Guy Moot, chair and CEO of Warner Chappell Music, has made history by becoming the first music publisher to win the Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS).
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Moot received the prestigious honor at a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Monday (Nov. 9), with musician and longtime friend Mark Ronson presenting the award. The annual accolade recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the U.K. music industry.
The award acknowledges Moot’s illustrious career, which started in record stores and has spanned more than 30 years, and his longstanding advocacy for songwriters at WCM, the global music publishing arm of the Warner Music Group. The event raised funds for two U.K. music charities: The BRIT Trust; and Nordoff and Robbins, the U.K.’s leading music therapy provider.
“To be the first music publisher to receive the MITS is an enormous honor, but this award isn’t really about me,” Moot said at the ceremony. “It belongs to the songwriters I have the privilege of working with every day, to my brilliant colleagues, and to my family, who are with me every step of the way.
“Everything we do begins with a song, and none of it exists without the people who write them. Nordoff and Robbins and The BRIT School remind us what music can do: it heals, it connects and it changes lives. Great music can come from anywhere, and it’s on all of us to keep the door open for the next generation.”
Moot joins a distinguished list of previous MITS honorees, including Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue, Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Lucian Grainge, Michael Eavis, Pete Tong, Roger Daltrey, Rob Stringer, Emma Banks, Jamal Edwards and Jason Iley. Last year’s award went to Global founder and executive president Ashley Tabor-King.
Established in 1992, the MITS has raised more than £7 million ($9.4 million) for its beneficiary charities over the past three decades. Guests at Monday’s ceremony included Jimmy Page, Tinie Tempah, songwriters Amy Allen and John Ryan, Celeste and Louise Redknapp.
Moot was appointed at Warner Chappell Music as co-chair and CEO alongside Carianne Marshall in 2019 and has overseen deals with songwriters including Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, RAYE and Charli xcx, and made deals for major catalogues from David Bowie, George Michael and Madonna. He became the company’s sole chair and CEO earlier this year.
