music creators.
Anyone can enter a songwriter for consideration and the form is open all year round to accept nominations. There isn’t an administration fee to submit.
Gift of the Academy Ivor Novello recognition will be reviewed at points in the year determined by the cycle of each ceremony, The Ivors and The Ivors Classical Awards.
To be considered for The Ivors 2024, nominations must be submitted by Friday 29 September 2023.
ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP
Academy Fellowship is the highest honour The Ivors Academy bestows and receiving one signifies the pinnacle of recognition. It recognises excellence and impact in the art and craft of music creation.
Whilst Fellowship is represented by the presentation of an Ivor Novello Award it is also a position within the Academy’s membership and Fellows support the Academy’s work in championing the rights and talent of the UK’s composers and songwriters. The Academy has welcomed into fellowship the most acclaimed composers and songwriters.
Anyone can enter a songwriter or composer for consideration and the form is open all year round to accept nominations. There isn’t an administration fee to submit.
To be considered for The Ivors 2024, nominations must be submitted by Friday 29 September 2023.
Awards which recognise specific musical works
Entries were accepted for the following categories recognising musical works commercially released in the UK between 1 January and 31 December 2022:
- BEST ALBUM
This Ivor Novello Award celebrates British or Irish written albums that demonstrate creative consistency and exceptional songwriting. - BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
This Ivor Novello Award celebrates outstanding originality in British or Irish written songs. Songs which explore the boundaries of contemporary music. - BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY
This Ivor Novello Award celebrates British or Irish written songs that demonstrate excellence in songwriting craft; melody, lyrics, harmony and structure. - BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
This Ivor Novello Award celebrates outstanding British or Irish composed music that was specifically written for a feature film; music that enhances the visual content. - BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO GAME SCORE
This Ivor Novello Award celebrates outstanding British or Irish composed music that was specifically written for a video game; music that enhances the visual content and gaming experience. - BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK
This Ivor Novello Award celebrates outstanding British or Irish composed music that was specifically written for a televised broadcast; music that enhances the visual content.
Anyone can enter a work for consideration.
There is an administration fee of £120 (£100.00 + VAT) per entry for these categories. Standard tier members of The Ivors Academy receive a 25% discount if they are the creator with a qualifying interest in the musical work. Professional tier members receive a 50% discount. To find out about joining The Ivors Academy visit our Membership page. Membership bursaries are offered by The Ivors Academy Trust should there be a financial barrier to joining the Academy.
There are specific entry requirements for each category and a limit on the number of works any one songwriter or screen composer can enter. As such please read the Rules in full before preparing a submission.
Entries for these categories opened on Monday 5 December 2022 and closed at 17:00 GMT on Friday 20th January 2023.
Questions and assistance
There are extensive FAQs to assist with any queries regarding entry.
The Academy has published Award Access Guidelines to improve access to its awards and remove barriers to entry.
Have a question about The Ivors? Get in touch and a member of our team will get back to you: awards@ivorsacademy.com
