Recognition:

• The Music Cities Awards is a prestigious recognition that validates the work of organisations using music to improve their communities. Winning an award helps raise the profile of recipients and increases awareness of the positive impact their work creates.

• The award’s prestige comes from the expertise of the Jury, the track record of the hosting organisation, and the reputation of past winners.

• The Jury is a diverse group of experts from around the world, working at the forefront of various music cities-related fields. Past jury members include: Richard Florida, Urbanism Researcher/Writer (USA), Panos A. Panay, The Recording Academy (USA), Bonnie Richardson-Lake, Government of Anguilla (AIA), Isabella Pek, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (MYS), Angela Ndambuki, IPFI Sub-Saharan Africa (KEN), more.

• The hosting organisation, Music Cities Events, is the leading company in producing conferences on music cities topics.

• Past award winners include Warner Global DEI Institute (Global), City of Sao Paulo (BRA), Bogota 24 Hours Programme (COL), Auckland City of Music (NZL), Asociación Música Para Despertar (SPA), Bach by Bike (GER), The Musicon District (DEN), more.

Physical award:

• The Music Cities Award is produced and designed by Midton in the UK. The statue is made of sustainably sourced timber and screen print ink which does not contain ozone-depleting chemicals. For each award manufactured, a tree will be planted as part of the manufacturer’s collaboration with the “Trees for Life” and “One Tree Planted” programmes.

Music Cities Events speaker pipeline:

• Music Cities Events’ conferences focus on bringing people together to share their experiences and lessons from using music to create a positive impact in their communities. Winning a Music Cities Award will place your organisation at the forefront of the projects considered each year for our event programming.

• You should include a clear description of the organisation, the project’s functions, and its impact on the community.

• We recommend including evidence of your results as links to articles, videos, and other supporting documents.

• Since the Jury reviews many applications, we encourage submissions to be concise, clear, and supported by easily understandable evidence of your process and results.

All entries are evaluated through three core lenses: Impact, Relevance, and Innovation. Our jury looks for projects that demonstrate clear, evidence-based outcomes; a strong connection to local needs or the category’s focus; and a forward-thinking approach that contributes meaningfully to a city’s music ecosystem. Successful applications show real results, thoughtful intent, and measurable value for the communities they serve.

Yes. Projects and initiatives may apply to up to three categories, but each category requires its own separate application. This allows your submission to be assessed fairly and accurately against the criteria for each category. For full details on what each category covers and who it is for, please click on the individual category blurbs.

You can still win the award. All nominated projects that are unable to attend the Music Cities Awards Ceremony will be invited to send a recorded video message accepting the award, which will be displayed at the event if they win their category.