Victor Finn's IMRO years earn an Ivors Academy Honour

Presented in London on 1 October, it comes as he prepares to retire at the end of 2027 after growing IMRO's membership from 7,500 to more than 35,000.

The Ivors Academy Honours 2026 were presented on 1 October at the InterContinental London Park Lane. Among the seven people recognised was Victor Finn, chief executive of the Irish Music Rights Organisation, for nearly two decades' leadership in championing songwriters, composers and music publishers.

Under Finn, IMRO has strengthened creators' rights and copyright protections and grown its membership from 7,500 to more than 35,000. He plans to retire at the end of 2027 and received the honour ahead of that departure — a public marker of work still under way rather than a farewell speech.

The evening was the second staging of the Honours and brought together more than 400 guests from the global music community. Tom Gray, chair of The Ivors Academy, pointed to the thread running through the list: work that supports songwriters and composers, whether from the stage, the festival field, the studio, the publishing desk or the collecting society.

Seven names, one craft

James Blake was honoured for his artistry and his advocacy for songwriters. Emily Eavis, who organises Glastonbury Festival, was recognised for championing emerging talent. Stormzy was cited for his influence on British music and the opportunities he has opened for others. MNEK received the honour for songwriting and producing and for LGBTQIA+ advocacy. Chris Meehan, chief executive of Sentric Music, was recognised for accessible publishing. Broadcaster Annie Macmanus completed the seven.

Placing Finn in that company underlines what a collecting society does for the records listeners know by heart. The catalogues that fill Irish airtime — British and Irish pop and rock, the voices and the writers behind them — depend on organisations that stand up for creators' rights and keep copyright protections in force. Membership climbing past 35,000 is the concrete measure of how many songwriters, composers and publishers now sit inside that system, compared with the far smaller base of 7,500 from which Finn's growth began.

For a readership that lives with those catalogues every day, the honour lands close to home. IMRO sits at the centre of how writers and publishers are paid and protected. Expanding that membership is not ceremonial; it is the difference between a narrow circle and a living network that can carry new voices as well as established ones.

What the night leaves open

Finn remains in post into 2027. The honour does not name a successor or set out a change of direction; it records nearly two decades of expansion and rights work while he is still the person responsible. For songwriters and publishers who deal with IMRO day to day, the practical questions — continuity of service, the next chief executive, how the growth is locked in — will be answered in the months ahead, not on a Park Lane stage.

The Ivors Academy Honours are not a competitive award night. They sit apart from ranked shortlists. Their purpose, as framed by the Academy's chair on the night, is to recognise people who have shifted the ground under writers and composers. On that measure Finn's inclusion is straightforward: more members, stronger protections, and an Irish organisation whose reach is now visible in a London room of more than 400.

The songs keep coming only if the people who write them are paid and protected. Finn's honour is a rare public nod to that side of the bargain — and a reminder that the infrastructure of British and Irish music is still being built, one membership and one rights fight at a time.