The 2021 ASCAP Screen Music Awards on @ASCAP and @ASCAPScreen Instagram have revealed of =this year’s ASCAP Composers’ Choice Awards. The rollout begins a social media celebration through Thursday, May 20 of ASCAP Screen Music Award winners featuring acceptance speeches, exclusive photos, videos and other surprises from the music creators who scored the on-screen entertainment that comforted and inspired the world throughout 2020.
With an expanded number of categories and a diverse set of nominees, the ASCAP Composers’ Choice Awards recognize winners chosen by the ASCAP composer and songwriter community. The 2021 recipients share a common thread in that each of their projects tells a story of humanity's triumph over adversity. They include this year’s Oscar-winning animated film, a landmark documentary on climate change, a horror drama examining racism in America, an Emmy-nominated sci-fi series and an action-adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic United States:
● Film Score of the Year: Soul - Jon Batiste & Trent Reznor
● Documentary Score of the Year: David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet - Steven Price (new category)
● Television Score of the Year: Lovecraft Country - Raphael Saadiq (previously TV Composer of the Year)
● Television Theme of the Year: Tales from the Loop - Philip Glass & Paul Leonard-Morgan (new category)
● Video Game Score of the Year: The Last of Us Part II - Gustavo Santaolalla
The Instagram reveal will include acceptances from Batiste, Price, Glass, Leonard-Morgan and Santaolalla, in addition to special performances from Batiste, Leonard-Morgan and Santaolalla. ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams will kick off the event with a video introduction.
In other categories, David Vanacore was the top winner for Most Performed Themes and Underscore for his work on shows including Survivor and Biggest Loser. Bear McCreary took Top Cable Television Series for HBO’s critically acclaimed The Walking Dead; Matthew Hawkins, Maurice “m.O” Jackson and Neil Martin won Top Network Television Series for their main theme for long-running CBS hit NCIS; and Rupert Gregson-Williams received the Top Box Office Film honor for The Eight Hundred.
This year’s ASCAP Screen Music Awards also includes winners in a new category, Top Streaming Films, and an expanded number of awards presented for streaming series, reflecting changes in consumer viewing habits.
Fans and friends can follow the rollout under the hashtag #ASCAPAwards on ASCAP’s Facebook, Twitter, and on Instagram @ASCAP and @ASCAPScreen. Among the highlights will be some lighthearted video acceptances from the winning composers, including David Schweitzer (a Top Box Office Film winner for Emma. with co-writer Isobel Waller-Bridge) who introduces his family chickens; Lenny Pickett (a Top Rated Television Series winner for Saturday Night Live with co-writer Howard Shore) who shares a brief sax solo; and Michelle Lewis (a Top Rated Television Series winner for The Loud House) who sings a short song about her award. Studio geeks will also be impressed by a tour of Studio Ferber in Paris where Lionel Limiñana and co-writer David Menke composed the score for Top Streaming Film Last Days of American Crime.
A full list of 2021 ASCAP Screen Music Awards winners is available at ascap.com/screenawards21.
