RAYE, Willie ‘Prophet’ Stiggers & More to Be Honored at 2024 SONA Warrior Awards
Written by Paul Grein on July 15, 2024
RAYE, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, Thomas Scherer, Ross Golan and the late songwriter Andrea Martin will be honored at the fourth annual SONA Warrior Awards gala on Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at Herscher Hall at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. The awards are presented by Songwriters of North America (SONA).
British singer-songwriter RAYE made history at the BRIT Awards in March with six wins and seven nominations, the most anyone has ever received in one year. Her global smash “Escapism” was the largest selling single by a female British artist in 2023, becoming her first No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles chart and landing at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Stiggers is the co-founder, CEO and president of the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), which advocates for racial equity and justice within the music industry on behalf of Black artists, songwriters, producers, managers, agents, executives, lawyers and more.
Scherer has been with BMG and its parent company Bertelsmann for almost three decades as an artist, songwriter, music publisher, music producer, label owner, and executive. Under his leadership, BMG has signed and re-signed writers in the U.S., among them Diane Warren, Bebe Rexha, and Lewis Capaldi, and has secured more than 50 acquisitions, among them Mötley Crüe, Paul Simon, Five Finger Death Punch, and Gucci Mane. In January, Scherer was appointed president of global catalog recordings, while retaining his responsibilities as president of music publishing in North America.
Songwriter and advocate Golan is the host of the podcast And the Writer Is, where he interviews top songwriters. His advocacy assisted in passing The Music Modernization Act. In addition, he served as the first songwriter on the board of the National Music Publishers Association.
Martin is best known for composing En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go (Love)” as well as Angie Stone’s “Wish I Didn’t Miss You” and Leona Lewis’ “Better in Time.” She also wrote “I Love Me Some Him” for Toni Braxton and “Before You Walk Out of My Life” for Monica, and “It Kills Me” by Melanie Fiona. Martin was also a recording artist, whose singles in the late 1990s included “Let Me Return the Favor” and “Share the Love.”
Tickets for the event cost $241.94 or $535.38, with the latter option including a four-course dinner. Tickets are on sale now.
