Music Week is delighted to announce that Merlin Engage is sponsoring the Special Recognition: Unsung Hero category at the Women In Music Awards.
This year’s edition of the hugely popular daytime ceremony will take place on Friday, October 9, 2026 at JW Marriott Grosvenor House London. Table bookings are open here.
Merlin is a digital music licensing partner for independent labels and distributors.
Its flagship initiative, Merlin Engage, is a mentorship program designed to cultivate the next generation of women leaders in independent music. Now in its fourth year, the program connects rising professionals across Merlin’s global independent membership with senior executives from leading music companies.
The program's mission is to foster career development, provide leadership training, and build a lasting, supportive community network to empower women as they advance in the Industry.
The independent sector, and the music business generally, is full of unsung heroes
Charlie Lexton
Charlie Lexton, CEO, Merlin, said: “It’s an honour for Merlin Engage to sponsor the Special Recognition: Unsung Hero Award at the Music Week Women In Music Awards. The independent sector, and the music business generally, is full of unsung heroes. More often than not, those heroes are women.
“Merlin Engage is a programme dedicated to the professional development of talented women across the independent sector who will become the next generation of our industry’s heroes.”
Last year’s sold-out ceremony marked another triumph as we celebrated 11 years of the event, with a host of top names from across the global music business in attendance.
Winners included New Artist winners Alt Blk Era, Mofe Soy, Satellite414 senior entertainment publicist, being presented with the Rising Star award by PinkPantheress, and Isabel Garvey, Warner Music’s outgoing COO at the time, presented with the Outstanding Contribution award by her friend and former EMI exec Baroness Hazarika. You can revisit all of the action here.
For enquiries about table or seat bookings, please contact Kate Smith, customer relations manager: kate.smith@futurenet.com.
