Moot's MITS
Mark Ronson, Amy Allen and MITS honoree Guy Moot (Mark Rowe)
Guy Moot, chair and CEO of Warner Chappell Music, was honored with the Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS) at a ceremony in London on Monday.
Moot, the first music publisher to receive the award, was chosen for a 30-plus-year career “defined by creative vision, a songwriter-first philosophy and a lifelong commitment to music’s power to educate, heal and transform lives.”
Mark Ronson presented the award, thanking Moot for introducing him to Amy Winehouse before they made Back to Black. “You sent a generational talent and one of your prize pupils to the studio of some unproven producer that you had a little faith in, so thank you,” Ronson said.
Accepting the award, Moot remarked, “To be the first music publisher to receive the MITS is an enormous honor, but this award isn't really about me. 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.”
Ronson and Moot
Tribute videos featured an array of warm messages from Moot’s peers, colleagues, family and artists, among them Val Blavatnik, Robert Kyncl, Jon Platt, Max Lousada, Benson Boone, Laufey, Ian Wright, Lizzo, Salaam Remi, Sam Smith, Shani Gonzales and Stargate.
Performers on the night included Florence Road, Tinie Tempah and Grammy-winning songwriters Amy Allen and John Ryan, who joined for a rendition of the track they co-wrote for Olivia Dean, “So Easy (To Fall in Love).” Guests spanned Jimmy Page, Sonique, Celeste, CKTRL and Liam Fray of Courteeners.
The ceremony was held in support of two U.K. music charities: The BRIT Trust, a core funder of The BRIT School, and Nordoff and Robbins, the U.K.’s largest music therapy charity.