CAA’s Maria May is to receive the IMS Legends Award 2025, recognising her outstanding contribution to electronic music culture.
The award will be formally presented during The Beatport Awards on Thursday, April 24, with a dedicated industry lunch celebration held during IMS Ibiza.
May is one of the most respected agents in the electronic music genre, with a career spanning over three decades.
Heading up the London-based ‘Team Disco’ at CAA, May and her colleagues represent many of the world’s leading musicians, including David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas, Róisín Murphy, The Chainsmokers, Jonas Blue, and Purple Disco Machine and Gok Wan, among others.
Previously May worked with Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Layo & Bushwacka, Hercules & Love Affair , Azari and III, Moloko, Soulwax , 2manydjs, Lee Burridge and X-press 2.
May has been a proactive advocate for the electronic music community and continues to champion and support women in music and the electronic music business.
Beyond her role at CAA, she is a board member of Lady Of The House, a female-led collective that amplifies women's contributions to the dance music industry. Additionally, she serves on the board of Beatport and the advisory board of the Frankie Knuckles Foundation.
May was a founding advisory board member of the Association For Electronic Music (AFEM) for a decade and a long serving board member of Night Time Industries Association (NTIA). She was previously inducted into the Music Week Women in Music Roll Of Honour.
Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels said: “Maria May has been a transformative force in electronic music for over three decades. Her work behind the scenes has helped shape the careers of some of the most iconic artists in our culture. At Beatport, we’re proud to recognise her contributions and leadership, especially her tireless advocacy for women in our industry. Maria has not only opened doors, she’s helped rebuild the very rooms where decisions are made. She embodies the spirit of this award.”
IMS and AFEM co-founder Ben Turner said: “I have enjoyed watching Maria’s career grow from my first meeting with her in the offices of ITB in 1994, seeing her develop with her acts into a global force of nature when it comes to agenting talent. Her role behind the scenes in affecting how the industry operates may not be seen by so many, but is felt by everybody. She challenges the industry to think and be better. She cares as much today as she did as an passionate agent in her early 20s on the dancefloor at Liquid in Miami listening to Frankie Knuckles and David Morales - which is how I will always visualise her! Both IMS and the clubbing industry of Ibiza are truly proud of her achievements. Electronic music is in a better place because of the person that is Maria May.”
To receive this recognition is both humbling and very exciting
Maria May
Maria May said: “To receive this recognition is both humbling and very exciting. Not merely because of what it represents for my career, but because of what it stands for in the wider culture of electronic music. The first woman to be publicly recognised for her efforts with an award of this gravitas has been a long time coming. Watching electronic music evolve from underground rebellion to a global movement and being one of the many architects of the global business phenomenon that we have created and now being recognised for these efforts is something I never imagined when I went to my first rave.
“I really hope that this means the playing field is becoming more even and that the path to the top is wide open. Hopefully, we all will finally recognise the efforts of all the women in dance music and their roles in shaping the business to where it is now. Above commercial success, the most meaningful work for me has been building bridges between cultures, genres, generations, and genders. Fighting the fight when no one else would or could or cared.
“Doing the right thing always no matter what the consequences. When I began this journey, the dance music industry wasn’t built with women in mind. Despite this, we were always there. Behind the decks, behind the scenes, on doors , artist management, agencies and in promoting and security. Doors did not automatically open unless we pushed them ourselves. Our community didn’t recognise our work. I stand on the shoulders of women who worked twice as hard as me to be taken half as seriously. Their tenacity, and their refusal to shrink has carried me forward every day. It has been my mission not just to succeed within this space, but to reshape it. I have worked to ensure that women, especially those without connections, without privilege, who come from places like I did are seen, heard, and supported to thrive.”
She added: “Because representation is not a trend, it is a responsibility. That purpose has guided my journey, whether through my day-to-day at my amazing agency CAA or supporting initiatives like Lady of the House, I have worked hard to bring more women into the room, and more importantly, to keep them there, empowered, paid equitably and respected.
“This award is not just about me. It’s for the women who came before me, the ones who were overlooked but laid the groundwork anyway. It is for the women beside me now, fierce, brilliant, relentless who continue to strive. And it’s for the women still coming — who I hope will never have to ask for permission to belong here. Thank you to all the amazing artists I have worked with. Thank you for the music. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way. Thank you, IMS. The journey is far from over and I’m still dancing. See you on the dancefloor.”
Previous recipients of the IMS Legends Award include Underworld, Nile Rodgers, Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim and Simon Dunmore from Defected.
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