2024 Sona Warrior Awards To Honor Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, Andrea Martin, Thomas Scherer, Raye, And Ross Golan

Songwriters of North America has announced that Willie "Prophet" Stiggers, the legacy of late songwriter Andrea Martin, Thomas Scherer, RAYE, and Ross Golan will be honored at its fourth annual SONA Warrior Awards gala on October 6, at 7 p.m. at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, CA. 

Known as the most “songwriter-ly” night of the year the SONA Warrior Awards celebrate music and the people who create it, mirroring SONA's mission to be an authentic, inclusive community that brings together passionate creatives, as well as songwriter advocates and allies. 

“We created the Warrior Award to honor and thank those starlit humans who use their platforms to speak up and speak out for songwriters," said Michelle Lewis, SONA's chief executive officer. "We call our honorees ‘Warriors' — these incredible artists, executives, activists and of course songwriters — to echo what one of our greatest living American songwriters, Paul Williams, calls songwriter advocates: warriors for the light.” 

Williams was honored four years ago with the first Warrior Award, and since then, the annual Warrior Awards “has become known as one of the most heartfelt and inspiring events in the music industry, run by songwriters and for songwriters,” explains Lewis. “We hope it is meaningful for those being honored to know that these awards are not given for charts or numbers, and that the only measure we use is gratitude for the often thankless and unseen work they've done.” 

Lifelong activist Willie “Prophet” Stiggers is the co-founder, CEO and president of the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC). BMAC is an organization that advocates for racial equity and justice within the music industry on behalf of Black artists, songwriters, producers, managers,

agents, executives, lawyers and more, and it represents over 200 music managers and industry professionals. 

“I am deeply honored to receive the SONA Warrior Award,” Prophet said. “It is powerful to be acknowledged by my fellow justice warriors as we fight on the front lines together and work to protect artists and create access, opportunity and economic accountability in the music industry. I receive this with tremendous gratitude and look forward to continuing our work together.” 

The late singer-songwriter Andrea Martin is best known for composing En Vogue's Soul Train Award-winning hit single “Don't Let Go (Love)” as well as Angie Stone's “Wish I Didn't Miss You” and Leona Lewis' “Better in Time.” She also wrote “I Love Me Some Him” for Toni Braxton and “Before You Walk Out of My Life” for Monica, and “It Kills Me” by Melanie Fiona. Also a recording artist, Martin had moderate success with her own singles, “Let Me Return the Favor” and “Share the Love” in the late 1990s. 

“Andrea Martin was one of the greatest talents of our time,” said Autumn Rowe, GRAMMY-winning songwriter, producer and board member of SONA. “Her writing, voice and personality made an impact on every room she entered. I am very pleased Andrea will be honored at this year's SONA Warrior awards. Her legacy shall live forever.” 

Thomas Scherer has been with BMG and its parent company Bertelsmann for almost three decades as an artist, songwriter, music publisher, music producer, label owner, and executive. Under his leadership, BMG has signed and re-signed writers in the U.S., among them Diane Warren, Bebe Rexha, and Lewis Capaldi, and has secured more than 50 acquisitions, among them Mötley Crüe, Paul Simon, Five Finger Death Punch, and Gucci Mane. In January, Scherer was appointed president of global catalog recordings, while retaining his responsibilities as president of music publishing in North America. 

“Receiving the SONA Warrior Award is a profound honor, recognizing not just our work with songwriters but the power of their songs to uplift and inspire,” Scherer said. “I am proud to be in good partnership with SONA's previous notable honorees.” 

British singer-songwriter RAYE has eight Top 20 U.K. singles, 5 billion global Spotify streams and an Ivor Novello Award under her belt, as well as a track record of writing for the industry's biggest names. This year RAYE, the first woman to win Songwriter of the Year, also made history at the BRIT Awards with an astounding six wins (including Best Artist, Best Album, Best Song and Best Songwriter) and seven nominations, the most anyone has ever received in one year. Her global smash “Escapism” was the largest selling single by a female British artist in 2023, becoming her first U.K. No. 1 and landing on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S., where it's since been certified platinum. A true "Warrior," Raye overcame years of contention with her record label before being freed from her contract, allowing her to keep the songs she had written. She went on to release her critically acclaimed debut album independently, with "Escapism" going viral on TikTok and then to number one. Most recently, RAYE has released her genre-defying opus Genesis, which continues to shine a light on RAYE's ability to break boundaries on her own terms. 

"I'm so honoured to be given the Warrior Award and I will treasure this very much,” RAYE said. “Being recognised as a songwriter is so important to me as this is a craft I am so passionate about and have been since I started my journey as a musician. It's an honour to receive this acknowledgement within a community that I value so highly and all I can add to that is that I will continue to do my part in advocating for songwriters especially those who aren't artists, who's sole income depends on radio success and hope that we can one day see the respect songwriters deserve reflect in pay (which is currently £0), from the major record labels who's entire business is selling SONGS." 

Multi-platinum songwriter and advocate Ross Golan is the host of the podcast And the Writer Is, which has become the preeminent interview for the music industry's most accomplished songwriters. His advocacy assisted in passing The Music Modernization Act, adding songwriters to and abolishing the 33 percent rule for the Grammys' Album of the Year category, and he served as the first songwriter on the board of the National Music Publishers Association. 

“SONA is a beacon for songwriters not just in North America, but for everywhere music is written," Golan said. “I'm honored to be recognized for this year's SONA Warrior Award presented by our community's truest warriors.” 

Tickets for the event are on sale now, here. 

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