ABBEY ROAD MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
1. The Rules
Before entering the Competition, please read these terms and conditions (“Rules”) carefully.
By entering the Competition, you (“Entrant”, “you”, “yours”) accept the Rules and indicate your full and unconditional agreement to them.
In these Rules, words in the singular include the plural and in the plural include the singular (as far as the context admits).
Any words following the terms: “including”, “include”, “in particular”, “for example” or any similar expression are illustrative and do not limit the sense of the preceding words.
2. Promoter
Promoter of the Competition is Virgin Records Limited, t/a Abbey Road Studios, with its registered office address at 4 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG (company number: 01070953) (“Promoter”, “we”, “us”, “ours”).
Promoter’s decisions are final and binding in all matters relating to the Competition.
If you have any queries in relation to the Competition, please contact Promoter at: mpa@abbeyroad.com
3. Competition
The Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, hereinafter referred to as the “Competition”.
4. How to enter
There is no fee to enter the Competition and no purchase is necessary.
To enter, you must visit abbeyroadmusicphotographyawards.com/ (“Website”), follow all onscreen instructions and register for an account by entering your name, email address and the country of your primary residence.
After registering your email address, you will receive an automatic registration email to that email address to verify your account.
You must follow the submission instructions contained on the Website and upload your Photographs (as further defined) directly to the Website through the upload portal (“Entry”).
After clicking “submit”, you are officially entered into the pool of eligible Entries and will be deemed to have accepted these Rules and to have consented to the processing of your personal data for the purposes of the Competition in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Rule 16.
5. Competition Entry Period
You must submit your entry between 00:01 GMT on 19 May 2026 and 23:59 GMT on 30 June 2026 (“Competition Entry Period”).
Entries received after the end of the Competition Entry Period will be automatically disqualified.
6. Eligibility
Entrants must be 18 years or over to enter the Competition.
Entrants must have one of the following countries as their primary country or region of residence:
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
Costa Rica
Croatia
Denmark
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Malaysia
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Philippines
Romania
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Ukraine
U.K.
U.S.
All Entries from other countries will be ineligible for entry.
Entrants must not be restricted by any third-party agreement from entering this Competition.
By entering the Competition, you confirm that you are eligible to do so as required by these Rules, and that you are eligible to claim any Prize you may win.
You acknowledge and agree that Promoter may require you to provide proof of your eligibility and you agree to provide such proof on Promoter’s request.
Employees of Promoter and/or any UMG Company, or any of a UMG Company’s advertising and promotion agencies, and any other individual or company involved in the development or execution of the Competition and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible to enter or win.
7. Entry Requirements
One Entry is permitted per person per category.
Each Entry must contain photographs taken between 1st January and 31st December 2025 except for the guest category: 50 Years of Punk where an Entry need not have been taken in 2025 (each a “Photograph”).
All Photographs must be authentic and taken by the Entrant using a camera device.
Any computer-generated images, or images created by or incorporating any generative AI are ineligible for submission to the Competition and will be void.
It is acknowledged and agreed that, whilst the incorporation of generative AI is prohibited, the use of industry standard AI-powered enhancement tools and features integrated into software or cloud based systems in the ordinary course of editing to enhance but not materially alter or create new content that does not exist in the original image shall not be considered a breach of the Rules.
Each Entrant will be required to provide the following information in relation to each Photograph:
a description of the Photograph, including when and where taken;
details of the camera device used; and
the context for capturing the Photograph.
Photographs must be between 1MB and 10MB in file size and should be submitted in JPEG or PNG format only.
Promoter shall be entitled to test all Photographs using AI detection software.
If your Entry is successful (in the case of the Underground Scenes category) or is selected for shortlisting, you must provide RAW files (or original JPEG/TIFF) for metadata analysis.
Any Entry that cannot be authenticated, is found to have been computer generated or created by a generative AI platform or is not of an acceptable quality in line with the other requirements of the Rules will be disqualified.
You must also be able to provide a high resolution print-quality image file if your Photograph is selected for shortlisting or as a Winner.
This should be either a TIFF or JPEG. Files must not be smaller than 10MB but should not exceed 500MB.
Photographs must not contain material which:
is discriminatory, obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory;
may (in Promoter’s opinion) cause any harm or detriment to Promoter’s reputation or the reputation of Promoter or any UMG Company;
contains sexually explicit material; or
promotes any illegal activity.
8. Categories for Submission
The Competition is comprised of eight categories.
1. LIVE MUSIC (Sponsored by Hydro Flask)
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Entries must be Photographs related to live music performance.
A minimum of three and maximum of five Photographs must be submitted.
2. BEHIND THE SCENES
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Entries must be related to making music.
A minimum of three and maximum of five Photographs must be submitted.
3. UNDERGROUND SCENES
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Submissions must be related to underground music scenes.
A minimum of three and maximum of five Photographs must be submitted.
4. EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR (Sponsored by adidas)
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Submissions must include five music photographs.
5. MUSIC MOMENT OF THE YEAR (Sponsored by Outernet London)
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Three Photographs must be submitted.
Winner selected by public vote.
6. PORTRAIT
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Entries must be related to portrait music photography.
A minimum of three and maximum of five Photographs must be submitted.
7. FESTIVALS (Sponsored by DHL)
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Entries must be related to festival photography.
A minimum of three and maximum of five Photographs must be submitted.
8. GUEST CATEGORY: 50 YEARS OF PUNK
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Entries must be related to Punk.
Photographs do not need to have been taken in 2025.
9. Criteria
The decision of the judges is final, and no discussion or correspondence with them can be entered into at any time.
Judging criteria includes:
subject matter
technical skills
approach
creativity
relevance to category
narrative
10. Winner Selection & Notification
The Entries will be shortlisted by a select Shortlisting Panel of six judges.
Finalists will be contacted by 2nd September 2026.
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London in September 2026 (“Ceremony”).
11. Requirements of Winners
Selected Winners may be required to complete:
a declaration of eligibility;
a liability/publicity release; and
a licence to use all entered Photographs.
12. Prizes
Prizes are non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
LIVE MUSIC (Sponsored by Hydro Flask)
A one-to-one virtual mentoring session with a Senior Hydro Flask Creative
A one-to-one virtual mentoring session with an established photographer, tailored to their practice
1 MPA trophy
BEHIND THE SCENES
Virtual mentoring with an established photographer
An exclusive exhibition in the corridor gallery at Abbey Road
1 MPA trophy
UNDERGROUND SCENES
Virtual mentorship with Simon Wheatley
1 MPA trophy
EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR (Sponsored by adidas)
1 x photography development Prize, tailored to the Winner
1 MPA trophy
MUSIC MOMENT OF THE YEAR (Sponsored by Outernet London)
A takeover of the “Pop Two” space at Outernet London
1 MPA trophy
PORTRAIT
Opportunity to feature work in Hunger Magazine
1 MPA trophy
FESTIVALS (Sponsored by DHL)
Up to £5,000 worth of camera equipment tailored to the Winner
1 MPA trophy
GUEST CATEGORY: 50 YEARS OF PUNK
Virtual mentoring with an established photographer
1 MPA trophy
13. Intellectual Property
Ownership of all intellectual property rights in any Photograph submitted to the Competition will remain with the Entrant.
Entrants grant Promoter and its affiliates the right, in perpetuity, to:
reproduce and exhibit the photograph(s);
use the photograph(s), name and likeness to promote the Competition; and
sublicense the photograph(s) to sponsors for promotional purposes.
14. Representations & Warranties
By entering the Competition, you represent and warrant that:
the Entry is original work created by you;
you own all intellectual property rights in the Photograph;
the Photograph does not infringe third-party rights;
you have consent from anyone featured in the Photograph; and
your Entry complies with these Rules.
15. Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Promoter and all UMG Companies shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered in relation to the Competition.
16. Personal Data
Any personal data provided in relation to the Competition will be subject to Promoter’s Privacy Policy.
17. Disclaimers
Promoter accepts no responsibility for Entries that are lost, delayed, invalid or affected by technical malfunction.
Promoter reserves the right to suspend, cancel or amend the Competition if necessary.
18. General
If any provision of these Rules becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remainder shall remain in full force and effect.
19. Governing Law & Jurisdiction
These Rules shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes arising in connection with these Rules.