On 14 May 2009 the winners of the UK and International Young Music Entrepreneur Awards 2009 were announced at a ceremony as part of The Great Escape music festival in Brighton, UK. The awards were presented by Katrina Larkin, founder of The Big Chill.

UK Young Music Entrepreneur (UKYME) Award
Alex Lavery, founder of Pitch & Sync won the UK Music Award. He was commended by the judges for being: ‘Articulate and thoughtful … an excellent bridge between the artists and industry to the benefit of both … innovate, dynamic and full of fresh ideas.’

Six finalists were shortlisted for the UK award, and in March they travelled together to Poland for a two-week market tour. They visited Warsaw and other centres of the Polish music industry to discover more about how the industry works there and also to spend some time experiencing the vibrant local music scene.

The shortlist for UKYME was:
Alex Lavery – Founder / Creative Director, Pitch & Sync
Gemma Reilly – Co-Founder, Underdogs Management Limited
Jon Slade – Managing Director, Elastic Artists Agency Ltd.
Mike Deane – Managing Director, Liverpool Music Week Ltd
Thomas Hunt – Managing Director, Breed Media Ltd
Yann Seznec – Director, Lucky Frame Limited

The judges for the award were Cathy Graham, British Council Head of Music; Christine Kellogg, TuneTribe Head of Label Management and Sales; Darren Henderson, Compass Management Managing Director; Katrina Larkin, The Big Chill Group Co-founder and Director; and Paul Brindley, Music Alley Ltd. CEO.

For more information on the finalists and the award, please see www.creativeconomy.org.uk/UKYCE.

International Young Music Entrepreneur (IYME) Award
Vijar Nair was named International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year 2009. Vijay started managing bands at the age of 17, and what started as a hobby became a fulyl fledged career as he founded Only Much Louder (OML) the first artist management company for indie bands in India. Fuelled by a strong DIY ethic, OML launched Counter Culture Records who started their own distribution and became a viable option for artists looking at releasing their material with no major support. Babblefish Productions was started in 2008 as the video production arm of OML and helps give indie artists a visual identity by developing music videos, documentaries and podcasts. Over the last seven years OML has booked artists for over 500 concerts, produced festivals of international repute, released independent artists and established themselves as one of the key players in the Indian music industry.

In addition to the main award, Kevin Ombajo from Kenya was given a special commendation for social change and Cobhams Asuquo from Nigeria was also commended.

Click this link to read short biographies of each finalist.

The judges for this year’s International award were: Chair of Judges, Doug D’Arcy owner Songline, Chairman of the Music Export Board and a member of the Creative Industries Strategy Board; Martin Elbourne, booker Glastonbury Festival, Lovebox, Jersey Live and Guilfest; Paul Fegan, Co-Director of Better Days; John Worne, Director of Strategy & External Relations for the British Council; and Joel Mills Music Adviser, British Council.

The IYME award, now in its fourth year, focuses on emerging markets. Nine diverse and accomplished finalists, representing Brazil, China, Cuba, India, Kenya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria and Poland were selected by British Council offices around the world to participate in the programme. The finalists travelled to the UK to take part in a tour of the UK music industry, including meeting with 4AD Records, Ninja Tune, Blueprint Studios, and SJM Concerts. Their tour culminated at the Great Escape in Brighton where this year's IYME winner was announced.