Awards Media Top Stories

EMI and NME dominate at ROTD Awards

By | Published on Friday 26 November 2010

Two of the oldest British music brands, EMI and the NME, were the big winners at the Record Of The Day Awards for music journalism and PR last night, the former taking home four prizes, and the latter three, including the flagship Editor and Magazine Of The Year gongs.

And the music weekly got four as well if you count veteran music journalist Charles Shaar Murray, a one time NME writer, who picked up one of the outstanding contribution prizes, and he – while heralding the revival of his former haunt in his acceptance speech – suggested that we should. So we just did.

It’s no secret that current NME Editor Krissi Murison’s revamp of the IPC title has proven very popular within the music industry and the rock journalism fraternity, and last night’s awards for both the magazine and its chief were proof of that fact. It was interesting NME.com also picked up a prize, it seemingly yet to go through any real editorial rebirthing process and still operating the quantity over quality approach introduced by last editor Conor McNicholas.

Though on a commercial level, it is the NME website that probably does deserve the big prize, it being one of the few music sites that boasts serious traffic and, seemingly, fairly decent ad sales. Meanwhile the print edition’s albeit inevitable decline into oblivion has escalated considerably since a more serious and journalistically credible approach was adopted.

Which poses some interesting challenges for Murison and her IPC bosses for whom the printed product into which so much effort has been poured will surely soon be a loss leader, if it’s not already. Though for today, at least, they should probably sit back and enjoy the fact that, with their comrades in the music industry, their April relaunch has been a big success.

Also navigating tricky times are the team at EMI Artist Publicity, who have surely been working under more pressure than anyone else in the music PR sector of late, though their four wins were down to tangible results not sympathy votes. Ironically, as with much of EMI, three years of downsizing, top level chaos and uncertainty has resulted – possibly more by accident than design – in one of the best set ups for in-house PR, a fully centralised and united team able to offer a more proactive and helpful service.

And, perhaps more importantly, for a company that loses executives left, right and centre, in the PR department the major has managed to hang on to some of the best. So well done Team EMI. Despite the frequency with which journalists like ourselves speculate about your company’s impending demise and subsequent merger with Warner Music, we do actually pray at least three times each week that, against the odds, Britain’s biggest music company remains intact as a stand alone business and, as a happy by-product, you can continue to be one of the best PR units in the business.

Anyway, enough EMI love I think, time for one quick mention for the winner of the Best Student Music Writer award, sponsored by the dudes at PPL and organised in association with CMU’s sister website CreativeStudent.net, the community for all students involved in arts, media and entertainment on campus. And well done to Kate Allen of Reading University who most impressed a team of professional journalists, including CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke, to take the prize. Big things surely beckon.

Anyway, enough waffle, coming up the full list of winners, but first here’s Record Of The Day supremo Paul Scaife with a quote: “Once again, we had more votes, and at a higher calibre, than ever, and the stature of the awards continues to grow. Last year’s student winner found himself fast-tracked to freelance success, and I hope this award grows in importance. It was interesting to see the votes for EMI and NME, two different institutions that have seen unprecedented changes over the last few years, yet still remain loved”.

And now those winners in full, you lucky, lucky people…

Best In-House PR Person: Janet Choudry, EMI Artist Publicity
Best In-House Online PR: Stuart Freeman, EMI Artist Publicity
Best Independent PR Person: Nikki Wright-McNeill, Global

Best In-House PR Department: EMI Artist Publicity
Best Independent PR Company: Dawbell
Best Online PR Company: Anorak

Best PR Campaign For An Established Act: Plan B (Ruth and Beth Drake, Toast Press)
Best PR Campaign For A Breakthrough Act: Tinie Tempah (Janet Choudry, EMI Artist Publicity)
Best Reissue PR Campaign: Rolling Stones ‘Exile on Main St’ (Kate Etteridge, LD Communications)
PR Reputation Management: Cheryl Cole (Sundraj Sreenivasan, Supersonic)

Best Student Music Writer (voted for by panel of journalists): Kate Allen, Reading University
Best Publication (voted for by students): Drowned In Sound
Best Music Writer (voted for by students): Peter Robinson

Best Blog: My Band’s Better Than Your Band
Best Music Coverage In A Newspaper: The Guardian ‘Film & Music’
Digital Publication Of The Year: NME.com
Magazine Of The Year: NME

Record Reviewer Of The Year: Alexis Petridis, The Guardian
Live Reviewer Of The Year: Simon Price, The Independent on Sunday
Breaking Music Writer Of The Year: Peter Robinson, Popjustice
Feature Of The Year: Caitlin Moran for ‘Lady Gaga’ in The Times
Editor Of The Year: Krissi Murison, NME

Outstanding Contribution To Music Journalism Award: Charles Shaar Murray
Outstanding Contribution To PR Award: Terri Hall
Outstanding Contribution To Music Photography Award: Mick Rock



READ MORE ABOUT: | | |