News

With one month to go, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and the Music Managers Forum (MMF) are delighted to reveal more awardees for the upcoming Artist & Manager Awards in association with beatBread.

The ceremony, which is the only celebration of achievements across the artist and manager community, returns to London’s Bloomsbury Big Top on the evening of Thursday November 23rd.

First up, we will recognise Forever Living Originals, the self-styled “home for free thinkers” who incorporate the collective musical talents of SAULT, Cleo Sol, Little Simz, Chronixx and Inflo.

Recipients of our Team Achievement Award, their dedication to recording, production and visual excellence has delivered an astonishing succession of releases, distinct for both their range and quantity. SAULT alone have issued 11 remarkable albums since 2019, dropping five in a single day last November and one (“Nine”) for a limited period of 99 days; while, last month, Cleo Sol released two stunning studio albums (“Heaven” and “Gold”) in the space of two weeks. An unmatched outpouring of musical collaboration.

Challenging preconceived industry rules of marketing and promotion, Forever Living Originals continue to place art and creativity at the forefront – providing both inspiration and a reminder of what’s truly important.

Making a statement on their award, Forever Living Originals said:

Essentially what we endeavour to do at Forever Living Originals is let the art take centre stage and do away with timelines and systems that we feel might limit the freedom and uniqueness of what our creatives have conceived. 

When we set out on this path, there was an understanding that we may be pushing against the tide with our approach however, we felt with consistency both creatively and from a business aspect we could make positive inroads and hopefully, as a result of some good and honest work, be a lighthouse to those who would also like to initiate their own way. Similarly to those before us who we took inspiration from.

Any recognition for this can only come about by the enjoyment and relative success of each artist on our roster and the pleasure of the people who receive it.

With that being said, all of us at Forever Living Originals are very honoured to receive this award and are grateful to The Artists and Managers Awards, The Featured Artists Coalition and The Music Managers Forum for choosing us.

And last but definitely not least all praise to the Most High. 

Thank you

Forever Living Originals 

The FAC and MMF are also revealing today shortlists for the much-coveted Breakthrough Awards, recognising artists and managers who have made a significant career leap over the last 12 months.

The list for Breakthrough Artist consists of 10 acts from a wide diversity of genres, all acclaimed for their creative and commercial achievements over the past year. The Breakthrough Manager list features eight individuals and two partnerships, all drawn from across the UK, and including 3 previous participants from the MMF’s groundbreaking Accelerator Programme for Music Managers. The Breakthrough Manager Award is sponsored by Amazon Music.

Unlike other award categories, the two breakthrough winners will be announced on the night.

Breakthrough Artist of the Year 2023 shortlist: 

• Amaarae
• Bakar

• Olivia Dean

• Peggy Gou

• Kenya Grace

• Nia Archives

• Obongjayar

• Maisie Peters

• The Reytons

• Shygirl

Breakthrough Manager of the Year 2023 shortlist, sponsored by Amazon Music:

• Akheim Allen, Peral Music (Young Chencs, Nick French, Dido Wilson, Yvng Finessa, Roddy Beatz, Saint 6, Samo, M24)

• Raphael Adekunle, Rax Productions (S1MBA, Kawali, ZT.SWITCH, 163Margs)

• Whitney Asomani  (Sugababes)

• Pascal Balletti, Paya (ENNY)

• Emily Braham, Yo&Co (Olivia Dean)

• Dave Bryan, DMB Management (Lovejoy)

• Nikita Chauhan, TranslateNC (ShowdemCamp, GuiltyBeatz, Semtrex)

• Paul Keen & Sarah Keen, S1bling (RAYE, Abby Keen/Absolutely, Lauren Keen)

• Louise Latimer (Self Esteem, The Big Moon)

• Lyle Scougall & Nathan Dunphy, Mañana Music Management (Josef, t e s t p r e s s)

David Martin, CEO, FAC and Annabella Coldrick, Chief Executive, MMF:

“We are really excited by these latest announcements. Forever Living Originals are responsible for some of the most artistically important music of recent years, and are fully deserving of this recognition for Team Achievement. Collectively, they have raised the bar in terms of innovation and inspiration, and we are honoured they will be joining us on the evening to pick up their award.

“After long and careful deliberation, we are also delighted to reveal the shortlists for Breakthrough Artist and Breakthrough Manager. These are incredibly tough lists to draw up, and we look forward to presenting the winners on November 23rd in what’s shaping up to be one of our strongest ceremonies yet.”

Finally, we can also confirm that Doc Brown aka Ben Bailey Smith will return to host the awards.

Starting off as an underground rapper, Ben is now widely acclaimed for his mainstream TV and film acting, stand up, screenwriting and children’s books. Alongside a starring role in ITV’s Law & Order, his TV work includes C4’s The Inbetweeners and Derek, BBC thriller Hunted, BBC comedies Rev, Miranda, Fleabag, Russell Howard’s Good News, Live at the Apollo and ITV’s Midsomer Murders. He is also highly regarded for his ongoing work with Ricky Gervais.

Tickets for the 2023 Artist & Manager Awards in association with beatBread are available now – please find details here.

As previously announced, in recognition of lifetime achievement, Duran Duran and their longtime manager Wendy Laister will be picking up the Artist-Manager Partnership award (sponsored by Hipgnosis Songs) at the ceremony. Other previously announced winners are Bello (Manager of the Year, award sponsored by PPL), The Cookie Crew (Pioneer, award sponsored by TikTok) and The Flight Club’s Samuel Ademosu & Ruth Gyaniao (Producer / Songwriter Manager).

As well as full access to the ceremony, attendees will enjoy a red carpet cocktail reception, a two-course meal and entry to an exclusive Artist & Manager Awards afterparty.

At last year’s sell-out ceremony, winners were Becky Hill, Bose Ogulu, Tim Burgess, Martin Hall, Carl Cox, beabadoobee, Callum Reece, Groundworks, Krept & Konan, ABBA Voyage, Red Light Management and Music Declares Emergency.

The Artist & Manager Awards are headline sponsored for the second year running by beatBread, the pioneering music funding platform that enables artists to access growth capital while maintaining control of their careers and ownership of their music.

Launched in November 2020, and already a highly valued Associate Member of the MMF and partner of the FAC, beatBread has firmly established itself as one of the best ways for independent artists to source funding to further their careers. The company provides advances on streaming income for both catalogue and unreleased repertoire, empowering artists and giving them complete choice of their distribution, marketing and promotion partners. beatBread advances range from as little as $1,000 to as much as $3M per artist.

To date, the company has supplied funding to more than 800 artists and labels across multiple genres, six continents and a broad range of career stages.

Artists and managers who want to explore what their capital options might be can do so quickly and easily without any obligation, simply by answering a few questions at www.beatbread.com.

Earlier this year, beatBread launched its Investor Network, a platform that enables distributors, industry insiders and qualified investors to bid on fractions of an artist’s deal, allowing artists to leverage the best possible terms to finance their careers as a result.