Songwriters' advocacy group SONA honors Raye and others at LA Gala

The Songwriters of North America honored creative minds and business professionals they believe are leaders in the industry at their annual SONA Warrior Awards on Sunday evening. Raye, Thomas Scherer, Ross Golan, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers and the late Andrea Martin were celebrated at LA's Skirball Cultural Center.

Songwriters Shane Stevens (Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande) and Bonnie McKee (Katy Perry, Britney Spears) hosted the evening. Presenters included Benny Blanco, Sylvia Rhone, David A. Stewart of Eurythmics, songwriter Michael Sabath and ASCAP President Paul Williams. Golan, Siedah Garrett and Melanie Fiona were among the cast.

Michelle Lewis, CEO of SONA, said: “I was so excited to celebrate the 2024 Warrior Awards winners in front of a full and enthusiastic house full of songwriters and people who love us. We stay in the background most of the time, but songwriters and composers are a brilliant, fun and entertaining bunch with a lot to say. And we clean up well. It was an inspiring and meaningful evening to be spotlighted and have microphones pointed at us.” (Lewis is pictured above with Stewart and Scherer.)

Raye accepts her award via video after being introduced by Sabath. The rising British star had a good reason not to make it in the flesh: she had been booked to perform live on prime-time television that same evening, performing a James classic on the American Music Awards 50th anniversary special Brown sang. Raye made history last March by winning six of the seven Brit Awards for which she was nominated and becoming the first woman ever to win the songwriter of the year trophy there. She is a strong contender for a Best New Artist nomination at the upcoming Grammys.

Paul Williams introduced Sylvia Rhone, chairman and CEO of Epic, who presented Martin's family with a Warrior Award. Fiona, who had a hit with the Martin-penned “It Kills Me,” paid tribute to the late songwriter, whose songs also became R&B hits for stars like Toni Braxton (“I Love Me Some Him”), En Vogue (“Don't Let Go”) and Monica (“Before You Walk Out of My Life”).

Dave Stewart presented a Warrior Award to Scherer, who spent nearly three decades at BMG and parent company Bertelsmann as an artist, songwriter, music publisher, producer, label owner and executive. After serving as president of music publishing in North America, Scherer was named president of Global Catalog Recordings by the company earlier this year.

In an entertaining speech, the Eurythmics co-founder said: “He is someone who listens, not someone who waits impatiently to say his piece.” And when he speaks, it is truthful, unifying, kind and useful – a little like Oogway from Kung Fu Panda.”

He continued: “Everything Thomas and I discussed during my tenure was implemented, (including) the development of an app that allowed writers to see their income in a fair and transparent way.” The artists' songs that The songs we loved and talked about gradually became part of the huge BMG catalogue. Thomas became a juggernaut, an unstoppable force that brought writers together to collaborate in meaningful ways.”

Songwriter, producer and record executive Blanco (Maroon 5, Justin Bieber) presented a Warrior Award to Golan, a fellow songwriter-producer and host of the songwriter-centric podcast “And the Writer Is…”, for whom Golan is known as a strong advocate for writers , which played a role in the passage of the Music Modernization Act and the inclusion of songwriters in the Album of the Year category at the Grammys and the abolition of the 33% rule. After accepting his award, Golan performed a song he co-wrote for Ariana Grande, “Dangerous Woman.”

The final honoree of the evening was Stiggers, aka “Prophet,” the co-founder and CEO-President of the Black Music Action Coalition, a powerful force in the industry that advocates for racial justice and equity for Black creatives and executives.

Garrett ended the evening at Skirball with a performance of perhaps her signature song, “Man in the Mirror,” the Michael Jackson hit she co-wrote.