BASCA [British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors] has announced details of the 2017 Gold Badge Awards, which will take place at the Savoy hotel in London on Monday 2nd October 2017 from 11.30am to 4.30pm. 

The 44th Gold Badge Awards are presented by BASCA and sponsored by PPL and PRS for Music. They will be hosted by Guy Fletcher OBE and celebrate the unique contribution of twelve individuals who have supported or inspired the UK songwriting and composing community.

The ceremony will acknowledge contributions to the worlds of jazz, contemporary classical, film & television music, and songwriting. Each individual receiving an award is a game changer and has made a lasting contribution to the professional lives of the community BASCA represents.

Launched in 1974 to acknowledge those in the music industry who support or promote the work of songwriters and composers The Gold Badge Awards have recognised over 500 outstanding individuals to date.

Gold Badge recipients for 2017 will include :

• A member of the seminal Jazz Warriors in the 1980s, bassist Gary Crosby OBE has supported hundreds of aspiring jazz artists in fulfilling their potential, as founder and artistic director of Tomorrow’s Warriors. Composer and musician Michael Gibbs has also been a major influence on British jazz, both for his compositions and arrangements and as an educator.

• Susanna Eastburn has fostered a thriving creative environment through her leadership of new music charity Sound and Music. The latest in a line of positions she’s held at organisations promoting new music. Conductor and Festival Director George Vass has commissioned countless contemporary classical composers, championing their work and bringing it to a wide audience.

• Independent publisher Sarah Liversedge is recognised for the support of her composers’ catalogues and encouragement of emerging songwriters and artists. Paulette Long OBE is also recognised for her work within music publishing and her advocacy across the industry in terms of equality and diversity. 

• Industry veteran Jon Webster, former President of the Music Managers Forum and founder of the Mercury Music Prize, and Music Business Worldwide founder and former Music Week editor Tim Ingham are honoured. Both of whom have contributed to the debate around creator remuneration in the digital era and championed the creator’s contribution to the UK music industry.

• Within the world of media composition BASCA recognises engineer and studio owner Steve Parr who has recorded and mixed over 500 film scores and pioneered surround sound mixing, conducting seminars all over Europe and the USA. And Maggie Rodford, who is collecting the Gold Badge Award sponsored by PRS for Music. Managing Director of Air-Edel Group, Maggie not only represents a host of internationally renowned composers but has worked as music supervisor and score coordinator on countless Hollywood blockbusters and award winning independent films.

• BRIT, Ivor Novello Award and MOBO Award winning artist and songwriter Emeli Sandé MBE is collecting the Gold Badge Award sponsored by PPL. Long Live the Angels, the follow up to her seven times platinum Our Version of Events was released in November 2016 to critical acclaim. A truly unique artist and songwriter, Sandé was appointed an MBE in 2017 for her services to music.

• Founding member of The Human League, Heaven 17 and British Electric Foundation, Martyn Ware is recognised for his major influence. Martyn has produced records totalling over 50 million sales worldwide and pioneered a unique three-dimensional sound technology practice, teaching and lecturing at many leading universities to foster a new generation of sound artists and composers. 

The full list of 2017 Gold Badge recipients is as follows:

Gary Crosby OBE
Susanna Eastburn
Michael Gibbs
Tim Ingham
Sarah Liversedge
Paulette Long OBE
Steve Parr
Maggie Rodford – this award is presented in association with PRS for Music
Emeli Sandé MBE – this award is presented in association with PPL
George Vass
Martyn Ware
Jon Webster

BASCA Chairman Crispin Hunt, said: "Music is rarely created only by Musicians, just as Musicians rarely create only Music. At the 2017 Gold Badge Awards, BASCA is honoured to recognise these exceptional individuals whose talent, taste, protection and purpose is an inspiration to all in British Music writing and whose unique contribution to British Music deserves to be celebrated.”

For more information on this year’s Gold Badge Awards visit www.goldbadgeawards.com or follow @BASCA_UK