Anastacia receives her World Music Award (Best Selling New Female Pop Artist) from presenter / actress Carmen Elektra

Monaco - Wednesday 2nd May 2001

Lucky 13 For Monaco’s World Music Awards

The Beatles won two awards at the annual World Music Awards (WMA) held in the Sporting Club, Monaco May 2^nd. In its 13^th year, the WMA’s recognise the best selling artists around the world based on statistics supplied by the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI).

The Beatles won awards for The World's Best Selling Pop/Rock Group & British Group on the back of global sales for their No. 1 compilation released last autumn. They were not present to receive the award !  

Ireland's Enya also picked up two awards  in the New Age artist & Irish artist categories. picked up two awards each. Other awards went to Carlos Santana (Rock artist/Group) and Anastacia (New Female Pop artist). Rod Stewart picked up the Diamond Platinum lifetime achievement award in recognition of career sales of more than 100 million units world-wide.

"The uniqueness of this ceremony is that it is based on actual sales figures of albums sold around the world, and in that respect its a true barometer of people going & buying music," Rupert Perry, Senior Vice-President World-wide EMI Music. International award winners included Yannick (African artist), Cheb Mami (Arabic artist), Ayumi Hamasaki (Asian artist), Elva (Chinese artist), Savage Garden (Australian Group), Alsou (Russian artist) and B2 (Russian Group).

European winners included Peter Maffay (German artist), Pur (German group) and Eros Ramazzotti (Italian artist).The spectacle in the recently revamped Monaco Sporting Club is co-presented by actress Carmen Elektra and R&B artist Sisqo. Proceeds from ticket sales to the show go to a Moanco based Children’s charity Monaco Aide Presence whose patron the heredatary heir Prince Albert is also patron of the World Music Awards.

The show is recorded for television broadcast in 160 countries world-wide in May & June. "It is the only European awards show to air prime time in the US," says WMA Head of Media Relations Richard Barnes for executive producers Marcor International, adding "(UK radio production house & syndicator) Unique Broadcasting syndicate reports on the show to 23 million radio listeners world-wide."

The show will air in the US on the ABC Television Network May 28^th during peak time. Last years airing on the same date garnered a 6.1% Neilsen rating (11% share), just behind NBC’s flagship news programme Dateline with 6.3% (12% share). Carlton Television own UK rights. It will air nationally on the ITV Network May 24^th in Britain.

Hear about the World Music Awards from the perspective of top music industry executives on Caroline South, Sunday May 6th 2001 between 22.00 - 23.00 CET