The Media Leader can announce the finalists of the 2025 Adwanted Media Research Awards Media owners that have made the finalists list include JCDecaux and Channel 4 trade bodies to have been nominated include Thinkbox It has been another bumper year of entries the awards celebrate the businesses that best demonstrate the excellent work taking place in the media research industry Winners will be announced at a lunch ceremony at Banking Hall in London on 5 March. Tickets are now available for the event. Digital Cinema Media; Louise Twycross-Lewis Find more information about the awards here. Best Custom Media Research Project — Trade Body Best Custom Media Research Project — Media Owner Sponsored by AudEx from TRP and Sopra Steria Best Custom Media Research Project — Agency Best Custom Media Research Project — Budgets under £50,000 Best Custom Media Research Project — Supporting Diversity in Media and Advertising Best Media Research Tracking or Syndicated Project The Adrian Edwards Award for Best Use of Datasets 2025 AMRAs: 10 years of innovation in media research Adwanted Media Research Awards 2025: Judges announced ‘Remain vigilant’: Sam Tomlinson reflects on PwC’s transparency study Data-led charts from across the UK media landscape Find out more about the UK's most comprehensive aggregator of media data On the latest Music Business Worldwide Podcast Amra is a global digital collection society that happens to be owned by Kobalt Music Group Since Kobalt acquired and relaunched Amra in 2015 the collection society has become a fast-growing business in its own right: in the 12 months to the end of June 2022 – the last year for which public financial information is available – Amra generated over USD $110 million in revenue On this podcast, Ingham asks Ericsson about the changing landscape for songwriter royalty collection, the opportunity ahead – and the fact that Amra has, to date, invested more than $50 million upgrading and expanding its core technology Listen to the full podcast above (29 minutes) or read an abridged and edited version below… Amra is a traditional pro in many ways: we represent songwriters just like any other PRO like ASCAP in the US or PRS in the UK and we collect on their behalf around the world from other PROs under so-called reciprocal agreements However we only [collect via reciprocal agreements] for offline earnings we license and collect that entirely on our own We license all the DSPs directly in over 200 territories and we receive the data and the money directly from these sources for all these territories without it passing through a [local] PRO or some other intermediary we saw that about 25% of the royalties collected came from digital sources that same picture was about 65% to 70% of all royalties being digital and we believe that will grow to 80% to 85% within three to five years This was why we took the bet to build [Amra’s] technology We looked at that [trajectory] and took the bet on [digital royalty collections growing their share of the ‘pie’] This will be one of the biggest challenges [for the industry] in the coming three to five years – for PROs to change the way they work in many ways There are a lot of PROs out there that have already [started doing] that and GEMA have created ICE to pull that digital processing part for them [collectively] “This will be one of the biggest challenges [for the industry] in the coming three to five years – for PROs to change the way they work in many ways.” as long as offline royalties need to be collected in any territory you need resources and a process for dealing with that territory I don’t think that will ever go away entirely you don’t [always] really know how your money is collected – whether it’s through reciprocal agreements or directly licensed It’s a complicated structure but it can be done [more] effectively It astonishes me that it’s still going on in particular in digital collections where it [should be] 100% transparent in terms of what data you can get from services The [product of that investment] is the absolute backbone of what we do in our business model For us [the main reason] to invest so hard is: Can we process quicker Can we invest in machine learning and other AI technologies that can find [royalty/song] matches that probably weren’t there [before] We’re talking about hundreds of billions of lines of data that have to be processed continuously If [via tech] we’re able to actually process [Amra’s non-matching rate on digital services] down to literally zero we see an enormous uptick in value for our clients our collection value in the long tail over the last three years.” those matches are always accurate and have been for many years But where you see a big discrepancy is when you get down into the long tail where generally people feel that there’s no value there our collection value in the long tail over the last three years because we can process everything down to zero We realized pretty quickly that we needed a very strict separation between the two companies We hired Deloitte to run a full-scale business separation process and basically underwrite our separation from a governance standpoint an access-to-data standpoint — from every aspect that could be considered One example is that Amra receives full usage data from all the DSPs – all the plays regardless if it’s for songs that we control or not That data can obviously not be shared with anyone at Kobalt or any of our other clients so there are very strict access restrictions or access processes between the companies The same is true for our other publisher clients.” The same is true for our other publisher clients All the rights [Amra represents] are licensed under the same structure There is absolutely no preferential treatment of Kobalt my perspective was that it should not matter whether you run your business as a not-for-profit or a for-profit so long as the structure and the business model create more value songwriters “It should not matter whether you run your business as a not-for-profit or a for-profit so long as the structure and the business model create more value songwriters.” I can’t judge whether or not that’s happening for the other for-profit entities – but we do know that there are a lot of not-for-profit entities out there They actually have a commercial mindset around how they operate It’s been a very good partnership [with FP] it’s a much more active partnership [than you might assume]; it’s very engaged ownership which is really helpful – [especially] because of [FP’s] background and their experience from other tech and music-related tech This idea of being able to directly license and collect [from DSPs] getting all the data and the money directly is going to continue to become more and more valuable some legislative environments outside the United States prevent that from happening Amra is not able to license for legal reasons; the same goes for Argentina “There are a few small [territorial] exceptions out there that stand in our way [of 100% global collection] from a legal standpoint So it would be very helpful if that could change!” There are a few small [territorial] exceptions out there that stand in our way [of 100% global collection] from a legal standpoint So it would be very helpful if that could change If we can find a way to share more matches and data with each other—particularly the larger platforms in our space—it would help clean [everyone’s] data more and it’s something we should look at and embrace Music Business Worldwide (MBW) publishes two podcasts: The MBW Podcast, which sees us regularly interview some of the leading figures in the global business – and Talking Trends – in which MBW founder, Tim Ingham, dives behind recent headlines in the music industry. MBW’s podcasts are supported by Voly Music a bespoke financial management platform for people in the music business Stay on top of the real stories shaping the music industry: Join over 60,000 industry professionals who rely on MBW's FREE daily newsletter and alert emails for essential insights and breaking news Sign Up for Our Monthly River Cruise Newsletter established this year in Boston as the North American marketing arm for Lueftner Cruises' Amadeus ships Amras has just been chosen to work with Celebrity Cruises to offer a combination of ocean-and-river sailings a product that has been discussed by agents for years as the perfect way to introduce seagoing passengers to the river experience and give them a deeper taste of the destination “This is a perfect combination,” says Jana Joham vice president of product delivery for Amras “Celebrity is an excellent match for our target clientele.” Under the umbrella of the recently launched Celebrity Explorations the 11 river/ocean cruises range from 16 to 24 nights in length Each includes a seven-night Amras cruise on the Danube Rhone or Seine rivers and one- or two-night luxury hotel accommodations Guests will then move onboard a Celebrity ship offering Mediterranean Choices include a 16-night Southern France Greece and Turkey itinerary; a 20-night cruise from Budapest including Spain and the Canary Islands; a Seine River and Normandy beaches river cruise in combination with a 20-night Israel and Italy itinerary; and a 23-night journey from Amsterdam through the Rhine River including a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean and around the Caribbean islands “Amras Cruises is very excited to work together with Celebrity Explorations in pairing river and ocean cruising for the first time in 2015,” says Rudi Joham “This opens to travelers a unique vacation experience to the best ports of call on Europe’s ocean and continental waterways Lueftner has been a premier river cruise company in Europe for more than 30 years and recently set up Amras in Boston under Joe Luchison to handle a group of cruises designed for the North American market The company stresses an all-inclusive product with everything from shore excursions and gratuities both on and off the ship to transfers and pre- and post-cruise hotel stays Amras cruises also include the Enriching Moments concept such as an after-dinner Paris by Night cruise on a private Bateau Mouche with cocktails and petit fours and off-the-ship dining in local restaurants followed by a cup of the famous Rudesheim coffee including seven-night itineraries and Christmas market cruises on the Rhine and Danube rivers Two to four back-to-back cruises can be linked together and these carry a discount of up to $2,000 Pre- and post-cruise hotel packages are commissionable and available on every departure They include a two or three-night hotel stay in a centrally located four- to five-star hotel The cruises are scheduled on the Amadeus Symphony which takes off in the spring and launches a new week-long river cruise through the Netherlands and Belgium Combination cruises are booked through Celebrity Agents booking Amras cruises separately will receive a flat 15 percent commission and can offer clients $200 per person for first-time guests of the line Copyright © 2025 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 301 Route 17 N, Suite 1150, Rutherford, NJ 07070 USA | Telephone: (201) 902-2000 ArcelorMittal’s acquisition aims to supply railway resurgence in South Africa Given significant potential to modernise and expand the rail network in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa steps are being taken to revive the former Highveld Structural Mill which was the sole producer of mainline rail in sub-Saharan Africa located in Emalahleni in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province was recently acquired by steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal The plant has now been renamed the ArcelorMittal Rail and Structural (AMRAS) Mill ArcelorMittal operated the mill under contract and produced 80 000 tons a year of heavy structural sections helping to replace around R1 billion a year of imported steel with domestic South African production The subsequent closure of the mining company Highveld Steel and Vanadium by then owner Evraz appeared to put the plant’s future in jeopardy but ArcelorMittal’s acquisition is seemingly set to breathe new life into the facility In March 2021 the South African government announced that it was looking to grow the country’s railway sector and to open up the network to third-party freight operators as a means of stimulating economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic ArcelorMittal says it will be able to bring its research and development expertise and knowledge of operating practices of heavy structural rolling mills to the AMRAS mill meaning that the steel products for railway infrastructure development and rolling stock construction can be sourced and developed domestically The facility also produces railway products for mining companies and the aim is that some production will be for the export market ArcelorMittal says the mill’s output could be a significant catalyst for not only the local steel industry but also for industrialisation and growth in the South African economy ArcelorMittal South Africa is creating around 250 permanent jobs the company welcomed South Africa’s minister of trade industry and competition and delegates from government and industry Patel congratulated all stakeholders on the mill’s revival saying the project showcased South Africa’s ambitions to be a globally competitive player in the steel market and to revive rail production capacity “We are repositioning our company as the backbone of the South African manufacturing industry and as the steel partner of choice in sub-Saharan Africa,” says ArcelorMittal South Africa CEO “AMRAS offers the opportunity for public-private partnerships to position South Africa as a strategic African provider of rail infrastructure.” AVBOB celebrates a milestone by rewarding its members on a large scale JOHANNESBURG - ArcelorMittal is pushing forward with shutting down its long-steel plants This is despite government discussions about a R1 billion rescue package The company blames the shutdown on losses and financial unsustainability READ: The job emergency | Talks between AMSA and government continue The shuttering of the Newcastle and Vereeniging plants President of the Steel Industries Federation Elias Monage says many more will be affected Flickering Myth March 6, 2023 by Apple has dropped the teaser trailer for Ghosted their eagerly anticipated re-teaming of Knives Out and The Gray Man duo Chris Evans and Ana de Armas.  Directed by Sunshine on Leith (spot the soundtrack connection) and Bohemian Rhapsody helmer Dexter Fletcher Ghosted appears to come from the same play-book as Mr Smith and The Hitman’s Bodyguard in telling the tale of a couple caught up in the high-stakes world of international espionage a man smitten following his date with de Amras’ enigmatic Sadie Determined not to let the girl of his dreams get away only to discover that she is a globe-trotting spy at the centre of a dangerous world-saving mission Written by Deadpool‘s Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and Tate Donovan; check out the trailer below… Salt-of-the-earth Cole (Evans) falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie (de Armas)—but then makes the shocking discovery that she’s a secret agent Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world Ghosted is streaming April 21st only on Apple TV+ Sign In Subscribe Now 2018It is with extreme sadness that we announce the passing of Amras Singh Manhas Amras lost to a courageous battle against Parkinson's Predeceased by his older brothers Karnail (Surinder Kaur) and Kishan (Surjit Kaur) Amras leaves behind his loving and devoted wife Kulwarn (Kay) Kour and sons Ricky (Shavi) and Kamaljeet (Gurnam) Kaser and Preet. His brothers Sewa (Kuldeep Kaur) Ramnik (Sukhninder). Sisters Pritam Kaur (Sukhdev) and Daljit.  Funeral Services will be held November 20th in Parksville at Yates Memorial Services Followed by prayers and lunch served at the Gurdwara Sahib Miri Piri Darbar 305 Prideaux St. Thank you Caroline Bowles and the Care Aide group Sandy, Barb, Nicole and Robert.  Yates Memorial Services Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines Celebrity Cruises has introduced European river-and-ocean cruise vacation packages which combine Amras Cruises river journeys with modern luxury ocean sailings The 11 new river-and-ocean cruise packages offer guests the opportunity to explore Europe by way of four well-known rivers – the Danube Rhône and Seine – and then by sea onboard a Celebrity cruise around the Mediterranean the river-and-ocean cruise packages include: One- to two-night luxury hotel accommodations before embarking on the ocean cruise.Celebrity Cruises Classic Beverage Package, including wine and spirits.Find vacation packages under “plan a cruise” on the website, www.celebritycruises.com MORE ACCOLADES: A lot of cruise lines are tooting their own horns (cruising joke) over the results of Porthole magazine’s 16th annual Readers’ Choice Awards Voted best among the small ships: American Cruise Lines Readers said Carnival Cruise Lines has the best value for their vacation dollar The most family-oriented is Disney Cruise Line More bests: facilities for the physically challenged Royal Caribbean International; onboard enrichment Find the entire list — including which lines have the best itineraries — at www.porthole.com/readers-choice-awards-2014. ‘TIS THE SEASON: What do you get your favorite cruiser for the holidays Princess Cruises has introduced a new gift card program Cards can be applied as payment toward the purchase of a Princess cruise or used for onboard products and services $1,000 and $2,000 increments and can be customized for a specific dollar amount up to $2,000 Gift cards can be sent electronically or by mail schedule a delivery date to the recipient and personalize the notification with an audio message and digital photo Gift cards can be purchased at www.princess.com/giftcard The cruise line also is planning to make the cards available for purchase through its Facebook page which can be used as payment toward a “Fun Ship” vacation or a variety of shipboard purchases is now available in more than 9,000 retail outlets throughout the country this is the first time a cruise line-specific card has been made available at retail businesses ashore Cards can also be purchased online at www.carnivalgiftcards.com The cards can be pre-loaded with funds ranging from a minimum of $25 to a maximum of $1,000 FIRST LOOK: Holland America fans are poring over the recently released deck plans for the line’s new ship under construction in Fincantieri’s shipyard in Marghera HAL promises the story of the 2,650-passenger ship will unfold online over the coming months through renderings ship facts and more details about the interiors The ship will launch in February 2016 and head to the Mediterranean on a seven-day Premiere Voyage then continue on a series of 12-day sailings in that area through early May 2016 No word yet if Koningsdam will sail to South Florida Take a peek at ms Koningsdam at www.hollandamerica.com. The Adwanted Media Research Awards (AMRAs) 2024 opened for submissions this week but what distinguishes a winning paper for the judges the AMRAs held a launch event at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and kicked off with examples of best practice from winners of this year’s awards from Wavemaker IPA research director and returning head of the AMRAs said that each of these winning projects respectively showed the importance of thinking about language identifying and being honest about hurdles faced and making the highly complex simple to understand Beeftink joined two other current and former judges head of insight at PHD UK and Danny Russell to give more advice for what makes a winning entry Beeftink urged potential applicants to include evidence of outcomes and testimonials (from clients for example) She stressed thinking about what the outcomes of a research project are (not just a number of downloads for instance) and the work behind it She also noted compelling trends in papers were more and better evidence of business outcomes and companies doing good work on “very tight budgets,” speaking to that pressure and working more collaboratively at a company level and within specialisms Channel 4’s rising star: media research must drive change Emphasising the seven tips from the judges on the AMRA website said a winning entry needed to include both business objectives and research methodology He also emphasised the importance of storytelling throughout adding: “The judges are after the lessons that were learned but also those that weren’t Sometimes entries can read a bit too perfect and there’s always this suspicion that says: was it that easy?” Russell warned against the use of AI to write an award entry and recommended delegates to also “stick to the rules” in terms of word count when it comes to attaching documents to a submission don’t use it to add another 15,000 words because Instead he recommended using those documents to link to websites Russell explained: “We all like to think we’re super intelligent so visuals is a really good way of showing as well as telling echoed the importance of storytelling and advocated for being creative in a submission whether that is for applying an existing methodology in a unique way or to a new solution She explained: “It’s about being really thorough from start to end and telling that arc of how you took a particular challenge or issue what you did to to meet it and what you’ve encountered along the way and the results and the evidence that you delivered Telling that story is a really key thing to keep coming through.” All of the panellists highlighted the importance of proper spelling and grammar throughout a submission and added that if companies were submitting a project to the AMRAs for more than one award category to edit each entry accordingly so it is more relevant for the individual category JOHANNESBURG - ArcelorMittal CEO Kobus Verster says there's been no talk of a one billion rand government bailout.   He's criticised what he called government's slow and insufficient response to the crisis in the steel sector.   ArcelorMittal SA reported a R5.1-billion headline loss for the financial year ending in December last year The wind-down of the company's long-steel business is delayed amid continuing discussions with government.  Verster says the 3,500 job cuts in Vereeniging Newcastle and Amras in Mpumalanga will proceed.  ArcelorMittal expects to hear about government assistance later this year.     Verster says the company understands the frustrations of workers and how the company morale may be negatively impacted by the job cuts Nausori has now become one of the fastest-growing towns in Fiji following the launch of a double-story mall worth $25 million The proposed AMRAS mall was launched on Wednesday by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad at the AMRAS family at the AMRAS yard in Lakena he said it was very pleasing to see local investors taking part in important investments like this “I’m particularly pleased that we have a group of company to growing up into a reputable and a forceful investor,” Prof Prasad said “I know that the AMRAS mall is going to be a landmark a milestone in the journey of this beautiful family-owned company I’m told it’s a $25m investment and is expected about 100 employment during the construction period and growing to about 300 as a result of its completion “This is also going to create a lot of multiplier effects I know that there are a lot of players for other developments within Nausori We feel that Nausori is already a grown area a new five-star super specialty hospital which is going to be built Nasinu This is a hospital that has been promised by the Indian government it will be funded by the Indian government very important contributor to our economy.” Mohammed Lateef of Ideal Designs said the mall would have an area of approximately 19,500 square meter in Lakena “The groundbreaking is scheduled to commence in the beginning of the year 2024 and achieve completion and handover of the project in the middle of the year 2025 from the positive project launch and the stakeholders support the end of the construction phase seems very near from the beginning,” he said “The proposed AMRAS Mall will consist of two major floors connected with escalators and a lift The ground floor accommodates approximately a 3000 sqm supermarket space and the remaining includes five ATM’s (automated teller machines) space and 15 mixed retail spaces to lease out to pharmacies departmental stores and businesses houses to name a few “The first floor accommodates nine kiosk spaces with 550 sqm food court space 12 more mixed retail and offices spaces with 1153 sqm most needed event centre to host any event such as weddings Local Government Minister Maciu Katamotu launched a new $55m six-story Rastun City Nausori complex project that was to be constructed on the 7500 sqm land at the old Nausori market site The proposed complex was expected to also include supermarkets Powered by PageSuite The cruise industry is one heck of a booming business and it isn’t showing any signs of slowing From destination focus to onboard activities cruise lines are pulling out all the stops to show they’ve got what it takes to compete in the holiday industry Amras Cruises’ celebrated its new partnership with McLachlan Tours which marks the official introduction of Lüftner Cruises’ luxurious Amadeus fleet to the Australian market Travel Weekly caught up with the MD of Lüftner Cruises Wolfgang Lüftner and GM of McLachlan Tours Peter Smith to find out where cruising is headed and what we can expect from the partnership Our clients really appreciate the fully inclusive model free flowing wine and beer from the regions that you are passing through complimentary Wi-Fi and use of bicycles plus a host of other  inclusions The only thing we have not included is an open bar but at the end of the day the customer has to pay for this so that is one thing that we leave up to the clients’ own choice Australia is the next big frontier for European River Cruise Operators Here in Europe we recognise the importance and value of Aussie travellers Once the exclusive customer of the Coach Operator it is now recognised that River Cruising is the modern way to see and experience this great Continent A similar family owned organisation with very similar values of customer and partner care and attention to detail Their flagship product with Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours fits very well with our European programmes Innovate itineraries for second and third timers If clients do Amsterdam to Budapest as their first river cruise And don’t forget that unlike ocean cruises We are very proud that we are able to offer a high level and very comparative product to the main players in Australia but often at a much more competitive price But we still mix our ships with other European markets so while Amras Cruises’ clients are looked after by English speaking guides and Tour Directors they will also mix with other European nationalities Our Australian clients have often remarked that they prefer this rather than travelling with a boat load of just Aussies Our 2016 programme will consist of seven itineraries from the traditional Amsterdam to Budapest to the Tulip regions of Holland and Belgium in the spring with Keukenhof Flower Show Maine and Danube with extension stays in the Swiss Alps or Prague and the beautiful week long itineraries on the River Seine and Rhone & Soane in France The brochure is out now and the website is being updated as we speak Forgot your Password? TimesLIVE© are registered trademarks of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions and privacy policy AMRAS Motors’ vision for 2015 is to build on its motto “your friendly keys to reliable wheels” so that customers easily identify vehicles that best suit them Manager Hirday Lakhan says the company continues to identify new suppliers in other countries and responses have been encouraging Mr Lakhan said that in a short span of time the company expanded into excavator sales and had served some well-known contractors “Amras Motors continues to receive more and regular inquiries of the company’s products and services,” he said The company itself uses the same products as it sells to its customers such as the excavators the company knows and understands customers’ needs and wants Mr Lakhan says the company’s new stock of vehicles includes the Toyota Vitz Nissan Wingroads and the Toyota Succeed and more stocks of Toyota Belta and Toyota Passo will be arriving soon the company has the Sumitomos six-tonne and 22-tonne Other vehicle brands include the Hyundai 14 tonne Hitachi 10 and 12 tonners and the CAT Grader 130 G “At Amras Motors customers are advised to submit the required are essential: * 10 to 20 per cent deposits (depending on the financier) Amras Motors has been importing used vehicles and machineries for more than 25 years Visit Amras Motors today and check out its quality vehicles and equipment available at competitive prices For more information you can visit the company at Lakena on Kings Rd from Nausori towards Korovou Town less than five minutes drive from Nausori Town