CMAT and Sam Fender among big winners at the 2026 Ivor Novellos

The 2026 Ivor Novello Awards, the music industry's leading celebration of songwriting and composition, were handed out on 21 May at Grosvenor House in London. CMAT took Best Album for Euro-Country, while Jacob Alon won Best Song Musically and Lyrically for Don't Fall Asleep.

Sam Fender was named Songwriter of the Year off the back of his People Watching era, with Rosalia recognised as International Songwriter of the Year for her album Lux.

Held annually, the ceremony is unusual among music prizes in honouring the craft of writing and composition specifically, and this year's winners spanned established stars, rising talents and revered veterans across a single afternoon at one of London's grandest venues.

Fellowship and Icon honours

Thom Yorke received the Academy Fellowship, the Ivors' highest accolade, presented by Harry Styles. George Michael was honoured posthumously, with his Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley accepting on his behalf, and Calvin Harris was given the PRS Icon Award.

The Academy Fellowship is reserved for songwriters whose body of work has shaped the art form, and Yorke's recognition reflects decades of influential, restlessly inventive writing. The posthumous tribute to George Michael, accepted by his closest collaborator, added a poignant note to proceedings and underscored the awards' role in honouring the full sweep of British songwriting history.

“Thom Yorke has always had a way with words.”

— Harry Styles, presenting the Academy Fellowship

The PRS Icon Award for Calvin Harris recognised one of the most commercially successful British writer-producers of his generation, whose work has defined a significant strand of modern dance-pop. Together, the special honours captured the breadth of the writing the Ivors set out to celebrate, from experimental art-rock to chart-dominating production.

The 2026 winners in brief

Across the categories, the awards balanced commercial success with critical regard, spotlighting both breakout writers and globally recognised names. The list reflects a year in which British and international songwriting alike produced standout work.

• Best Album: CMAT for Euro-Country
• Best Song Musically and Lyrically: Jacob Alon for Don't Fall Asleep
• Songwriter of the Year: Sam Fender, for his People Watching era
• International Songwriter of the Year: Rosalia, for the album Lux
• Academy Fellowship: Thom Yorke, presented by Harry Styles
• PRS Icon Award: Calvin Harris
• A posthumous honour for George Michael, accepted by Andrew Ridgeley

CMAT's Best Album win for Euro-Country and Jacob Alon's recognition for Don't Fall Asleep highlighted the strength of newer voices, while Sam Fender's Songwriter of the Year prize affirmed his standing as one of Britain's most resonant contemporary writers. Rosalia's international honour, meanwhile, underlined the global reach of the year's most ambitious songwriting.

Background: songwriting's own prize

Run by the Ivors Academy, the awards are voted for by fellow songwriters and composers, lending them particular weight within the creative community even as the wider industry debates how songwriting is valued in the streaming economy.

That peer-voted structure sets the Ivors apart from prizes decided by critics, the public or commercial performance, making recognition a mark of esteem from the very people who understand the craft most intimately. The awards have a long heritage and have honoured many of the most significant British and Irish writers across decades, giving them a distinctive authority in the music world.

The ceremony's focus on writers and composers rather than performers also draws attention to the people whose contributions are often least visible to the public. In an industry where the spotlight tends to fall on the artists who deliver songs rather than those who craft them, the Ivors offer a rare moment of recognition for the underlying work, a distinction the Academy has consistently sought to protect.

This year's spread of winners captured that ethos well, ranging from breakout writers earning early career recognition to globally established figures and a fellowship for one of the most influential British songwriters of the modern era. Taken together, the honours mapped the full arc of a songwriting life, from first acclaim to lifetime achievement, and reaffirmed the breadth of talent the awards exist to celebrate.

“Recognition from your peers in songwriting carries a weight that chart success alone never quite matches.”

— A member of the songwriting community

What it means

Beyond the trophies, the ceremony arrived amid an ongoing debate about how songwriters are remunerated in the streaming era, a concern the Ivors Academy has been vocal in raising. The celebration of craft sits alongside a campaign for fairer recognition of the writers whose work underpins the industry's economics.

For the winners, the honours offer both validation and a platform. For the wider sector, the 2026 ceremony served as a reminder that, however music is consumed and however royalties are divided, songwriting remains the foundation on which the entire business is built, and a craft the industry continues to hold in singular regard.