Ashley Tabor-King CBE, founder & executive president of Global Media & Entertainment group, has been awarded this year’s Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS).
Organisers said the award was in “recognition of a two-decade career that has changed the face of the British music industry and broadcasting”.
The award was presented by media executive, consultant and broadcaster Richard Park in a room full of his peers and family at a gala ceremony in The Great Room, Grosvenor House Hotel, held in aid of The BRIT Trust, Nordoff & Robbins and The Global Academy.
There were on-screen tributes from Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Prince William, Katy Perry, Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow, Raye, Benson Boone, Simon Cowell, Chris Moyles, Irving Asoff, The Wanted’s Max George, Roc Nation’s Jay Brown, Backstreet Boys’ Howie Dorough, Jordan North, Roman Kemp, Dave Berry, Johnny Vaughan, Amanda Holden and many more.
The evening featured performances by Rita Ora, Jessie J and Olly Murs.
Accepting his award, Ashley Tabor-King said: “Thank you to the MITS committee for this truly humbling award, which I am honoured to be receiving in support of Nordoff & Robbins and The BRIT Trust. Two life-changing charities and organisations that enable music, and the power of the creative mind, to help people’s lives – and we saw earlier just how powerful that can be. I am hugely thankful to the MITS Committee for allowing me to include Global Academy this year. It is immensely important to me to be able to facilitate a teaching ground for the next generation of creators, broadcasters, engineers and entrepreneurs.
“I want to say ‘thank you’ to the wonderful, inspiring, and rewarding music and media industry sitting in this room tonight, and beyond. This award may have my name on it but really it belongs to an extraordinary group of people who’ve made the dream of Global a reality. People often say that media is changing. And of course it is. But what hasn’t changed, and what must never change, is why we do it. At its core it’s about a connection. It's about creativity. It's about giving people a voice and using ours responsibly. And it’s just as much about Taylor Swift’s fantastic new album, but it’s also about an album that no one has heard yet, about that artist who we don’t even know yet.
“To everyone who’s ever believed in this dream, in Global, or in any dream that sounded impossible at first, thank you, and good for you. We need to encourage entrepreneurship and bravery in this country. You will continue to inspire me. And thank you MITS for this gorgeous honour.”
