Songwriter extraordinaire Diane Warren and operatic prima donna Anna Netrebko have been named the Laureates for the 2020 Polar Music Prize, an award founded in 1989 by Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, the manager and music publisher of ABBA. Traditionally, it is awarded to a person from the pop world and one from the classical or jazz genre. Previous winners of the Polar Music Prize include Sting, Elton John, Metallica, Ennio Morricone, Led Zeppelin, Paul Simon, Björk, Wayne Shorter, Patti Smith, Dizzy Gillespie...

Grandmaster Flash, one of the architects of hip-hop, accepted the prestigious Polar Music Prize from the hands of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on tuesday. Grandmaster Flash acknowledged his mother for encouraging him to study electronics and his father for inspiring him with his impressive collection of records, which he wasn’t allowed […]

Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and music charity the Playing for Change Foundation have been named recipients of the 2019 Polar music prize. The Swedish award is considered the music world’s equivalent of the Nobel prize. Previous laureates include Metallica (2018), producer Max Martin (2016), György Ligeti (2004) and Joni Mitchell (1996). Abba manager […]