David Bowie by Rankin
Abbey Road Studios has announced the launch of their brand new Music Photography Awards (MPAs) - the first-ever awards to celebrate the art of music photography.
This month music photographers of all levels will be able to submit entries into a variety of award categories and be judged by an acclaimed panel of industry experts, including our very own Jill Furmanovsky. The winners will be unveiled and celebrated at an official MPAs ceremony in May 2022, hosted at Abbey Road Studios. The awards have been sponsored by Hennessy, Philips TV, Bowers and Wilkins, and Adidas.
Abbey Road's MPAs will honour the images that capture the magic of live music and celebrate a wealth of musical genres from across the globe. All photographers are invited to enter the four open entry categories, be they an established practitioner or as yet undiscovered music photographer starting out on their career. These four categories are entitled Studio, Live, Championing Scenes, and the Undiscovered Photographer of the Year, and more details can be found on the Abbey Road MPAs website. All entries into these four categories will be considered for the ultimate Zeitgeist award that celebrates THE image that defined music in 2021.
Jill Furmanovsky, Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios by Finn Guise
The judging panel includes legendary photographer Rankin, singer and writer Moses Sumney, multidisciplinary artist Shygirl, Abbey Road Managing Director Isabel Garvey, photographers Dana Scruggs and Sacha Lecca, and of course Jill Furmanovsky.
Jill was Abbey Road's first ever photographer-in-residence between 2017-18, during which time she held an acclaimed exhibition of her Abbey Road photography entitled Inside Abbey Road Studios: Through the Lens of Jill Furmanovsky at the Barbican Music Library. You can hear Jill talking about her career and her thoughts on music photography here.
The panel will also nominate, debate and award four further closed categories recognising outstanding work in music photography: Portrait photography, editorial photography, artist at work and Icon. The Icon award is a special honour in recognition of a person whose impact and contribution to the art of music photography is unparalleled.
Amy Winehouse, 2006 by Jill Furmanovsky
To enter all entrants must be over 18 (over 25 for the Championing Scenes award), they must be the sole copyright owner of the photographs and the photograph must be taken between 1st January to 31 December 2021. You can find full details of the competition's terms and conditions here. The closing date for entries is 27 March 2022.
Primal Scream, 2004 by Stuart Nichols