Dutch photographer, filmmaker, and music video director Anton Corbijn will be presented with the Icon Award at the annual Abbey Road Music Photography Awards.
Corbijn has photographed numerous notable subjects over the course of his 40-plus-year photography career, including Tom Waits, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Ian Curtis, Clint Eastwood, Bryan Adams, Cameron Diaz, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Joni Mitchell, Robert De Niro, Gerhard Richter, Ai Weiwei, and Lucian Freud. He is considered to be the house photographer for U2 and Depeche Mode, and has shot both artists for several decades. He has directed music videos for artists like U2, Depeche Mode, Nirvana, Metallica, Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, Arcade Fire, Coldplay, and The Killers.
“Photographing musicians was a love that became a full-on mission in the early ‘70s,” Corbijn said in a statement. “From hanging around the front of the stage to being 100 percent in charge, it’s been an exciting place to be. I like to think I evolved over the years, but I am still excited by music and photographing musicians now and then. To receive recognition from a body that contains the name of Abbey Road and with some of my peers as judges, I can only be grateful! Thank you!”
Abbey Road’s Director of Marketing & Creative, Mark Robertson, added, “Anton Corbijn’s work has been part of the cultural fabric of modern music for over five decades. His photography doesn’t just document — it defines, it innovates, and it inspires artists, fans and photographers alike. At Abbey Road, we’re thrilled to celebrate a true icon whose artistry continues to influence.”
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Previous winners of the Icon Award, selected by the Music Photography Awards’ judging panel, include Jill Furmanovsky in 2024, Henry Diltz in 2023, and Eric Johnson in 2022. This year’s judging panel include Rankin, Nile Rodgers, Eric Burton, Joe Keery, Scarlet Page, Dimitri From Paris, Julia Cumming, and Simon Wheatley.
Abbey Road Music Photography Awards will be held at Abbey Road Studios in London on Oct. 2. The awards were founded in 2022 and span numerous categories, most of which are open for public entry. Last year, the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards attracted more than 22,000 entries from 30 different countries. This year’s awards will feature two new categories: Portrait and Festivals. Nominees for the remaining categories will be announced in September.
