Music industry legend Irving Azoff will be honored at the 2016 Pre-Grammy Gala at the Beverly Hilton, organizers announced today.
Azoff, chairman and CEO Azoff MSG Entertainment, will be presented with the President’s Merit Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the music industry and his numerous philanthropic endeavors.
Azoff will join previous recipients which include Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, Martin Bandier, Sir Richard Branson, Ahmet Ertegun, David Geffen, Berry Gordy, Lucian Grainge, Doug Morris, Mo Ostin, Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Clive Davis.
The action will take place at the 2016 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons event, which will again be presented by Davis and The Recording Academy on Feb. 14, 2016, a day before the 58th Grammy Awards. Sponsors of the invite-only VIP pre-Grammy party are Harman, Hilton, Hyundai and MasterCard.
Throughout his diverse career, Azoff has always been joined by, and continues to represent, the Eagles. And he’s a regular high-flier in the Billboard Power 100, topping the list in 2012 (when he was chairman/CEO Live Nation Entertainment and Front Line Management Group) and landing at No. 3 this year. “The first four decades of Irving Azoff’s career were marked by fearsome advocacy on behalf of his clients that did much to set the parameters of the music industry,” Billboard noted on his inclusion in the 2015 list.
Neil Portnow, president/CEO of The Recording Academy, echoes the sentiment. “This year,” he says in a statement, “we are proud to honor Irving Azoff — a visionary of our industry whose passion and innovation, combined with his championing some of the world’s greatest superstars, has helped to shape the musical landscape for decades.”
