BMI honored Fraser T. Smith with the BMI President’s Award at the 2025 BMI London Awards.
The award was presented to Smith in recognition of the breadth of his work as a producer and songwriter. Previous recipients of the prize include Taylor Swift, Noel Gallagher, Luis Fonsi, Ludacris, P!nk, Willie Nelson, T-Pain, Ellie Goulding and Brian Wilson.
The private event, held by the collection society at The Dorchester in London last night (Sept. 29), was hosted by BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill and EVP, chief revenue & creative officer Mike Steinberg.
O’Neill presented Smith with the BMI President’s Award saying, “You are a testament to the fact that the best producers don’t just shape songs, they help shape and define culture. We thank you for enriching the world of music, today and long into the future.”
In his acceptance speech, Smith thanked the artists, writers and producers that he has worked with throughout his career, describing them as “the creative cornerstone of everything that I do.”
He continued: “I feel as though I’ve literally been standing on the shoulders of giants for 25 years learning from these brilliant people. Making music has always been an escape for me, and I couldn’t imagine my life without it.”
As part of the honoree tribute, Kae Tempest performed “Prayers To Whisper” and “I Stand on the Line,” both of which were co-written and produced by Smith and appear on the spoken-word artist’s 2025 LP Self-Titled.
Smith has co-written, mixed and produced seven No. 1 singles on the Official U.K. Singles Chart and two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s: Taio Cruz’s “Break Your Heart” (2010) and Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” (2011). He was also listed as a producer on the latter’s 2011 album 21, which landed album of the year at the Grammys the following year.
The 54-year-old has contributed to records by the likes of Drake, Florence + The Machine, Gorillaz, Dave, Stormzy and Sam Smith. He has received three Ivor Novello awards alongside many other accolades.
The BMI London Awards honors British and European songwriters and publishers of the previous year’s most-performed songs on U.S. streaming, radio, film, television and visual media from BMI’s repertoire.
During the ceremony, BMI Million-Air Awards were presented to the songwriters and publishers whose works have surpassed one million broadcast performances on U.S. radio. Among the songs honored were “Every Breath You Take” written by Sting of The Police (20 million), “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones (11 million), and “Take on Me” by Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pål Waaktaar of A-ha (10 million).
Awards for the most-performed pop, film, television and streaming songs were also unveiled. Recipients included “360” written by Finn Keane, A.G. Cook, Omer Fedi, Blake Slatkin and performed by Charli xcx; “Glue Song” written and performed by Beabadoobee; and “Murder on the Dancefloor” written and performed by Sophie Ellis-Bextor with co-writer Gregg Alexander.
“Too Sweet” written and performed by Hozier with co-writers Stuart Johnson, Pete G, and Daniel Bekon, and “Turn Yo Clic Up” written by Sluzyyy, Atake, Macshooter, Baso Beats and performed by Future and Quavo, were also awarded.
Atli Örvarsson won seven awards for his work in network television and streaming for Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago P. D., FBI, FBI: International, FBI: Most Wanted and Apple TV’s Silo, bringing his total to 54 BMI awards.
Other composers recognized include Tom Howe for Paramount+ series Knuckles and Apple TV’s Shrinking, while Sola Akingbola received a BMI network TV award for Bob Hearts Abishola. BMI theatrical film awards went to Harry Gregson-Williams for Gladiator II and Hildur Guðnadóttir for her work on Joker: Folie à Deux.
A complete list of 2025 winners will soon be available on the BMI London Awards’ website.
