Accelerator 2023
The Music Managers Forum celebrate five years of Accelerator by announcing 24 more participants for the groundbreaking programme
The Music Managers Forum (MMF) is delighted to reveal the next wave of 24 independent music managers who will take part in our 2023 Accelerator Programme for Music Managers.
Now entering its fifth year, Accelerator is a groundbreaking grants and training initiative aimed at putting independent music management businesses on a more sustainable footing. Supported by YouTube Music, Arts Council England, Creative Scotland and the Scottish Music Industry Association, the programme is overseen by Paul Bonham, the MMF’s Director of Professional Development.
Since 2019, more than 100 independent music managers have participated in Accelerator, benefitting from £1.5m of investment and training. Many have gone on to enjoy extraordinary successes in support of the artists, songwriters, music producers and other creative talent they represent.
Most recently, these include:
Rob Harrison, co-manager of BRITs Rising Star winners FLO
Rich Goodwin, manager of recent UK album chart toppers The Reytons
Alessia Avallone, manager of Soundwalk Collective, composers for Oscar-nominated documentary All The Beauty and the Bloodshed;
Anique Cox, nominated in the Best Manager category at the Accelerator-sponsored Young Music Boss Awards for her incredible work with Bree Runway
Callum Reece, winner of Breakthrough Manager at the 2022 Artist & Manager Awards for his successes at One House for Eliza Rose, Sherelle, Cktrl and Mwanjé.
Other Accelerators have worked on Mercury and Grammy-nominated projects, as well as developing commercial partnerships and collaborations with a wide range of record labels, distributors, music publishers, live music companies, brands and other management businesses.
We are confident that the extraordinarily talented class of 2023 will follow in their footsteps. Representing artists including Låpsley, SIPHO, Gee Lee, Jesse Boykins III, Felixthe1st and Pigs x 7, our 24 managers are drawn from all corners of the UK (65% are based outside London) and, as in previous years, include a strong balance of genders and backgrounds.
Full List of Participants:
ALEX PUTMAN
Born and bred in Paris, Alex moved to London in 2012 to study Politics, Philosophy & Art History. After his studies, he began working as an intern at Polydor Records (UMG) where he graduated to assist in the running of UK campaigns for artists such as Kendrick Lamar, The 1975, Mura Masa, Haim & more. While working at Polydor, he founded untitled (recs), an artist development label. untitled and its artist-led philosophy enjoyed commercial and critical success in its first few years releasing artists such as Brad stank, TAAHLIAH, Jerskin Fendrix and deathcrash, whilst collaborating with international artists such as Loraine James, King Krule, BABii & more. Alex subsequently started managing artists affiliated to the label. His current roster includes breaking electronic producer & DJ TAAHLIAH, post-punk outfit Famous, and experimental pop sensation Jerskin Fendrix. Alongside his label & management duties, Alex works for Hedi Slimane’s fashion house CELINE as a music consultant.
ROSTER // TAAHLIAH – Famous – Jerkin Hendrix
ALFIE BRIGGS
Despite a family musical background, Alfie initially pursued a business degree. However, after time spent with family during lockdown, he began to work with his mother (also known as the artist Piccolo Music) to distribute her songs globally and develop an online presence. Just over two years later and Piccolo Music has generated over 50 million streams across major DSP’s, achieved headline sponsorship and official music partner of ‘World Nursery Rhyme Week’ (alongside ‘Moonbug’ i.e. ‘Cocomelon’) as well as landing songs on Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Kids Editorials. Looking ahead, Alfie is currently working with an animation studio to develop an animated YouTube series for Piccolo as well as kickstart an independent children’s music management company.
ROSTER // Piccolo Music
BEN MAGEE
Starting off his career in music as a journalist covering independent artists, Ben moved into management in 2019 under the tutelage of the BPI/Brit School Creative Industries apprenticeship. Having started his own firm, New Champion Management, in his hometown of Belfast in late 2019, Ben has been able to platform his artists worldwide. With appearances across three continents, 80 million streams across the roster and spanning various genres, New Champion has consistently developed and established some of the best artists in the UK and Ireland.
ROSTER // Joshua Burnside – Dark Tropics – Lemonade Shoelace – CHALK
BRADLEY KULISIC
Bradley has worked in independent music since 2002. Starting in recording studios and distribution warehouses and moving into label management, sales and marketing, his DIY approach was honed by working with Barry Adamson, Southern Records (Dischord, Constellation, Ipecac), Bronze Rat Records, Secret City Recordings and Digital Hardcore Recordings. In 2014-2018 he worked at Music Services company Kartel Music Group, where he became Head of Artist and Label Services with a roster that included Peaches, Colin Stetson, The Pop Group, Jeremy Loops, Xtra Mile Recordings and more. Singing Light Music was launched by Bradley in January 2019 with the intention of bringing all these experiences together under one umbrella. He manages artists including Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Holy Moly & The Crackers and The Dawdler, and has worked with both emerging and established acts such as Eleni Drake, Martha Hill, The Hives, Jah Wobble and Du Blonde on music distribution, marketing planning and execution, and campaign management. He is based in Newcastle upon Tyne and has 2 ex-racing greyhounds, Bob and Jet.
ROSTER // Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Holy Moly & The Crackers – Lindsay Munroe – The Dawdler – LUNGE
DANNI SKERRITT
Danni is the co-owner and manager of No Such Thing Records. As a former artist who has never quite fit the mould, the label and management arm provides artists from under-represented groups with a platform to shine. No Such Thing prides themselves on harnessing and spotlighting creativity in the North of the UK, and are committed to championing diversity across the region – driven by collaboration and a passion for fusing visual arts with music, giving Northern artists more opportunity, freedom and chance to grow a community. They’re here to empower our artists and give them back creative control.
ROSTER // Kaspa – Ruby Tingle – Iora
DECLAN MCALISTER
Having previously held A&R roles at PMR Records and Capitol, Declan moved into management in 2020 and developed a carefully curated roster of songwriters, producers, mixers and artists spanning multiple genres and musical styles.
ROSTER // Mack Jamieson – Parked Up – Carys Selvey – Unflirt – Chloe Qisha – Joe Hartwell Jones
FRANCES BARBER SHILLITO
FRNT MGMT is a female founded and female-led artist management company representing frontline DJs and producers from the underground and crossover electronic dance music scene. With a lifelong career in music, Frances’ intention with FRNT was to combine her love of house and electronic music with being a female leader and businesswoman in music. Frances is also a well know spokeswoman and leader in tackling women’s safety in the nightlife scene, working with The Night Time Economy and being at the forefront of making positive changes to the systems in place and resources available to women who have experienced sexual assault, harassment and discrimination in the music industry.
ROSTER // Ben Malone – Hugo Cantarra – My Friend – Louis Millne – Toriah
HANNAH TURNBALL-WALTER
Hannah has ten years of music business experience and ran the label Big Dada in her early twenties where she was behind the signing of Kae Tempest’s Mercury-nominated debut album ‘Everybody Down’ as well as releasing the Mercury Prize winning album ‘DEAD’ by Young Fathers. She co-founded south London club night LOCAL, booking and celebrating artists like Mica Levi, Tirzah, Coby Sey, CKTRL, Actress, Obongjayer and more. She worked as head of music videos at production company Somesuch, signing directors and exec-producing music videos for the likes of Taylor Swift, Frank Ocean, Elton John and Ed Sheeran. After this Hannah worked with the Swedish musician Robyn as her label manager for Konichiwa Records and releasing her album Honey. After touring the record internationally she moved into management and freelance consulting, working with Nala Sinephro on her debut album ‘Space 1.8’. She co-founded Ladies Music Pub with Tyson in 2015, a DIY group for women, trans and NB people in music. She now manages Låpsley and Joe Winter and co-manages TYSON.
ROSTER // TYSON – Låpsley – Joe Winter
ISUS CALMELLOW
Isus has spent the past few years focusing on artist development and management under the music company & creative studio, OPENN.
ROSTER // Femi Tahiru – Jay Faded – DeBe
JAMIL CARROL
Jamil is a music entrepreneur from South London, and co-founder of management company The Plush House, The Plush House Studio & SOLIDA Publishing. He currently manages the Grammy-nominated producer M.G (Doja Cat – Planet Her) and three artists: Kwengface, VXMOB, VX Duse. Kwengface recently passed 200 million total streams. Jamil has a passion for artist development and experience across management, songwriting, music production, and consulting. His studio has become a base for like-minded individuals and a space for musicians to blossom and create regardless of numbers. The Plush House’s ethos is to provide artists with a support system, along with the facilities and information to progress their careers. Having also achieved charting success with his business partner Bouncer, Jamil is eager to take his artists to new heights and add to his collection of Top Charting Entries, Platinum Gold & Silver Certifications, Mobo Nomination, Grammy Nomination + more
ROSTER // Kwengface – VXMOB – VX Duse – M.G
JAMILA SCOTT
Jamila has over fourteen years experience in the music industry, having worked at Polydor, Warner Records and management companies such as Method Records and Tileyard Music. She has signed and A&R’d artists including Lion Babe and Years & Years, and launched her own management company Into The Blue in 2020, where she manages Melle Brown, Jack Kane, Halfrhymes and Hannah Yadi. Alongside her management and A&R duties Jamila has run the tastemaker blog Cruel Rhythm since 2007. The blog is credited with discovering Disclosure amongst others, and Jamila has worked with partners including Sonos and Hype Machine on events featuring artists such as SZA, Kelis, Dua Lipa and Stormzy at SXSW, Great Escape and more.
ROSTER // Melle Brown – Jack Kane – Halfrhymes – Hannah Yadi
JIM FREW
Moving from his hometown of Dumfries, Jim located to Glasgow to study music industry management from where he graduated to helping develop and manage acts such as The Dunts, taking the band to SXSW and helped create a fierce cult following. With his extensive network and wealth of experience Jim set-up 7 West Music in 2019 and currently represents exciting new acts Spyres, Uninvited, The Roly Mo, Ava In the Dark and The Katuns. The company exists to help new artists develop and sustain long careers whilst protecting their vision. Recently securing a joint venture with Lab Records, Jim is continuously championing and supporting artists whilst trying to push boundaries and force conversations.
ROSTER // Spyres – Uninvited – The Roly Mo – Ava in the Dark – The Katuns
JOEL REYES
Moko Management is a management company built by founder Joel Reyes with a clear and definitive ethos: be the change you want to see. Starting out on the live circuit and working with emerging acts, Joel was hearing first-hand the struggles artists, writers and producers were facing on a day to day basis with management. This led him to establish Moko Management in 2019, which focuses primarily on developing and nurturing talent – putting the client’s ambitions and development at the forefront of everything. It looks set to be a breakout year for the roster with Lo and Izi releasing their respective music, whilst Carys, andysocialclub and Alex have a plethora of cuts due to be released.
ROSTER // Lo Lauren – Izi Redmond – Carys Selvey – Andysocialclub – Alex Wildwood
KARISS ANDREW
Kariss is a Scottish manager who started her management journey at college, where she fell in love with the business side of music and artist development. After graduating, she worked at GR Management, a well-established artist management company in Glasgow, who currently represent Texas and Primal Scream. Initially employed as an assistant, Kariss soon established her first client, MOY, adding kitti and then Lewis to her roster. Her subsequent successes include winning awards such as “Breakthrough Artist” at the Scottish Music Awards, “Best Vocalist” at the Scottish Jazz Awards and support slots with The Script and Van Morrison. Kariss has now established her own management company, Karizma MGMT and is passionate about seeking and nurturing unique talent, by giving it structure, whilst developing their creative story.
ROSTER // kitti – MOY – Park Lane Studios
KIERAN THOMPSON
Hailing from Birmingham, Kieran started his journey in the music industry over a decade ago, initially as an intern at Punch Records. Whilst working there, he constantly began to unearth new talent and had dreams of being an A&R, before trying his hand at management. Having worked in management for the last 5 years, Kieran went on to set up Localism Club, an artist management company working with artists from the Midlands which currently looks after SIPHO., Thai Mason & Cay Caleb
ROSTER // SIPHO – Thai Mason – Cay Caleb – Ella More (co-manager)
LEON WRIGHT
Based in South West London, Leon cut his teeth as a publishing A&R for 9 years before making the leap into full time artist management, starting his own company, Parade, in 2023. He manages the artist / producer / songwriter Fabiana Palladino – who signed a record deal with XL Recordings / Paul Institute during lockdown and is now making her debut album – as well as new Swedish solo artist Tex, and producer / mixer Dane Burge, who exec produced and mixed the latest Lancey Foux project ‘Life in Hell’.
ROSTER // Fabiana Palladino – Tex – Dane Burge
MARLEY AZU-JONES
After a trip to Jamaica with family, Marley fell into the role of a music manager, and his roster includes his cousin Fonzie, younger brother Felixthe1st and close friend DJ Mastaque. Fonzie has gone on to feature as an o2 New Artist to look out for, amassed over 500,00 streams and headlined sold out shows. DJ Mastaque has completed two European tours, including shows in Aarhus, Zurich, Copenhagen, Zagreb, Berlin, Stockholm, Paris and Barcelona. Meanwhile, Felixthe1st won a 2022 MOBO Award for Song of the Year, featured in the NME 100 and charted at 64 on the national charts. Alongside management, Marley has worked closely with the Cre8ing Vision Focus group where he met close friend Finch Fetti – who was the producer for “Own Brand Freestyle”. Alongside this, Marley also founded THE N3XT UP- a one-stop location for live shows and insightful content into those behind the scenes within the music industry.
ROSTER // Fonzie – Felixthe1st – DJ Mastaque
NINA SMITH
Starting out as a singer-songwriter, Nina is Nottingham born and bred and has over 10+ years experience in the music industry as an artist. Her successes include Top 5 hits on the iTunes chart, featuring on Maida Vale Radio1 Live Lounge sessions and writing songs for internationally recognised projects. Moving into management in 2017 via not-for-profit development label ‘First Light’, Tuff Cookie opened its doors at the end of 2019. Quietly building during the pandemic years, the business has overseen deals on major record labels and slowly cultivated a roster of talent ready to begin their careers.
ROSTER // Alfie Sharp – Kirk Spencer – Family Friend
SADE LAWSON
Sadé has worked in the music industry for over a decade, specialising in artist management, content production and project management. Recognised by Nation of Billions’ in their “30 Under 30” list, she uses her platform and experience to help other young people in the industry through panels, workshops and more. Sadé joined FKA twigs management team for the release of the critically acclaimed Magdalene album and independently manages broadcaster + DJ – Lil C, Jesse Boykins III & Bam Marley. As one half of COZY GLOBAL, a full service creative studio based in London & New York; she joins creative Mahaneela in producing content for clients including Sundance Film Festival, Nike, Google and Amazon Music. Aside from her work in the music industry, Sadé is a successful commercial model & DJ.
ROSTER // Lil C – Jesse Boykins III – Bam Marley
TRINA SMITH
With years of commercial experience, Trina holds the fundamental belief that emerging and established talent deserve acknowledgment, respect, and reward for their work. As a mixed-race female in a male-dominated industry, she proudly champions Women, LGBTQ, ethnic minorities, fellow mothers, and the neurodiverse within the industry. Following a recent diagnosis of ADHD, Trina has a newfound ambition toward nurturing and supporting the vast neurodiverse in the creative industry. To help them recognise their superpower as one of creativity, innovation, and the ability to think outside the box. To fulfil their potential, dispel any stigma, and be free from exploitation in the industry. For Trina, this never means undermining the success of people outside of these groups – there’s a firm belief that we are stronger together. Her roster ranges from emerging artists to more established names and includes Victors, The White Lakes, Mutya Buena, Khalysis as well as composers, producers and DJ’s – Andrew Kingslow, Dan Carasco, TOMI (DJ Tazer), Luke Juby, Taper, Liam Geddes and Andrea Lepori.
ROSTER // Victors – The White Lakes – Mutya Buena – Khalysis – Andrew Kingslow – Dan Carasco – TOMI (DJ Tazer) – Luke Juby – Taper – Liam Geddes – Andrea Lepori
VANESSA SINCLAIR
VNS Management was founded by Vanessa Sinclair, a music manager who works alongside a diverse roster of some of the strongest, raw talent from within the West Midlands. Originally from a teaching and youth work background, Vanessa started off her career by producing event platforms for young music artists/creatives, going on to work with artists and bands such as Rudimental and Mr Hudson. Beyond this, Vanessa has worked in multiple roles within the music industry, including security at music festivals and arenas, production crew, studio/creative space manager, booking agent, stage manager, scout, promoter, tour manager, event manager and festival organiser. Teamwork, strong relationships and communication is something that Vanessa believes strongly in. She states: “as a manager, the relationship and connection I have with the artists I work with is key to helping us work together as a team to reach their full potential. I really enjoy working with independent artists and being that person involved in the journey of taking them from one stage of their careers to the next, to the next, to the next…..
ROSTER // MR MACEE – EL SAM – GAMBIMI – ABZ WINTER – DJ STEADMAN – CLAIRE ANGEL
WILLEM LORD
Having entered the business with live events company Lockoff, Willem has now found his passion in artist management, representing the likes of ayrtn, Downtown Kayoto, GEE LEE, Jack Marlow, Jaish and Izadora under the umbrella of his company “Phantom”. Willem prides his roster on being the “Ajax Academy” of the UK music scene, showcasing immense talent, youth and potential. He fosters a tight knit dynamic which catalyses collaboration and cross-pollination between his artists who all operate across an eclectic range of genres including rap, dance, pop, indie and R&B. The company’s early successes include ayrtn’s 2022 sold out UK tour, highly streamed releases from GEE LEE, Jaish and Jack Marlow, and Downtown Kayoto set to roll out a much anticipated project in 2023.
ROSTER // ayrtn – Downtown Kayoto – GEE LEE – Jack Marlow – Jaish, Izadora
WILLOW DINGWALL-FORDYCE
A former graduate of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in 2012, Willow held positions at Island Records (Universal), Global Records (Warner) & PRS For Music before founding The Misfits Management Club in 2020 as an artist management & A&R boutique. The company’s management roster currently consists of rising DJ/producer Leventis & pop singer/songwriter EVALINA, who despite only releasing her first song in 2020 has already accumulated close to 20 million streams across her credits. Willow is also A&Ring a number of projects for Rak-Su, Kid Eternal & rising Irish pop star, KEHLI.
ROSTER // EVALINA – Leventis
YVONNE ELLIS
Demonstrating that the pandemic had its success stories, Yvonne agreed to manage newly-formed Manchester band Secret Night Gang who she was producing at the onset of lockdown – self-releasing two singles, alongside a track with Band on the Wall who had set up a label to help local musicians during this difficult time. By the time 2020 drew to a close, Yvonne had signed the band to Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings and had the band’s debut album ready to go. Coming out of lockdown the band performed four sold out shows – including Ronnie Scott’s – to celebrate its release, while picking up a nomination from Jazz Fm for “Best Breakthrough Act”. 2022 saw Secret Night Gang firmly embedded in the live scene, with support slots for Khruanghin on their EU/UK tour before playing a run of prestigious festivals including North Sea Jazz, Montreux, Mostly Jazz and Funk and We Out Here.
ROSTER // Secret Night Gang – Zoe Kyoti – Mali Hayes – Eddy Cantor – Make Wilson
