FAQs for the 2026 Competition

The Abbey Road Music Photography Accelerator is a year-round programme supporting music photographers at all levels. It includes the annual Music Photography Awards, as well as exhibitions, festivals, events, workshops, and learning resources designed to develop and showcase talent.

Entrants must be over the age of 18 to enter each of the eight open categories – (1) Live Music, (2) Underground Scenes, (3) Behind the Scenes, (4) Music Moment of the Year, (5) Portrait, (6) Festivals, (7) Emerging Photographer of the Year and (8) this year's Guest Category: 50 Years of Punk.

We are aware of the level of talent that exists outside of the age requirement to enter the competition. We continue to look at ways to spotlight and increase opportunities within this space.

There are ten categories in total. There are eight open-entry categories: Live Music, Underground Scenes, Behind the Scenes, Music Moment of the Year, Portrait, Festivals, Emerging Photographer of the Year and this year's Guest Category: 50 Years of Punk.

There are also two invited categories which are not open for entries: Judges’ Choice and ICON.

There are ten categories across two areas:

Open categories are available for anyone aged 18+ to enter.

Invited categories are selected by the judging panel and are not open for public submission.

Click the “Enter Now” button to access the competition. You’ll be prompted to login or create an account. Once logged in, select your chosen category, upload your photographs, and submit your entry. Please review the category requirements before submitting.

You must submit your entry between 00:01 (UK time) on 19 May 2026 and 23:59 (UK time) on 30 June 2026.

Entries are open only to residents of eligible countries. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for the full list of eligible countries. We’re pleased to be expanding eligibility this year to include additional countries.

It’s completely free to enter the competition.

For Live Music, Portrait, Festivals, and Behind the Scenes you will need to submit between three (3) and five (5) photographs from 2025. All images in your submission will be considered for the category award. If you are successful, the shortlisting panel will choose one of these photographs to go forward to the judging panel.

For Emerging Photographer of the Year you will need to submit five (5) photographs from 2025. If you are successful, the Shortlisting Panel will submit all five photographs to go before the Judging Panel.

For Underground Scenes you will need to submit between three (3) and five (5) photographs from 2025. If you are successful, the Shortlisting Panel will submit all photographs to go before the Judging Panel.

For Music Moment of the Year you will need to submit three (3) photographs from 2025. All images in your submission will be considered for the category award. If you are successful, the shortlisting panel will choose one of these photographs to go forward to the judging panel.

For our guest category 50 Years of Punk, you will need to submit between three (3) and five (5) photographs. Images in this category are not required to have been taken in 2025 and can be from any year. All images in your submission will be considered for the category award. If you are successful, the shortlisting panel will choose one of these photographs to go before the judging panel.

Yes, you can enter multiple categories. You can only enter once per category.

You can enter the same photograph(s) into multiple categories if your photo(s) meets the criteria for each category.

The Awards are an annual competition celebrating music photography from the previous calendar year. For the 2026 Awards, entries must have been taken between 1 January and 31 December 2025. The exception is the Guest Category, 50 Years of Punk, which accepts images from any year.

Absolutely! Shortlisted entrants from previous years are welcome to enter again, and we encourage you to submit new work.

Of course! Winners from any year are welcome to enter again.

Yes, photographers of all levels are encouraged to enter the competition!

Unfortunately, no changes can be made after submission. Please review your entry carefully before finalising it.

Entries cannot be edited once submitted. However, you can submit a new entry to the correct category. If you need to withdraw an incorrect entry, please contact mpa@abbeyroad.com

You’ll receive a confirmation email shortly after submitting. If you don’t see it, check your junk mail and ensure your email address was correct. Any concerns? Reach out to us at mpa@abbeyroad.com

You must be the sole copyright owner of the photographs, and the photographs must not infringe any right of any third party. Ownership of the copyright in any entry submitted to the Competition will remain with the copyright owner.

As per the terms of entry, any submitted photographs may be used for the purposes of promoting the competition by Abbey Road or its competition partners and / or sponsors. For more information see the Terms and Conditions.

Your photographs may be used on the MPA, Abbey Road and competition sponsors websites, social media, PR, broadcast, newsletters, podcasts, publications and included in any promotional or branded videos related to the competition, and in physical and digital exhibitions, as well as by online, print and broadcast media reporting on the competition and its entrants, finalists and winners.

Due to the number of entries, we’re unable to provide individual feedback.

Abbey Road Studios Music Photography Awards were created to celebrate and showcase photography and the photographers behind the lens who capture these moments.

We continue to support and embrace innovation and the use of innovative techniques, and we recognise that AI tools are used in elements of the photographic process. We’re excited about the ways AI can assist creators in moving culture forward and help photographers at all levels improve the quality of their work while extending principles of artistic authenticity.

At Abbey Road we are exploring ways to ensure that generative AI rewards the people whose intellectual property is fuelling AI’s output. At present, as it is not possible to accurately determine the ownership of the source assets that are used to train AI models, any images that have been created by a generative AI platform are not admissible into this year’s Awards.

The Promoter reserves the right to test all photographs using AI detection software.

Each photograph must be between 1MB and 10MB in file size and submitted in JPEG or PNG format.

If selected for shortlisting or as a winner, you must be able to provide a high-resolution, print-quality version of your image in TIFF or JPEG format. Files must be at least 10MB and no larger than 500MB and should match the colour and cropping of the image submitted at entry.

Please check the file size between 1-10MB, format .JPEG or .PNG, and that your file name contains only letters and numbers, with no special characters.

If you’re still experiencing problems, contact mpa@abbeyroad.com before the submission deadline.

To find out more about our judging panel head to our competition page.

There are two rounds of judging, round one is led by the Shortlisting Panel and the second by Judging Panel.

We appoint a panel of judges to review submitted entries. The Shortlisting Panel and the Judging Panel will create a shortlist, selecting the finalists and winners across the categories. Entries are judged on subject matter, technical skill, creativity, approach, relevance to the category, and narrative. Judges consider both the strength of individual images and the overall submission where applicable.

Head to the Categories Page to see the prize details listed underneath each category.

All open entry finalists will be notified in advance of the Awards Ceremony and will be invited to attend the ceremony on Thursday 24 September 2026 at Abbey Road. Attendance is optional and will be at the sole cost and expense of the finalist.

Winners will be announced at the Abbey Road Music Photography ceremony hosted at Abbey Road on Thursday 24 September 2026.

Attendance is by invitation only. All finalists will be invited to attend the Awards ceremony at Abbey Road.

The Abbey Road Music Photography Awards 2026 takes place on Thursday 24 September 2026 at Abbey Road.

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