News - Abbey Road Music Photography Awards

The Abbey Road Music Photography Awards are BACK

ABBEY ROAD ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FIFTH EDITION OF ITS CELEBRATED MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2026

DELIVERED BY DHL

AWARDS CEREMONY WILL TAKE PLACE ON THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER

[London, Tuesday 19 May 2026] Abbey Road Studios has today announced the highly anticipated fifth edition of its celebrated Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, which is now open for submissions. The MPAs is the only global music photography competition - championing, empowering and showcasing the worldwide community of music photographers, and is supported by headline partner DHL. The MPAs is free to enter and open to all levels of experience. The winners of this year’s MPAs will be revealed at the official awards celebration on Thursday 24 September at Abbey Road.

The fifth edition of the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards

The studio’s Managing Director Sally Davies, says: “There’s something incredibly powerful about music photography, it captures a feeling, a moment, a piece of culture that might otherwise be lost. Those images stay with us and often become part of how we remember music itself. For me, the Music Photography Accelerator is about making sure we’re giving equal recognition to the creatives behind the lens. It’s a platform to celebrate talent at every level, and to create opportunities for photographers to develop, connect and be seen. Reaching our fifth anniversary is a proud moment. It speaks to the strength of the community around the programme, and to the importance of continuing to support and champion the next generation of photographers.”

The judging panel is led by MPA head judge and co-founder, British photographer, publisher, and film director Rankin (Madonna, Bjork, Miley Cyrus), alongside music icon and special guest judge Nile Rodgers, seven time BRIT Awards winner RAYE, acclaimed Italian singer-songwriter and Måneskin frontman Damiano David, world-renowned portrait and documentary photographer Platon (Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Muhammad Ali), music, fashion and culture photographer Dean Chalkley (Liam Gallagher, Daft Punk), Dennis Morris (Bob Marley, The Sex Pistols) who captured some of the most defining music moments of all time, and Abbey Road’s multi award-winning Producer In Residence Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, Kings of Leon). Frontwoman of the Mercury Prize winning English Teacher, Lily Fontaine, previous MPAs finalist Phoebe Fox (Arctic Monkeys, Florence + The Machine), U.S. photographer Jackie Lee Young (Leon Bridges, Khruangbin), Japanese-American singer-songwriter and cultural icon, Hikaru Utada, and guest judge Simon Wheatley (Don’t Call Me Urban) complete the diverse and talented group of judges for 2026.

Lily Fontaine

Nile Rodgers

Damiano David

Platon

The shortlisting panel of photographic and creative experts is led by MPA Chief Shortlister & Global Ambassador Sacha Lecca (Rolling Stone U.S.), with London based photographer and previous MPAs winner Andreia Lemos (Wolf Alice, Sleaford Mods, Amyl and the Sniffers), NYC based music and portrait photographer Rich Fury (Madison Square Garden / Sphere), and Bristol based Khali Ackford (Turnstile, Kneecap). Brooklyn based photographer Ebru Yildiz, (Interpol, Sharon Van Etten) and The Standard’s Head of Design, Ped Millichamp complete the shortlisting panel.

MPA head judge Rankin says: “It’s a brilliant milestone for the MPAs to reach its fifth year, celebrating the year’s defining music images and championing exceptional photographers from across the global music photography community. With another stellar judging panel joining us, I can’t wait to get stuck in and review the 2026 submissions. What are you waiting for?!”

Introducing This Year’s ICON Award Winner

California native and New York City resident Roberta Bayley (Iggy Pop, Blondie/Debbie Harry, The Ramones) has been confirmed as the recipient of this year’s ICON award. Arriving in New York in the spring of 1974, Bayley soon began working the door at New York’s legendary punk club, CBGBs. She started photographing the musicians who played there and soon went to work as chief photographer for Punk magazine, which gave the movement its name. She is one of the main photographers to visually chronicle the early punk rock scene, from 1975 through the ‘80s. Among the artists Bayley has photographed are Iggy Pop, the Ramones, Debbie Harry and Blondie, Richard Hell, Elvis Costello, the Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, Ian Dury, Brian Eno, Nick Lowe, The Damned, The Clash, The Dead Boys, X-Ray Spex, Squeeze, and a reunited New York Dolls. Bayley's photographs are featured in countless books and magazines on punk. She co-wrote Patti Smith: An Unauthorized Biography (Simon & Schuster, 1996) and published her own book on Blondie titled Blondie Unseen (Plexus, 2006).

Blondie, 7th Avenue (1978) and Debbie Harry, HOG 3/4 (1978) / Image credits Roberta Bayley

Speaking about receiving this year’s ICON award,Roberta says: “I am very honored to be receiving the Abbey Road ICON award, especially to be in the company of such great photographers as David Bailey, Anton Corbijn and Jill Furmanovsky. This New York punk has come a long way!!”

Introducing our DHL partnership

Launched in 2022, the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards was rapidly embraced by the photography community and has grown into a year-round, multi-layered platform for growth and opportunity. The awards now form the leading element of the Abbey Road Music Photography Accelerator, which encompasses events, exhibitions, workshops, learning resources and much more; all designed to champion and empower photography talent.

Abbey Road is thrilled to announce DHL as the headline partner of the Abbey Road Music Photography Accelerator, marking an exciting expansion of their existing five-year collaboration. Building on a shared commitment to supporting creative talent, the partnership broadens its focus from empowering artists to championing a global community of music photographers within the Accelerator. DHL will enable international growth of the MPA, creating new opportunities for photographers worldwide. Together, Abbey Road and DHL will share music moments from local scenes across the globe, connecting fans on every continent with the stories and images that define music culture today.

Elliott Santon, Head of Global Sponsorships, DHL Express, explains why DHL is partnering with the Abbey Road Music Photography Accelerator and Awards: “We are delighted to extend our long standing partnership with Abbey Road by becoming the headline partner of the Music Photography Accelerator. Abbey Road is a globally recognised powerhouse with an unparalleled ability to connect talent to international opportunity. As a brand whose core purpose is ‘connecting people, improving lives’ and enabling global exchange, this partnership is a natural fit for DHL. It allows us to support emerging creative professionals with access, infrastructure and a pathway to reach audiences around the world, while reinforcing the strength and longevity of our relationship with one of the most respected names in music.”

Abbey Road Music Photography Festival

New for 2026 is the Abbey Road Music Photography Festival which will take place in New York for its inaugural edition from Monday 25 to Saturday 30 May. The Music Photography Festival is free to access and will include professional development opportunities, ranging from conversations, masterclasses and practical workshops, to mentoring, portfolio reviews, mixers and more, all designed to equip photographers with tools, inspiration & knowledge to fuel their craft, and connect the NYC community. Alongside this, a free exhibition will showcase standout images from the past four years of the Awards, offering music and photography fans the opportunity to discover the stories behind this incredible body of work. Among the immersive experiences, the Festival will offer photo passes to some of the biggest New York gigs of the week including Chet Faker, Tempers and Dillon Francis, while workshops and conversations include Nile Rodgers, Sophie Elgort, Roberta Bayley, Sacha Lecca, Jordan Curtis Hughes, Todd Owyoung, Pooneh Ghana, Clay Patrick McBride, Jackie Lee Young, Rich Fury, A.F. Cortes, and more to be announced.

The studio’s Director of Marketing & Creative Mark Robertson says: “What a thrill to be able to launch our first ever Music Photography Festival in New York! It’s part of our wider mission to give back and create opportunity for photographers, artists and creatives of all levels. Thanks to our partners at DHL we can deliver an exhibition of some of the most awe-inspiring images that the MPAs has discovered over the last four years, as well as present workshops, conversations and experiences to inspire and empower the photography community.”

This year’s MPAs categories include eight open entry categories and two invited, in which the winners are nominated and chosen by this year’s judging panel and Abbey Road. Images entered for the open categories must have been taken in 2025, while entries to this year’s guest category, 50 Years of Punk, can be taken in any year.

Image by Inès Ziouane, winner of the MPA25 Festivals category

This year’s Invited Categories

Judges Choice
ICON

Good Luck from team MPA