AMP Awards announces 2023 shortlist

The judges’ work is done, the Curatorial Committee has weighed in and now the 2023 AMP Awards for Music & Sound has released the shortlist for its juried competition for music and sound for agencies and brands. Winners will be revealed and celebrated with a live, in-person awards gala set for Monday, May 22 at Sony Hall in New York City. 

In addition to announcing its shortlisted entries, the AMP Awards also saluted the work of its 2023 Curatorial Committee, which convened under the leadership of AMP Awards Show Chair Leanne Amann, Group Creative Director at Anomaly, to confirm all category winners and select the coveted Ryan Barkan Best in Show Award winner. To view all AMP Awards Shortlisted entries, go here; the full AMP Awards shortlist can be found here.

Leading the roster of shortlist-nominated companies is the ad agency Anomaly and Yessian Music, both of which scored five shortlisted entries. Anomaly was shortlisted twice in two different categories: In Best Artist + Brand Collaboration, it was shortlisted for its Crown Royal “Dave Grohl / Donna Grantis ‘O Canada’” spot and for its “Bottle Beats” spot for Johnnie Walker, while “Bottle Beats” and “Fabric of Life,” also for Johnnie Walker, were shortlisted in the category of Outstanding Mix. Its fifth shortlist entry, again for “Fabric of Life,” came in the David & Jan Horowitz Award for Best Original Score category. 

Yessian earned three shortlisted entries for its “Jazz Bath” project for State Farm, in the categories of Most Innovative Process & Execution, Best Use of Music in New Media Marketing and Excellence in Audio Only Marketing. It was also shortlisted for its “DYC ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’” entry for the Detroit Youth Choir in the Outstanding Adaptation/Arrangement category and for “Google Play ‘Diablo Immortal’” in the Best Sound Design Category.

Other companies scoring multiple shortlisted entries were Antfood, Human and Townhouse, which each notched three entries on the shortlist, and 72andSunny, Deutsch LA, Found Objects Music Productions, Mophonics, Music and Strategy (MAS), Sonic Lens Agency and Squeak E. Clean Studios, which each earned two shortlisted spots. 

Also represented on the AMP Awards Shortlist were entries from ABKCO Music + Records, BUTTER Music + Sound, Droga5, Duotone Audio Group, Groove Guild, Heavy Duty Projects, Howling Music, Marc Algranti Music, Made Music Studio, Nettwerk Music Group, Q Department, Quiet City Music + Sound, Radish Music, TBWA\Media Arts Lab and Zync / Round Hill Music. 

The AMP Awards finalists across all 13 categories were reviewed late last month by the competition’s Curatorial Committee, who determined whether each finalist met their respective categories' judging criteria before voting on the Best in Show winner. Participating in the discussions, in addition to Anomaly’s Leanne Amann, were Beliansh Assefa, Music Producer, Townhouse; Dan Burt, Associate Director Music Production/Supervision, Wunderman Thompson NY; Mary Crosse, Independent Executive Producer; Keith D’Arcy, SVP, Sync & Creative Services, Warner Chappell Music; Ben Dorenfeld, Director of Music, Anomaly; Damien Escobar, SVP, Director of Music and Culture, Arnold; Paul Greco, Executive Director of Music & Audio, Wunderman Thompson NY; Carolyn Hill, Executive Content Agent, Carolyn Reps; Julie Hurwitz, President, Global Synch and Creative Operations, Hipgnosis Song Management; Jamie Jou, Director of Music, BA Licensing, McCann NY; Mike Ladman, Music Supervisor, Droga5; Patrick Oliver, Music Supervisor, Pretty Good Songs; Brandy Ricker, Independent Music Supervisor; Jessica Shaw, SVP, Sync Licensing, Sony Music Entertainment; Stephen Stallings, Executive Music Producer, Dentsu Creative; and Nick von Zumwalt, Sr. Music Supervisor, Movers+Shakers.

Tickets for the 2023 AMP Awards will be on sale soon. Price is $195 for non-AMP members, $175 for AMP members. The event takes place on Monday, May 22 at Sony Hall, 235 W 46 Street, with the doors opening at 6:45 pm and the presentation kicking off at 8 pm. Dubbed ‘the loudest show in the industry,’ the presentation will also feature live music performances and extensive cocktail party chatter to tunes being spun by Hang the DJ.