“For real art to thrive, we need real people like him in the music industry fighting for it,” said Sheeran while presenting Lousada with the Sir George Martin Award.

Before hitting the stage to receive the Sir George Martin Award at MBW’s Music Business UK Awards in London on Tuesday night (Nov. 5), outgoing Warner Music Group CEO of recorded music Max Lousada was introduced by someone who truly needs no introduction: longtime Atlantic Records superstar Ed Sheeran, who characterized Lousada as part of a rare and dying breed.

“When I got asked to introduce this award tonight, Max had just been let go of by Warner, and I wanted to make sure that I was here to say they don’t make people like him anymore. Music people,” said Sheeran, who noted it had always been his “dream” to be signed to Atlantic: “All my heroes and all the people that I aspired to be were all housed there.”

Sheeran went on to list some of the artists whose careers Lousada was personally instrumental in launching — “from The Darkness to Stormzy, to James Blunt, Coldplay, Dua Lipa and beyond” — before making a call for the industry to support more young executives who can carry on his legacy. “The industry is at risk of becoming reactionary, rather than just following heart and gut feelings on things that are just good,” he continued. “I really hope young people who are like Max are nurtured in the future, because for real art to thrive, we need real people like him in the music industry fighting for it.”

While accepting the award, Lousada said he was inspired in his own career by the example of the legendary George Martin and his work at Parlophone Records: “What he built was this kind of ever-welcoming shelter for unconventional minds, and that was something that has struck me and has been my North Star, the people that don’t quite seem to fit in.”

“It’s not just that [Martin] himself was a complete one-off, a maverick,” Lousada continued. “It’s that when he saw originality, he leaned into it hard. When some saw misfits, he saw pioneers. He never tried to mold his artists to fit the mold. He tried to break it into pieces with them. And I’ve always been inspired by that kind of creative bravery. And if I’m honest, that kind of creative bravery is what we need more and more.”