News

The Music Managers Forum (MMF) and YouTube Music are delighted to unveil the first 15 participants of MMF Hyperdrive – our new collaboration to fast-track the professional development of talented music managers. 

The successful applicants include employees of leading UK management businesses (such as Big Life Management, East City Management, Eleven Management and Solar Management) as well as a range of independent operators. 

Collectively, they represent a vast and eclectic range of artist, songwriter and producer clients.

The full list of MMF Hyperdrive participants is as follows: 

• Andy Westhead, Foray MGMT 

InMe, Lastelle, Mogy

• Annie McIntyre, And Artist Management

Crazy P, Felix Dickinson, Hot Toddy, Ron Basejam

• Claire Kilcourse, Big Life Management 

Orla Gartland, LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER, The Futureheads, Sivu

• Gareth Dobson, Wichita Management 

Gold Panda, Gruff Rhys, Gwenifer Raymond, Luke Abbott, Snapped Ankles

• Hannah Beasley-Garrigan, Repercussion Management 

Tash LC, Ikonika, Sir Hiss, Holly Lester 

• Ina Dubois, Eleven Management

Gorillaz, blur, Clean Bandit   

• Jack Fratini, East City Management

Kodaline, Keo, Bertie Newman 

• James Foster, Coalition-Audio 

A.M.C, Aktive, Delta Heavy, Koven 

• Jess Plummer, Solar Management 

Cameo Blush, Four Tet, Tom Skinner 

• Mark Meyer, GroundStaff

Ichiko Aoba, Liana Flores

• Morgan Harrop, All Day Music 

again&again 

• Olivia Williams 

Fergus McCreadie, SHOLTO    

• Seán Price, Brook Records

Curtisy, banríon 

• Trillest, TRC Management

SKARZ, BNIZZ & WIZXRD 

• Xavier Burgess, Monopoly MGMT

Cikho, SunnyBoyFitz, Sabodi, The League of Rebelz

 

Building on the successes of the acclaimed Accelerator Programme which supported more than 150 independent managers between 2019 and 2025, MMF Hyperdrive aims to boost career growth of a similarly eclectic cohort of MMF members – offering an intensive four-month training programme that fosters the same spirit of inclusivity, knowledge-sharing and community-building. 

Working in partnership with YouTube Music, participants will learn new skills to help supercharge their businesses, including capacity building, enhancing creativity, and learning about new commercial models and tools. Through a travel bursary, they will also receive support to attend key conferences and MMF events, as well as tickets to the 2026 Artist & Manager Awards.

The programme culminates in a dedicated three-day retreat and an opportunity to earn recognition from the MMF’s recently-launched Manager Certification Programme.

Jess Plummer, Solar Management:

“I’m incredibly grateful to be joining this new programme with The MMF and YouTube, deepening my understanding of the industry’s rapidly shifting digital landscape and sharing experiences with other managers, working together to address challenges and new opportunities”

Olivia Williams:

“The Hyperdrive programme is the only course of its kind, and as an independent manager it’s going to provide me with invaluable access to resources, expertise and a network of peers that will have a huge impact on my work.”

Trillest:

“Management is about sacrificing to believe in someone else’s dreams, and doing everything you can to help make them a reality. I applied to Hyperdrive to learn, grow and become the best manager I can be for my artist.”

More details on MMF Hyperdrive will be provided at the MMF’s Manager Summit and AGM on Monday 28th September – a full-day event with a focus on authentic artist development and community building in an age of algorithms and AI. 

Paul Bonham, Director of Professional Development, MMF:

“The MMF’s partnership with YouTube Music has been key to us developing a comprehensive range of professional development programmes for managers, most notably with Accelerator. MMF Hyperdrive raises the bar even further, and we’re delighted to unveil the first 14 participants to benefit. They already represent an incredible array of talent, and our goal is that this new network will help boost their businesses and open up the potential of new technologies and working practices.” 

Maddy Smith, Artist Relations Manager, YouTube Music

“We at YouTube are thrilled to be evolving our longstanding partnership with the MMF, with the launch of Hyperdrive. Once again, we have an amazing group of managers, whose diverse expertise and experience will create an incredible opportunity for knowledge sharing and community building.”

As a National Portfolio Organisation, the MMF’s longstanding commitment to professional development was recognised by Arts Council England in 2023. This includes recently launched partnership programmes with Generator and Coventry City aimed at individuals and businesses based in the North East and Midlands. 

Next month, the MMF will also expand our training to incorporate a new online programme – The Real Deal Series – designed to give managers a clear, confident understanding of how artists and songwriters manage and monetise their recordings and songs.