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Artist News Awards Business News Management & Funding
Artist & Manager Awards presented
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 19 November 2021
The Artist & Manager Awards from the Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition took place in London last night, with Elton John, Mogwai and Bicep among the winners.
Two of the prizes featured a shortlist, with the overall winners announced on the night. Those were the Breakthrough Artist and Breakthrough Manager awards, which were won by Rina Sawayama and Kayleigh Thorpe of Little Runaway Management respectively .
Sawayama also presented Elton John and his manager David Furnish with their Artist & Manager Partnership award, she having been among the artists to guest on John’s ‘Lockdown Sessions’ album last month.
Another stand-out moment of the evening came with the presentation of the Industry Champions Award to the founders of The Black Music Coalition, which was launched following the music industry’s Blackout Tuesday initiative in response to the murder of George Floyd.
The organisation’s Sheryl Nwosu, Afryea Henry-Fontaine, Komali Scott-Jones and Char Grant were presented the award by major label execs Alex Boateng (Universal), Joe Kentish (Warner) and Taponeswa Mavunga (Sony). The founders thanked those in the industry who have already actively supported the organisation’s work, but stressed that there is still much more to be done, and therefore much more active support is also required.
Commenting on last night’s awards, MMF CEO Annabella Coldrick and FAC CEO David Martin said: “Coming together again with friends and colleagues feels such a hugely positive and symbolic step forward. Tonight’s awards was about celebrating music, talent, innovation and camaraderie across the artist and management community – whether that’s individuals at the start of their careers, survivors and legends, or those still standing after decades”.
And here is the full list of winners…
Artist Of The Year: Little Simz
Breakthrough Artist: Rina Sawayama
Pioneer: Mogwai
Artist & Manager Partnership: Elton John & David Furnish (Rocket Entertainment)
Innovation: Bicep And This Is Music
Manager Of The Year: Amy Morgan (September Management)
Breakthrough Manager: Kayleigh Thorpe (Little Runaway Management)
Entrepreneur: Grace Ladoja (Metallic Inc)
Writer / Producer Manager: Karma Artists Team Achievement: YMU Music Group
Industry Champions: The Black Music Coalition
