Fraser T. Smith Honoured With the BMI President’s Award at the 2025 BMI London Awards

September 29, 2025

THE FULL LIST OF 2025 WINNERS WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE HERE

HIGH-RES PHOTOS AND VIDEO FOOTAGE ARE AVAILABLE HERE

LONDON - 29 September, 2025 - BMI honoured Fraser T. Smith with the BMI President's Award tonight at the 2025 BMI London Awards. The multi-award-winning producer, songwriter and musician was celebrated for the remarkable breadth of his career-defining work and collaborations with some of the biggest artists in the world such as Adele, Drake, Sam Smith, Snow Patrol and more. Throughout the ceremony, BMI paid tribute to the British and European songwriters, composers, producers, publishers of the most-performed songs and top-grossing films, top network television series and highest-ranking cable network and streamed media programs in the U.S from the previous year. The private event, held at The Dorchester in London, was hosted by BMI President & CEO Mike O'Neill and EVP, Chief Revenue & Creative Officer Mike Steinberg.

Smith has created an extraordinary body of work spanning three decades and multiple genres. His contributions to records by Adele, Craig David, Drake, James Morrison, Florence and the Machine, Gorillaz, Kano, Stormzy, Sam Smith, Snow Patrol and Kae Tempest have made him one of the UK's most influential and sought-after music creators. With seven No.1 singles in the UK, two Billboard No.1 singles in the US and contributions to 20 No.1 albums, Smith has received three Ivor Novello Awards and a GRAMMY® for his work on Adele's massive album 21, among many other accolades.

O'Neill presented Smith with the BMI President's Award saying, "You are a testament to the fact that the best producers don't just shape songs, they help shape and define culture…. We thank you for enriching the world of music, today and long into the future." Upon receiving the award, Smith said, "The artists, writers, producers and engineers that I work with in the studio are the creative cornerstone of everything that I do. I feel as though I've literally been standing on the shoulders of giants for 25 years learning from these brilliant people. Making music has always been an escape for me and I couldn't imagine my life without it."

As a tribute to the night's highest honouree, Kae Tempest gave a moving performance of two songs from his 2025 album, Self-Titled, which were co-written and produced by Smith, including "Prayers to Whisper" and "I Stand On The Line." Tempest was accompanied by Leah Cleaver on vocals with Smith on guitar.

Smith joins an elite group of previous BMI President's Award recipients including benny blanco, Luis Fonsi, Noel Gallagher, Ellie Goulding, Imagine Dragons, Jay Kay of Jamiroquai, Ludacris, P!nk, Willie Nelson, Pitbull, T-Pain, Taylor Swift, Brian Wilson, and Dwight Yoakam, to name a few.

BMI London Song of the Year went to "I Had Some Help," written by Hoskins, Charlie Handsome, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen and Chandler Paul Walters. The massive hit performed by Wallen and Post Malone debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and after spending its first five and six weeks, respectively, on top, was named the official Billboard Song of the Summer for 2024.

During the ceremony, several BMI Million-Air Awards were presented to the songwriters and publishers whose works have achieved the rare feat of surpassing one million broadcast performances on U.S. radio. Among the hit songs honoured were "Every Breath You Take" written by Sting (20 million), "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones (11 million), "Take On Me," by Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pål Waaktaar of a-ha (10 million), "What's Love Got To Do With It" written by 2024 BMI Icon Graham Lyle (9 million), "It Must Have Been Love," by Per Gessle of Roxette (7 million), "True" written by 2023 BMI Icon Gary Kemp (6 million) and "Set Fire To The Rain," co-written by 2025 BMI President's Award honouree Fraser T. Smith and performed by Adele (5 million).

Alongside the BMI President's Award, Million-Air Awards and London Song of the Year, awards were presented throughout the evening for the Most-Performed Songs and for Film, TV & Visual Media featuring works from the past year's top-grossing films, top-rated network television series, highest-ranking cable network and streamed media programs. Some of the awards given in the Most-Performed Songs category included "360" written by Finn Keane, A.G. Cook, Omer Fedi, Blake Slatkin and performed by Charli xcx; "Glue Song" written and performed by beabadoobee; "Murder on the Dancefloor" written and performed by Sophie Ellis-Bextor with co-writer Gregg Alexander; "Too Sweet" written and performed by Hozier with co-writers Stuart Johnson, Pete G, and Daniel Bekon; and "Turn Yo Clic Up" written by Sluzyyy, Atake, Macshooter, Baso Beats and performed by Future and Quavo.

Among the award-winning composers, Atli Örvarsson won seven awards for his work in network television and streaming for Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago P.D., FBI, FBI: International, FBI: Most Wanted and Apple TV's Silo, bringing his total to 54 BMI awards. Tom Howe was also recognized with two awards for his work in the streaming category for Paramount+ action-adventure series Knuckles and Apple TV's Shrinking. In addition, Sola Akingbola received a BMI Network TV Award for Bob Hearts Abishola and BMI Theatrical Film Awards went to Harry Gregson-Williams for Gladiator II and Hildar Guðnadóttir for her work on Joker: Folie à Deux.

A complete list of 2025 winners will soon be available at https://awards.bmi.com/show/london-2025 and to download high-resolution photos and video footage, please go to https://publicity.gettyimages.com/event/2025-bmi-london-awards.

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Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, BMI® is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 22.4 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI's repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on X, Instagram and TikTok @BMI or stay connected through BMI's Facebook page. Sign up for BMI's The Weekly ™ and receive our e-newsletter every week to stay up to date on all things music.

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