Honoring the art of music photography and highlighting talent from around the world, Abbey Road Studios return with its second annual Music Photography Awards, the winners of which will be announced at the September 21 ceremony held at the legendary UK recording facility.
In a statement about this year’s fete, the MPAs will pay tribute to the best work from 2022 that “capture the magic of live music, the creative process and the diverse music scenes from across the world.” The awards recognize established as well as undiscovered photographers, including open-entry categories, alongside awards judged by artists, stylists, photographers, and other influential people in the creative space.
Divided into six open-entry categories: Undiscovered Photographer of the Year, Music Moment of the Year, Live Music, In The Studio, Underground Scenes, and Hip Hop 50, photographers can submit their work at no cost via MPAs’ website.
The additional four 2023 invited category awards’ – including Portrait, Editorial, Artist at Work, and Icon – will be judged by renowned British photographer, publisher, film director, and MPAs co-founder Rankin, singer-songwriter Cat Burns, photographer Vicky Grout, stylist and consultant Karen Binns (Wizkid & Tori Amos), singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, American photographer and winner of 2022’s MPA Icon Award, Eric Johnson (who photographed his first Rolling Stone cover with Pusha T,) stylist and creative director Matthew Josephs (FKA Twigs,) and New York Times Deputy Photo Editor Nakyung Han.
In a statement about the late-summer event, Rankin said “I’m thrilled to announce the 2023 Abbey Road Studios Music Photography Awards is now officially open. It doesn’t matter if you’re emerging, or a celebrated professional photographer, we want you to enter because we want your photographs to be seen,” “The MPAs is close to my heart because I founded the awards together with Abbey Road. This is our opportunity to celebrate what music photography means, not just to the audience and the musicians, but to the photographers behind the lens.” “This year, I’ll be giving you the opportunity to win a day’s mentorship with me on a music shoot, so make sure to get your entry in before 18 July.”
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Oast House Archive