Raye Honoured by Ivors Academy for Songwriter Advocacy
Pop star Raye will be honoured by the Ivors Academy this October in London for her work pushing for better treatment of songwriters and composers.
The 27-year-old singer, born Rachel Agatha Keen, will receive the Ivors Academy Honour for using her platform to call for fairer pay and more transparency between artists and record labels. The award follows her appearance at the Ivors 2024 ceremony, where she urged music executives to properly value “the voiceless beating heart of the industry, which is songwriters.”
Known for hits like Prada and Escapism, 
Raye has become a prominent voice for change in the music industry. Roberto Neri, chief executive of The Ivors Academy, called her “one of the most gifted songwriters of her generation,” praising her for always championing fellow writers and pushing for structural reform.
The Ivors Academy Honour recognises those who actively support songwriters and composers and work to make the industry more inclusive. Previous recipients include Carla Marie Williams, Rupert Hine, Sir Michael Eavis, and Jo Whiley.
A BRIT School graduate, Raye signed with Polydor Records as a teen and went on to write for Beyoncé and Rihanna while featuring on hits by David Guetta and Jax Jones. Despite her success behind the scenes, her solo work was sidelined. In 2021, she publicly criticised her label for delaying her debut album.
By 2022, she had gone independent. Her track Escapism with 070 Shake went viral on TikTok and hit number one in the UK. She followed it with My 21st Century Blues in 2023, which reached number two and cemented her status as both a breakthrough solo artist and a bold industry advocate.