The Ivors Academy is set to launch a dedicated awards ceremony for composers next month at a time when AI is threatening livelihoods.
The Ivors Composer Awards will bring together film, TV and video game score categories from the main Ivors Awards, along with composition categories from the Ivors Classical Awards.
Replacing the Classical Awards in the industry calendar, the Ivors Composer Awards will take place at Grosvenor House, London on November 17. The ceremony will be part of The Ivors Composer Week (November 16-20), with the aim of broadening the celebration of composers.
Ivors Academy CEO Lord Neri said the organisation has done an “incredible job” of representing songwriters for 71 years through the Ivors ceremony and giving them a major platform to honour their achievements.
“What really was needed was to see a parallel where we are elevating an entire composer community, representing all forms of composition in a similar awards show,” he told Music Week. “We want to see the public, and more broadly the industry, appreciate composers who are taken for granted because a lot of this music is faceless, and we want to change that.”
The launch of the ceremony comes amid growing fears about the potential impact of generative AI on the composer community.
“It’s a real concern for composers,” said Lord Neri. “Is the public going to be acutely aware if AI is replacing these incredible works? If Paul McCartney, Elton John and others are under threat, everyone’s shouting out to protect them, but I want the same to happen for composers.”
The ceremony will continue the organisation’s work to encourage the public to appreciate the human craft that goes into a film score.
“It’s our job as the Ivors Academy – we are the best place to represent composers to protect their interests,” said Lord Neri. “We’re really taking that very seriously. The more we can get the public to push back [the better] – to say, ‘We don’t actually want this, we want to have real composers’ work, we want to have this soundtrack [made by] human creativity.’”
We want to see the public, and more broadly the industry, appreciate composers who are taken for granted... we want to change that
Lord Neri
The Ivors Academy has just reached an agreement with the BBC on commissioning practices for composers, which includes a commitment to prioritise human creativity and respect creators’ rights in relation to generative AI.
The Composer Week around the new ceremony is designed to further “protect, empower and celebrate” the community, said Lord Neri.
Composer Week events include a summit to address key issues for the sector.
Fran Matthews, Ivors Academy director of awards, said it was time to elevate their celebration of composers. It will build on the success of The Ivors Classical Awards, which grew out of the British Composer Awards.
“They were a wonderful occasion, but they were quite small in their scale, and it really felt that we were missing an opportunity to give the composing community the same platform that we’re able to deliver for the songwriting community in May,” she told Music Week.
Following consultation with members, the Ivors Academy is now aiming to better represent the work of composers at the new awards show.
“They may compose for film or television, they may also write work for the concert hall, they might release albums under a different artist persona,” she said. “This was a chance for us to bring all of that together to deliver a standout moment where we’re recognising composers across that broad spectrum.”
The Composer Awards will include nominated categories and special awards in the gift of the Ivors Academy to recognise contributions to music. Max Richter will be presented with the Innovation Award on the night.
Fran Matthews said moving the categories for film, TV and video game scores into a new ceremony will highlight the “real quality, breadth and ambition of work that’s being created”.
“Their music is transforming films,” she said.
Lord Neri praised the “incredible” work of former Ivors winner and 2026 Composer Awards nominee Daniel Pemberton on Project Hail Mary and Masters Of The Universe.
“You may get an okay job with AI sound-bedding certain pieces, but with Project Hail Mary you can’t imagine AI managing to be that clever to fill that entire space – literally – with the relevant music,” he said.
The Ivors Academy will also continue to raise the profile of scores for video games.
“There have been big success stories, but we want more focus on those amazing composers working in that space,” said Lord Neri. “There are so many incredible composers working in film, but the names behind the games really aren’t that prominent – that’s something we’d like to change as well.”
In addition to the work of the Ivors Academy, Lord Neri’s recent appointment to the House of Lords as a Labour life peer provides him with a forum to raise awareness about the key issues.
“It feels like a very good time to go in there to be a voice for songwriters, composers, creators, and the broader industry,” he said. “So I feel very privileged, and will use that position to do everything I possibly can to stand up for them.”
PHOTO: ED HILL
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