MMF summit spotlights the value of the offline world and elect new Board Directors at AGM
Following a sold-out Manager Summit based on a theme of audience and community building, Atlas Artists’ Duncan Ellis was welcomed to the MMF board at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting.
Replacing Ellie Giles, who departs after nine years and the conclusion of her third and final term as a director, Ellis founded Atlas Artists in 2014, working with acclaimed British artists including Celeste and Rachel Chinouriri, currently set to release her hotly-anticipated second album. Encompassing A&R, recording and artist development, Atlas entered into a joint venture with Warner Music’s Parlophone Records in 2021.
As well as paying tribute to Ellie and her dedication and contribution to the MMF, Chief Executive, Annabella Coldrick interviewed Duncan about his experiences in management and talent development and what he plans to contribute to the MMF Board.
Annabella Coldrick, Chief Executive, Music Managers Forum:
“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Duncan to the MMF board. As well as representing some incredible talent, Atlas Artists’ is reflective of the kind of innovative, multi-faceted management companies that are pushing boundaries in the UK. I also want to pay tribute to Ellie Giles, who has served the MMF with incredible commitment and generosity over the past nine years. Ellie will always be a valued member of our community, and someone I know will be at the heart of our MMF activities in the months and years ahead.”
Kerry Harvey Piper (Red Grape Music), Ray Black (Craft Management), Sumit Bothra (SB3 Management) and Vicky Dowdall (VDM Music) were all re-elected as board directors.
Marking her tenth year as Chief Executive, Annabella highlighted ongoing recognition of the role and responsibilities of music managers as the MMF’s biggest achievement since 2016 – outlining the organisation’s ongoing commitment to professional development, including the world’s first industry-recognised certification for managers and the new MMF Hyperdrive programme developed in partnership with YouTube Music and Arts Council England.
She also reflected on the MMF’s campaigning and advocacy work, citing the recent Official Charts Company announcement of a new Homegrown Chart, the UK Artist Touring fund and ongoing progress against online ticket touting as evidence of the organisation’s successes.
“When I first started in this role, we had a thriving membership of 400 managers. Those numbers have now more than tripled, reflecting not only the elevated importance of managers and their £714m contribution to the wider industry, but also fantastic work by the MMF team, board, custodians and members to build a community from all backgrounds and from all around the UK. As an organisation, we have a real responsibility to serve those members and help them grow their businesses.
“Similar to their dedication to building teams around their clients, I hope the MMF is regarded as a respected player around the board rooms of LIVE and UK Music. All of us passionately want this country’s music talent to thrive, and to capitalise on the extraordinary opportunities afforded by technological change and new ways of doing business. I am even more inspired by the innovation and entrepreneurship in the UK’s management community than I was in 2016.”
Hosted before the AGM at 10 Union Street, the MMF’s Manager Summit attracted more than 120 guests from across the industry for a full day of panels, talks and presentations on the topic of audience building and artist development in an era of algorithms.
The Summit began with big picture presentation on AI from technology journalist Andrew Orlowski, before an inspiring keynote interview between Per Sundin and Jessica Koravos, President and CEO of Pophouse, and SB3 Management’s Sumit Bothra – covering the successes of ABBA Voyage, the opportunities of working with legendary artists such as KISS and Iron Maiden, and the potential to reinvigorate catalogues through the development of innovative events and experiences.
Other expert insights and contributions came from Sarah Boorman and Kate Wyn Jones (Universal Music UK), Leon Neville (BPI), Nick Faber (Fabyl), Tim Horrox (Build Hollywood) Lawrence Montgomery (Rough Trade Retail), Aaron Skates (Cantilever), Maddy Smith (YouTube Music), Kate Hutchinson (journalist & broadcaster), Ibrahim Kamara (GUAP), Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura (Curator and Creative Consultant), Kate Helen (Autonomy Music Group), Carlos Romero (Wildlife Entertainment) and Mark Walker (Free Focus).
Delegates also enjoyed Summit Short presentations from new MMF Associate Partners, Ben Geyre at LISSEN and Anton Botes and Vange Kourentis at Fourth Wall, and had the opportunity to meet with many of the MMF’s Associate Partners, including AXS, Fourth Wall, Noise OS, OJK, PRS for Music, Sound Royalties, Tixel and Tysers.
