John Preston Music Awards

The John Preston International Music Award

A £500 award presented to a deserving Music Business student wishing to travel abroad to attend and/or present at an International Music Conference, event or symposium.

John Preston started his career working in an Edinburgh record store before rising to became one of the most senior figures in the UK music industry. Working first for EMI, he went on to become managing director of Polydor Records and then RCA before being appointed Chairman and CEO of BMG Entertainment.

A highly respected executive, John was a long-standing council member and then chair of the music industry’s trade organisation BPI (British Phonographic Industry). He was also a director of Universal Publishing and a trustee of music industry charity The BRIT Trust during its formative years. In 1997, John also chaired the Rock the Vote campaign, persuading young people to register to vote in the general election.

Over his 25 year career, John worked with many well-known artists including Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, David Bowie, Take That and Whitney Houston, whilst Simon Cowell was among the many executives given early breaks by John.

John died suddenly in November 2017 after a short illness. Tributes from his friends in the industry were a testament to the high regard in which he was held. Annie Lennox described him as, "kind, thoughtful, highly intelligent, compassionate, gentle, humorous, supportive, trustworthy, loyal, decent and honourable.” Working at the top of an industry known more for its hard driven, cut-throat competitiveness, John was a “rare diamond” committed to developing and supporting young musical talent.