CAA agent Maria May to receive IMS Legends Award
CAA’s Maria May has been announced as the recipient of the International Music Summit (IMS) Legends Award 2025.
The leading agent, who is being recognised for her outstanding contribution to electronic music culture, will be presented with the award during The Beatport Awards on 24 April, with a dedicated industry lunch celebration held during IMS Ibiza.
News of her award comes shortly after May was celebrated in issue 132 of IQ Magazine. The feature, which covers her 30-year career, can be read here.
May and her team represent artists including David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas, Róisín Murphy, Sara Landry, Layla Benitez, Hernan Cattaneo, Hugel, Meduza, Marlon Hoffstadt, Malugi, Paul Kalkbrenner, Robin Schulz, Icona Pop, The Chainsmokers, Jonas Blue and Purple Disco Machine, among others.
Across three decades in the business, she has also worked with the likes of Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Layo and Bushwacka, Hercules and Love Affair, Azari and III, Moloko, Soulwax , 2manydjs, Lee Burridge and X-press 2.
“To receive this recognition is both humbling and very exciting,” says May. “Not merely because of what it represents for my career, but because of what it stands for in the wider culture of electronic music. The first woman to be publicly recognised for her efforts with an award of this gravitas has been a long time coming.
“Watching electronic music evolve from underground rebellion to a global movement and being one of the many architects of the global business phenomenon that we have created and now being recognised for these efforts is something I never imagined when I went to my first rave.
“I really hope that this means the playing field is becoming more even and that the path to the top is wide open. Hopefully, we all will finally recognise the efforts of all the women in dance music and their roles in shaping the business to where it is now. Above commercial success, the most meaningful work for me has been building bridges between cultures, genres, generations, and genders. Fighting the fight when no one else would or could or cared.”
Beyond her role at CAA, May is a board member of female-led collective Lady of the House, which amplifies women’s contributions to the dance music industry. Additionally, she serves on the board of Beatport and the advisory board of the Frankie Knuckles Foundation. May was a founding advisory board member of the Association For Electronic Music (AFEM) for a decade and a long serving board member of Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).
“This award is not just about me. It’s for the women who came before me, the ones who were overlooked but laid the groundwork anyway”
“When I began this journey, the dance music industry wasn’t built with women in mind,” continues May. “Despite this, we were always there. Behind the decks, behind the scenes, on doors, artist management, agencies and in promoting and security. Doors did not automatically open unless we pushed them ourselves. Our community didn’t recognise our work.
“I stand on the shoulders of women who worked twice as hard as me to be taken half as seriously. Their tenacity, and their refusal to shrink has carried me forward every day. It has been my mission not just to succeed within this space, but to reshape it. I have worked to ensure that women, especially those without connections, without privilege, who come from places like I did are seen, heard, and supported to thrive.
“Because representation is not a trend, it is a responsibility. That purpose has guided my journey, whether through my day-to-day at my amazing agency CAA or supporting initiatives like Lady of the House, I have worked hard to bring more women into the room, and more importantly, to keep them there, empowered, paid equitably and respected.”
She adds: “This award is not just about me. It’s for the women who came before me, the ones who were overlooked but laid the groundwork anyway. It is for the women beside me now, fierce, brilliant, relentless who continue to strive. And it’s for the women still coming — who I hope will never have to ask for permission to belong here.”
May joins previous IMS Legends Award winners including Underworld, Nile Rodgers, Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim and Simon Dunmore from Defected.
“I have enjoyed watching Maria’s career grow from my first meeting with her in the offices of ITB in 1994, seeing her develop with her acts into a global force of nature when it comes to agenting talent,” adds IMS and AFEM co-founder Ben Turner. “Her role behind the scenes in affecting how the industry operates may not be seen by so many, but is felt by everybody. She challenges the industry to think and be better. She cares as much today as she did as an passionate agent in her early 20s on the dancefloor at Liquid in Miami listening to Frankie Knuckles and David Morales – which is how I will always visualise her!
“Both IMS and the clubbing industry of Ibiza are truly proud of her achievements. Electronic music is in a better place because of the person that is Maria May.”
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