LONDON, UK (vip-booking) – Duran Duran and their manager, Wendy Laister, were the headline winners at the Artist & Manager Awards, which took place at London’s Bloomsbury Big Top.
Hosted by Doc Brown, the prestigious event is organized by the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Music Managers Forum (MMF) and – uniquely – celebrates both the creative individuals who release music and perform shows and their entrepreneurial partners who help them build a business.
That spirit is encapsulated by the hugely successful 22-year association between Duran Duran and their manager Laister (Magus Entertainment), who received the joint award for Artist & Manager Partnership (sponsored by Hipgnosis Songs). Founding members Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor and Simon Le Bon paid a warm and heartfelt tribute to Wendy’s “grace, intelligence, tenacity and loyalty,” with Nick describing her appointment in 2002 as “the best decision we’ve ever made, and our longest relationship with any manager. Wendy is a force of nature; she doesn’t give in.”
On receiving the Award, Wendy praised the band, their wider team, and Duran Duran’s passionate and dedicated fanbase. She also spoke candidly about her journey in management since 1993 and for the music industry to support female music managers.
“Over the years, I’ve witnessed remarkable progress, and women have risen to prominent positions, both in front of and behind the scenes, but there is still work to be done,” she said. “This should be a place where talent knows no gender and diversity is celebrated. As managers, our role is to empower artists, guide them, and ensure their voices are heard.”
Earlier, the Awards had been graced with a surprise appearance from one of the world’s biggest contemporary artists. Central Cee took to the stage as his manager, Bello, was crowned Manager of the Year (sponsored by PPL). The award was presented by Natalie Wade, Director of Music Industry Engagement at PPL, and Shauni Caballero, Senior A&R Manager at Sony Music Publishing. Both paid testimony to Bello and Central Cee’s incredible journey, with the UK rapper now reaching major international success. “Sprinter,” his collaboration with Dave, is fast approaching 500m Spotify streams and was recently declared UK Song of the Summer by The Official Charts Company.
“We take pride in being disruptors, game changers, and never taking “no” for an answer,” said Bello after receiving his award. “The minute I heard the first verse from Cench and clicked onto his page, I saw a star, and I knew exactly what he could achieve… The last two years, we’ve done over 150 shows all around the world, we’ve got two projects, we’ve released EPs, and countless singles. I’m the worst at delegating and not the best at finding people to hire, so we’ve always had a small team. But that’s also had its benefits as our vision has never been diluted.”
Nia Archives was recognized for a stratospheric 12 months, where she received a Rising Star nomination at the BRIT Awards, flew the flag for UK Drum & Bass all around the world, and will soon bring her UP YA ARCHIVES show to Manchester’s Warehouse Project. Nia was joined on stage by her manager, Tom Cater.
The Breakthrough Manager Award, sponsored by Amazon Music, went to Louise Latimer, the hugely respected co-manager of Self Esteem, The Big Moon (who were in the room to support) and Gently Tender. In 2023, Louise took Self Esteem (aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor) to new creative and commercial heights, culminating in a huge hometown show at Sheffield’s Don Valley Bowl in September. Rebecca is now starring alongside Jake Shears in the current West End run of Cabaret.
A wide range of established and upcoming managers and artists were awarded throughout the ceremony.
The Cookie Crew – Debbie Pryce and Susan Banfield – received a long overdue Pioneer Award (sponsored by TikTok) from DJ Semtex, who outlined the duo’s place in the Hip Hop pantheon and how their trailblazing albums Born This Way and Fade To Black changed UK culture. Debbie and Susan spoke eloquently about their experiences as British female artists working in America at a foundational moment for the genre.
Similarly, Rosemary Okogwu delivered a hugely personal tribute to her son – Tinie Tempah, the Entrepreneur of the Year for his fast-growing Imhotep empire – highlighting his extraordinary range of extracurricular successes from artist management, music and TV production, food, fashion and event promotion.
Other hugely popular winners were the band formerly known as easy life and The Flight Club. Despite a long and public legal battle with the easyGroup corporation, easy life has used its status and platform to advocate for the wider artist community – speaking out on issues including the costs of post-Brexit touring and onerous merchandise commissions. For this, frontman Murray Matravers received the inaugural Artists’ Voice Award on behalf of the band from their manager, Attention Management’s Jo Howath.
Meanwhile, Shani Gonzales, MD, Warner Chappell Music, presented the Producer / Songwriter Manager award to Samuel Ademosu and Ruth Gyaniao of The Flight Club. One of the UK’s most dynamic and innovative management businesses, the Club’s roster includes J Hus’ longtime collaborator TSB, Grammy-winning P2J, and artist, producer and songwriter duo DameDame*. Collectively, The Flight Club’s clients have contributed to tracks for Burna Boy, Dave, Jorja Smith, Stormzy, Doja Cat, Gorillaz, Kali Uchis, Headie One, Chris Brown, Snoh Aalegra, and many more.
As the Artist of the Year, Jorja Smith could not attend; her award was picked up by Maverick Sabre – who has known Jorja for many years and collaborated with her extensively. Maverick also paid tribute to their manager, Zubin Irani.
Finally, and fittingly, the ceremony also recognized the work of the Culture Media & Sport Select Committee and their dogged support of UK artists, songwriters, musicians, producers and managers, particularly on the issue of streaming reform. Following the Committee’s intervention, the entire industry is now involved in Government-led discussions that aim to benefit all UK music makers. Represented by Kevin Brennan MP, Damian Green MP and Julie Elliot MP, the Committee received their award from FAC Board Director Brix Smith.
In their joint opening address, FAC CEO David Martin and Annabella Coldrick, Chief Executive of the MMF, stressed the uniqueness of the Awards and the importance of recognizing both artists’ achievements and the behind-the-scenes work of their teams.
“These awards are special,” said Annabella. “They celebrate the partnerships at the core of the music industry: the creative individuals who release music and perform shows and their entrepreneurial partners who help them build a business. They are the only awards that do that. For the MMF, this is a night where managers can also receive the flowers, where their work and role are recognized, and where we can shine a light on the people behind the talent.”
“From our perspective, this ceremony is about artists recognizing their peers,” added David. “I am so delighted we can celebrate such a diverse range of talent, from those who have sustained a career over decades, those who are redefining the metrics of success and those who champion causes that the FAC are fighting for.”
The complete list of winners at the 2023 Artist & Manager Awards in association with beatBread is as follows:
DURAN DURAN & WENDY LAISTER – Artist/Manager Partnership (award sponsored by Hipgnosis Songs)
BELLO – Manager of the Year (award sponsored by PPL)
JORJA SMITH – Artist of the Year
NIA ARCHIVES – Breakthrough Artist
LOUISE LATIMER – Breakthrough Manager (award sponsored by Amazon Music)
TINIE TEMPAH / IMHOTEP – Entrepreneur
THE BAND FORMERLY KNOWN AS EASY LIFE – Artists` Voice
THE COOKIE CREW – Pioneer (Award sponsored by TikTok)
FOREVER LIVING ORIGINALS – Team Achievement
THE FLIGHT CLUB – Writer / Producer Manager
CMS SELECT COMMITTEE – Industry Champion
