Duran Duran praised music streaming sites as “the way forward” as they picked up a lifetime achievement award at the O2 Silver Clef Awards.

While the pop-rock group – Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor – approved of services such as Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music, they said streaming sites need to “sort out proper deals” for artists.

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift had victory over Apple (Eric Jamison/Invision/AP)

Apple Music recently did a U-turn, after Bad Blood singer Taylor Swift hit out at them for their initial decision to not pay artists during a trial period of their new streaming service.

Keyboardist Nick said: “I think music streaming is the way forward for the future. There are a lot of great sites that provide an amazing service to the public, and it’s brilliant that music can be accessed like that. They need to sort out the deals properly for all artists and then we’ll all be happy.”

The foursome were honoured with the Spotify Lifetime Achievement award at the ceremony, which was hosted by music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins and took place at Grosvenor House hotel in London’s Park Lane.

“We got some lifetime achievement awards about a decade ago, and we thought, ‘Are they trying to tell us something?’ So we’re very happy we got another one 10 years later,” Nick said.

“We’re very happy to be here. Nordoff Robbins does some amazing work and we’re very proud to be receiving this today.”

Rita Ora
Rita Ora (Yui Mok/PA)

The X Factor’s new judge Rita Ora was named Vevo best female, while Jake Bugg was voted AEG Live Best Male.

“It’s a massive compliment. The heroes are these people who make this charity possible because it’s really special to me, so thank you Nordoff Robbins. It makes me feel really happy,” Rita said.

“This is a huge compliment and it makes me feel very lucky. I remind myself of that every day.”

Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight (Yui Mok/PA)

Gladys Knight was given the Raymond Weil International award by Sir Tom Jones.

“My mouth is still open, like what! This is amazing. I am so honoured to even be considered for an award like this, representing the soul people in this industry and the female population,” she said.

“I have been blessed enough to go mostly around the world and I have truly found, in my own experiences, that music is the universal language. We have been to countries where they don’t speak English but they feel the music.

“One country we went to, to applaud they boo you. I got off stage and said, ‘They didn’t like it’ but others told me, ‘They love you’, so it’s been a wonderful experience, this music gift I have been given by my heavenly Father.”

Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden (Yui Mok/PA)

Iron Maiden won the O2 Silver Clef award for outstanding contribution to music.

Frontman Bruce Dickinson said: “It’s very nice. It’s getting something from a group of your peers so it’s very prestigious. It’s a privilege to still do music and still have loads and loads of kids into it. We’re in our mid-50s and 50 percent of our audience was under 25.”

Kasabian
Kasabian (Yui Mok/PA)

Kasabian received the Royal Albert Hall Best Group award, while Mark Ronson won the American Express Innovation trophy.

Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan said: “This is wonderful. We do so much for this charity so it means so much. Music saved me and Serge,” while his bandmate Sergio Pizzorno added: “Music is so powerful and the way they’ve (Nordoff Robbins) adopted it and used it to help these kids out is quite incredible.”

Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson (Yui Mok/PA)

Mark said of his accolade: “This is a really big honour, because as a producer, my life is in terms of sonics and trying to find new sounds. That’s what I do, even more than songwriting.”

His single Uptown Funk, featuring Bruno Mars, has become the most streamed song in the US and the UK.

“It’s so crazy what Uptown Funk has done. I never could have imagined its success in a million years but it’s a song I’m very proud of that I wrote with people I love working with,” the producer added.

Other winners of the 40th anniversary O2 Silver Clef Awards are Arctic Monkeys, who won the public’s vote for Best Live Act of the Year, James Bay, Primal Scream and Il Divo.

U2 donated a Gibson Les Paul Music Rising guitar – which has been signed by all four members and played by The Edge during the band’s iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour with photographic verification of the date and song during which it was played – which was auctioned off at the awards.