The Finnish Music Publishers Association honours songwriters and musical works
The Finnish Music Publishers Association, which represents music publishers in Finland, presented awards in six categories at its 50th anniversary gala on 10 September: Song of the Year, Popular Music Songwriter of the Year, Open Category Work of the Year, Export Achievement of the Year, Art Music Composer of the Year (Large-Scale Works and Small-Scale Works), and Breakthrough of the Year.
In addition, the Association awarded Young Songwriter Scholarships and a Special Recognition Award. Among the evening’s most notable honours were the Special Recognition Award presented to Mr. Lordi and the Song of the Year award, which went to Liekinheitin, performed by Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen.
The Special Recognition Award was presented to Mr. Lordi in recognition of his outstanding contributions as a songwriter, composer and the creator of the band Lordi. The award citation highlighted his long-term artistic work and the creative vision that led to Finland’s historic victory in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Liekinheitin, Finland’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, was named Song of the Year. The award was accepted by the song’s creators, Vilma Lähteenmäki, Antti Riihimäki and Lauri Halavaara. The jury praised the song’s bold blending of genres and the way the violin is seamlessly integrated into a contemporary pop sound.
The annual awards of the Finnish Music Publishers Association recognise outstanding music creators, works and achievements across the Finnish music industry.
All the award winners:
- Song of the Year: Liekinheitin Linda Lampenius, Pete Parkkonen. Songwriters: Lauri Halavaara, Linda Lampenius, Vilma Lähteenmäki, Pete Parkkonen, Antti Riihimäki (HMC Publishing, Universal Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music Finland)
- Popular Music Songwriter of the Year: Wille Mannila (HMC Publishing)
- Open Category Work of the Year: Haitarimarinadi (album) Antti Paalanen and collaborators Lauri Halavaara, Jarkko Meretniemi, Heidi Maria Paalanen and Saara Törmä (Elements Music Oy, Nordic Bridge Music / BMG Rights Management, Sepon Huone Oy, Zen Master Publishing Oy)
- Export Achievement of the Year: Aleksi Kiiskinen / James Marriott for the success of the album Don’t Tell The Dog in the United Kingdom (Sentric Music Publishing)
- Art Music Composer of the Year (Large-Scale Works): Markku Klami Violin Concerto: Requiem (Edition Wilhelm Hansen)
- Art Music Composer of the Year (Small-Scale Works): Matthew Whittall: The World Tree (Fennica Gehrman)
- Breakthrough of the Year: Jaakko Kiuru (Elements Music, Isolla Music Oy)
- Young Songwriter Scholarships: Olivia Ainali (Elements Music), Robert Ruohola (Fennica Gehrman)
- Special Recognition Award: Mr. Lordi (Warner Chappell Music Finland)
