Music Week has announced this year’s Roll Of Honour, in association with TikTok, for our Women In Music Awards 2021.
There are 14 names on this year’s list, drawn from all sectors of the music industry and all with tremendous achievements to celebrate. They join the pantheon of previous honorees, including some of the biggest names in the business, from Emma Banks and Sarah Stennett to Kanya King, Rebecca Allen and Stacey Tang, that have been selected since the awards began in 2014.
In the run-up to the ceremony at the Park Lane Hilton on October 22, here's a chance to learn more about this year's Roll Of Honour inductees. Today, we're introducing MJ Olaore...
MJ is the chief operating officer of the BPI, the trade body for the recorded music industry championing the interests of more than 500 independent music companies, and the UK’s major record companies: Universal Music UK, Sony Music UK, and Warner Music UK.
As BPI COO, MJ serves as a BPI council board member and is responsible for the BPI’s day to day operational and commercial management, HR matters, and financial affairs. Her responsibilities also extend to managing multiple aspects of BPI events and charities including The BRIT Awards, Mercury Prize, and The BRIT Trust. MJ leads on the BPI’s work to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), which involves representing BPI on UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce and overseeing a BPI & BRIT Awards study that looks into the impact of gender on a career as a recording artist in the UK. MJ is also spearheading the BPI’s drive towards embracing sustainability and carbon footprint reduction.
This November, MJ will have been at BPI for five years, joining from her previous role as chief operating officer at the leading independent market research company Firefish. During her time at Firefish, MJ was instrumental in managing the growth of the company from a single entity to a seven-company group, setting up operations in the USA, Singapore, and the Netherlands, to add to the UK base.
MJ grew up in Nigeria and Scotland, studied Law at Liverpool University, and then joined Price Waterhouse in London qualifying as an ACA. After her time with PWC, including a period working in their Singapore office, MJ joined Independent Television News, her first foray into the media and entertainment sector which has shaped her career ever since. From ITN, MJ moved to LBC radio, in which ITN was a major shareholder, expanding her initial finance role to become station director, overseeing the broadcasting and advertising sales contracts with its major shareholders. MJ’s next media position was at Virgin Radio where she further added to her remit with IT and broadcast engineering, strategy and research, legal, and facilities, as director of finance and operations.
The Women In Music awards, sponsored by YouTube Music, comprises the Roll Of Honour and an additional 12 categories, including the all-new Entrepreneur Award which recognises a woman who has been the driving force in founding and/or building a business, displaying considerable innovation and success.
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