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MMF REVEALS THE NEXT WAVE OF TALENTED MUSIC MANAGERS TO JOIN THE ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME 2022

The Music Managers Forum is delighted to reveal the 24 hugely talented music managers who will participate in our 2022 Accelerator Programme for Music Managers. Supported by YouTube Music, Arts Council England, Creative Scotland and the Scottish Music Industry Association, Accelerator is a groundbreaking grants and training initiative aimed specifically at the wider management community. The programme is overseen by the MMF’s Paul Bonham.

Established in 2019, Accelerator has supported more than 70 independent music managers to date, resulting in an unrivaled track record of success and sustainability. Last year, the 22 managers who participated in Accelerator amidst the challenging circumstances brought on by COVID-19, still collectively unlocked £2.2m of earnings for their clients and increased their own business revenues by more than 30%.

Collectively, these artists saw 35%+ subscriber growth to their YouTube channels, with notable breakthroughs managed by Accelerator participants included PinkPantheress (co-managed by Phoebe Gold), Moonchild Sanelly (managed by Lauren Roth De Wolf), ShyGirl (managed by Sarah M) and Squid (managed by Ina Tatarko). Read a report on the 2020 & 2021 Accelerator retreat here.

Joining this network in 2022 will be the following UK-based managers, who between them already oversee the careers of almost 100 artists, songwriters, DJs and producers. All will benefit from annual grants of up to £15,000, alongside weekly sessions of expert-led professional development from partners including CMU, MusicAlly and Nadia Khan’s CTRL Music.

List of participants
Abi Getto

Management: Rinzen, Perel, Tim Green, Tom Jarmey

Name:
 Abi Getto
Role:
 Management: Rinzen, Perel, Tim Green, Tom Jarmey
Bio:
 Abi Getto is a London-based manager whose aim is to build sustainable and diversified careers for club-centric acts. Prior to moving to London and founding Vanta Artists in 2020, Abi spent eight years in LA cutting her teeth on different facets of the music industry from PR to label management. While doing so, she co-founded Nap Girls – an LA-headquartered women and GNC-focused networking and career development non-profit. The group’s initial aim was to build visibility for underrepresented gender groups within dance music in LA, but grew to encompass many different creative fields with chapters in cities like London, New York and Sydney. In 2016, Abi found her calling in artist management as the day-to-day-turned-manager of Claude VonStroke, head of iconic LA-based house label, Dirtybird Records. She later joined up with Seven20 Group, a partner company of Jay-Z’s RocNation, where she managed her own roster of acts including Rinzen and Sian from her current line-up, along with Deadmau5’s techno project, Testpilot. In 2020, Abi made the leap into independent management with a long-awaited move to London. In the time since has partnered with management collective 285 Group with whom she currently co-manages Perel, Tim Green and Tom Jarmey.
Adrian Thomas

Management: Nino SLG, Hargo & Idi Akz

Name:
 Adrian Thomas
Role:
 Management: Nino SLG, Hargo & Idi Akz
Bio:
 Started out working with Merky Records, the artist I was coming across was just too good so I decided to get into Management. Came across the amazing Nino SLG who everyone saw a young Dave in the making as he also plays the piano & the Guitar which helps him with his production. Hargo already had amazing success from his work he did when he was uploading beats on YouTube and of course Central Cee with “Loading”. Idi Akz I feel is one of the leaders of the new sound that’s being birthed, “Lofi sampled drill” which is using a sample on a drill beat. My aim is to have a roster like “Yo Gotti” and in feel I am on the right path.
Anique Cox

Management: Bree Runway

Name:
 Anique Cox
Role:
 Management: Bree Runway
Bio:
 Having been Bree Runway’s Marketing Manager from 2018, at EMI Records. In 2020, when Bree was without management, and the pandemic was at its worst, Anique instinctively went above and beyond, outside of her marketing duties, to support and help the dynamic singer/songwriter. By the end of that year, with blessing of EMI, Anique left the label to manage Bree Runway, officially, and independently.
Alessia Avallone

Management: Lyra Pramuk, Gigi Masin, Ron Trent, Paquita Gordon, Soundwalk Collective, Carmen Villain, Huerco S, Anoushka Shankar

Name:
 Alessia Avallone
Role:
 Management: Lyra Pramuk, Gigi Masin, Ron Trent, Paquita Gordon, Soundwalk Collective, Carmen Villain, Huerco S, Anoushka Shankar
Bio:
 Founded by Alessia Avallone in 2017, Language Of Sound is an artist management agency and source for creative direction, with a singular, holistic approach to artistic representation. With a background in art history, the Naples-born, London based Alessia worked with art institutions and music agencies for many years before starting this project. Operating from deep-seated values of integrity, and neither compromising or settling, Alessia sees herself as a facilitator, with “a vision to fill the space between the artist and the art”, giving the artists the space needed to tell their stories, and develop independently of the mechanisms of the music industry.
Cecile Dreyer

Management: Misty Boyce Dressage Child, The Banned Aysedeniz Gokcin

Name:
 Cecile Dreyer
Role:
 Management: Misty Boyce Dressage Child, The Banned Aysedeniz Gokcin
Bio:
 Cecilie started her career in music in Los Angeles back in 2014 where she was involved in the talk show CONAN as well as Balcony TV. Since then, she worked on various PR campaigns for local and international acts in Copenhagen, before moving to London to finish her masters. In London she worked at a label services company before embarking on her start-up journey with ‘Banders’ believing that artists don’t need a million fans to create a sustainable business. Just the right ones. Cecilie is originally from Denmark where she studied economics and business administration at university, while focusing on music law and music management specifically while studying in Los Angeles and London. Her roster counts Misty Boyce, Dresage, Aysedeniz Gokcin and CHILD + the banned, who are based between London and Los Angeles. The common goal for these artists is to build sustainable businesses. They are benefiting from Cecilie’s international industry perspective, reach and experience running a small business.
Charlene Hegarty

Management: New Pagans, Gemma Bradley, Kitt Philippa, The Darkling Air

Name:
 Charlene Hegarty
Role:
 Management: New Pagans, Gemma Bradley, Kitt Philippa, The Darkling Air
Bio:
 Serving the music industry for 17 years, Charlene is passionate about securing opportunities for music makers and strengthening the creative sector as a whole, particularly in Northern Ireland. “I officially launched Zero Myth in 2017 to meet a need; at that time there was a shortage of managers and even fewer female managers. The company is founded on the principle of ‘Seeing Things Through’ and we do just that; by acting as the trusted conduit between artist and industry and work to create sustainable artist led campaigns. By utilising my extensive experience I cover all aspects of the artists day to day management including strategic and creative development, partnerships, creative and commercial relationships.” Zero Myth currently represents the interests of Gemma Bradley, Kitt Philippa, New Pagans and The Darkling Air.
Cillian Farrell

Management: Sainte, Chucks, Elevated, Lucid

Name:
 Cillian Farrell
Role:
 Management: Sainte, Chucks, Elevated, Lucid
Bio:
 Founded in 2019 by the London-Irish Accelerator Manager, Cillian Farrell, Kill Management is a UK based music management company. In recent years, Kill Management has been involved in the UK’s rap scene, developing and collaborating with some of the country’s leading producers & artists in order to sustain worldwide respected & long-lasting careers. Kill’s first insight into music was when he started filming and editing music videos at age 13. (Rag’n’Bone Man, Lancey Foux, Ocean Wisdom) After graduating from the prestigious BRIT School for Performing Arts, Cillian had early success with artist Octavian, later going on to win the BBC Sound of 2019. Soon after, the production roster continued to flourish securing placements with 6ix9ine, Bad Bunny, Emeli Sandé, Jorja Smith, Lil Tecca, Giggs, Central Cee & Headie One to mention a few. Important factors of the Kill Management acumen is to create and expand authentic relationships, assist with vision & connect dots across a multitude of different areas.
Cleo Amedume

Management: Chrissi, Detonate, Freemonk, Yardes

Name:
 Cleo Amedume
Role:
 Management: Chrissi, Detonate, Freemonk, Yardes
Bio:
 After being what she calls “an opinionated observer” of the music industry for a number of years, Cleo decided to join forces with Mpho McKenzie and Tekiva Ledwidge to create boutique management and development company MUVVA. MUVVA believe that mental wellbeing is essential to a sustainable artist practice, an ethos which allows them to treat the creatives they manage like people and not products. Cleo holds a First Class BA (Hons) in Music Business and a DipHe in Events & Entertainment Management and has experience in Liaison Management, A&R, Video Production and Events. She has worked closely on projects such as the ‘Black Female Excellence’ celebration edition and monthly ‘Mentor Me’ feature with Music Week Magazine and monthly ‘Mentor Me’ mentoring sessions with Grammy-nominated songwriter Carla Marie Williams and Girls I Rate . Cleo also runs her own Creative Project Consultancy, ‘Creative Implementer’.
Daryl Pryor

Management: Yours truly, Between You & Me, Teeth, Up Late

Name:
 Daryl Pryor
Role:
 Management: Yours truly, Between You & Me, Teeth, Up Late
Bio:
 Establishing Capital Artist Management in 2016, Daryl Pryor uses his personal experiences of being an international touring musician in his approach to artist management. Working with internationally recognised artists such as Aria Nominated ‘Yours Truly’, and Hopeless Record artist ‘Between You & Me’, he’s had the opportunity to take artists from a local level to houshold names within their genre.
Gina Akers

Management: Mellowmatic, JFB, Jurassic 5's Soup Presents: Fullee Love Collective, The Tribe

Name:
 Gina Akers
Role:
 Management: Mellowmatic, JFB, Jurassic 5's Soup Presents: Fullee Love Collective, The Tribe
Bio:
 Founder of BLENDID Artists, Gina Akers has been managing artists since 2012. With a background in TV, Journalism and PR, Gina is a qualified Lecturer, holds the equivalent of 5 degrees and 10 A’Levels including; Business Management Degree from Oxford Brookes, and near completing a Masters Degree in Music Industry Management & Artist Development with The London College of Music and University of West London.
Hamish Fingland

Management: Walt Disco, Lucia & The Best Boys, The Ninth Wave

Name:
 Hamish Fingland
Role:
 Management: Walt Disco, Lucia & The Best Boys, The Ninth Wave
Bio:
 Hamish Fingland runs Scottish management company Bounse MGMT. Bounse is a creative music management company with a collaborative outlook, rooted in the spirit of ‘bouncing around ideas’. Bounse’s mission is to provide its collective with a home to feel safe, share, build and stay creatively stimulated. Hamish began his career in music as an artist, initially signing two major label deals. Through this he experienced the highs and lows all artists face alongside making records and touring whilst starting to build his network of Music Industry peers. Hamish began his managerial career at Kingdom MGMT (Lewis Capaldi, Aaron Smith), before going independent to form Bounse in January 2021. Nurturing artistic talent, negotiating record deals, guiding acts through release campaigns and tours, and putting quality teams in place are all done with Bounse’s ethos at the forefront. Hamish identifies artists who have raw talent and helps them to express, develop and flourish by supporting them to be the fullest version of themselves. Through this, he strives for individualistic, lasting artists who work hard and love what they do.
Henry Carden

Management: Cattle & Cane, Joe Hammill, Jodie Nicholson, Mt. Misery

Name:
 Henry Carden
Role:
 Management: Cattle & Cane, Joe Hammill, Jodie Nicholson, Mt. Misery
Bio:
 After initially starting out in the music industry as a guitarist and songwriter in a critically-acclaimed (but commercially underachieving) indie band, Henry has spent the past few years focusing on management, mentoring and artist development under the Quiet Crown umbrella. He has played an integral role in helping establish Teesside siblings Cattle & Cane as one of the best loved bands in the North East, with sold-out shows at the likes of Sage Gateshead and Middlesbrough Town Hall testament to that. As well as managing the band, Henry also manages C&C’s Joe Hammill as a songwriter, with a recent highlight being an official Spotify ‘Written by Joe Hammill’ playlist showcasing Joe’s cuts with the likes of Lucy Spraggan, Ward Thomas and Sarah Darling. Henry’s Quiet Crown management roster also includes rising singer-songwriter Jodie Nicholson and cult indie-pop band Mt. Misery. Alongside this, Henry is also co-promoter of award-winning emerging music festival Twisterella, which has provided early festival appearances for the likes of Sam Fender, Lauran Hibberd, The Snuts, Dream Wife, Fatherson and Clean Cut Kid, to name but a few.
India Allen

Management: John Greenham And Tess Greenham (Clearlight Mastering), Kyle Mangels (Mixer), Rules (DJ/Artist), Liv Dawson (Artist)

Name:
 India Allen
Role:
 Management: John Greenham And Tess Greenham (Clearlight Mastering), Kyle Mangels (Mixer), Rules (DJ/Artist), Liv Dawson (Artist)
Bio:
 India Allen is the founder of Illa Management. She has a wealth of experience and a strong international network. Her clients range from engineers, producers, and songwriters to artists and DJs – who are based in both London and Los Angeles. Her clients have worked with the likes of Billie Eilish, Girl In Red, Sigrid, Lady Gaga, Mura Masa, Ashnikko, Gracie Abrams, Trevor Daniel, Sam Fender, Disclosure amongst others. She’s passionate about discovering and nurturing new talent and levelling the playing field. India is also an A&R consultant.
Katarzyna Piatkowska

Management: Cellar Darling, NO:IR, Kassogtha, Tar Pond

Name:
 Katarzyna Piatkowska
Role:
 Management: Cellar Darling, NO:IR, Kassogtha, Tar Pond
Bio:
 Kate started her career in music in 2003 as a live sound engineer in London. She has since toured the world extensively with metal and rock bands including Carcass, Eluveitie, Immortal, Finntroll, Amon Amarth, and Monster Magnet, racking up thousands of shows in over 50 countries and expanding into tour and production management. In 2016, she co-founded Klang Machine Music, a London-based management company specialising in heavy artists. With her first client, the Swiss prog rock trio Cellar Darling, Kate celebrated highlights including a multi-album deal with Nuclear Blast Records, Prog Magazine’s 2019 Progressive Music Award, major festival appearances throughout Europe, world tours spanning four continents, and charts entries in Switzerland, Germany, and the UK. Klang Machine Music soon grew to take on the Bristol-based rap metal upstarts NO:IR, the progressive death metal newcomers Kassogtha and the Swiss anti-supergroup Tar Pond. Laser-focused on building sustainable, global careers for her clients, Kate is looking to expand her roster further in 2022 and beyond.
Lucy Fitzgerald

Management: Lennixx, WOOZE, Goat Girl, whenyoung, Rudi Salmon

Name:
 Lucy Fitzgerald
Role:
 Management: Lennixx, WOOZE, Goat Girl, whenyoung, Rudi Salmon
Bio:
 Starting a career in management over 10 years ago. Previously working with Everything Everything, Bill Wyman, Suede, Hot Chip, Jungle, Chrissie Hynde, & Lianne La Havas, Lucy Founded Sound Artists in 2020.
Maria Torres

Management: Sinead O'Brien, Grandmas House, Keaton Dekker, My Life As A Moth

Name:
 Maria Torres
Role:
 Management: Sinead O'Brien, Grandmas House, Keaton Dekker, My Life As A Moth
Bio:
 Based in the South-West of England, María Torres has multiple years’ worth of experience within the music industry. Having worked across different sectors of the business, María soon realised that her passion for artist development would lead her down the music management route in 2018. Maria has worked closely with Saffron Records in Bristol as part of their Springboard Programme to set up her independent management business, Sakura Artists, which launched in January 2022. María is passionate about seeking, and nurturing the most exciting, unique talent and developing their creative story from the very beginning. She is collaborative and forward-thinking when it comes to working with artist projects, consistently working with artists and their wider teams to achieve successful outcomes.
Naomi Belshaw

Management: Dani Howard, Joseph Phibbs, Kemal Yusuf, Steven Daverson, Arthur Keegan-Bole, Garry DW Judd, Diana Yukawa

Name:
 Naomi Belshaw
Role:
 Management: Dani Howard, Joseph Phibbs, Kemal Yusuf, Steven Daverson, Arthur Keegan-Bole, Garry DW Judd, Diana Yukawa
Bio:
 Naomi is a consultant and manager offering classical composers and artists formal help with their careers, utilising her uniquely broad perspective and extensive knowledge in funding, festival curation, publishing, licensing, royalties, PR, marketing and more. Initially training as an archaeologist 15 years ago, Naomi swapped her hobby in music to her career. Taking up roles in royalty collection whilst teaching violin and playing in a band, Naomi built an invaluable understanding of royalties, licensing and publishing before focusing on advising classical composers in a newly created position at PRS for Music in 2014. Naomi continued working in music funding and classical music PR, always displaying her passion for helping and educating composers in building successful careers. In 2019 she set up her current consultancy company. Naomi now manages composers Dani Howard, Joseph Phibbs, Kemal Yusuf, Steven Daverson, Garry DW Judd, Arthur Keegan-Bole and violinist and composer Diana Yukawa. Additionally, offering a consultancy service for composers and artists giving strategic advice on career development, she also lends her industry insights as Vice-Chair of the Three Choirs Festival, one of the oldest Classical Music Festivals in the UK.
Pascal Balleti

Management: Enny, Tyegreen

Name:
 Pascal Balleti
Role:
 Management: Enny, Tyegreen
Bio:
 Pascal is manager of break through artist ENNY & upcoming producer TyeGreen. Starting his journey as a music producer (Paya), he ventured into management in 2019 after meeting ENNY, igniting the force of a powerful duo which led him on to producing ENNY’s best known records: Peng Black Girls, Same Old & I Want. ENNY built a significant following after her viral performance of Peng Black Girls Remix with Jorja Smith on COLORS. She went on to have a staggering year in 2021; releasing her debut EP ‘Under Twenty Five’ (executively produced by Paya) and performing on Jools Holland, Rated Awards & MOBO Awards in addition to being included on the BBC Sound Of 2022 longlist.
Rapheal Adekunle

Management: S1mba, S1LVA, Harri Jay

Name:
 Rapheal Adekunle
Role:
 Management: S1mba, S1LVA, Harri Jay
Bio:
 When Rapheal Adekunle, 21, isn’t studying at university studying for his law degree he is busy running Rax Productions, a music production & management company based in the Swindon/Oxfordshire area. The company was founded in 2019 by Rapheal Adekunle & Leonard Rwodzi, aka Brit Nominated artist S1MBA, and is home to him, S1LVA & Harri Jay. In under 2 years, the team has done over 500 million streams and has managed to achieve plenty feats such as;S1MBA’s 2 Official Top 20’s & Number 1 Afrobeat Single, S1LVA’S 1 Top 75 & Harri Jay’s involvement in a Number 1 Album. That’s not all the team have their eyes set on though, with constant elevation being the goal, new targets have been locked in and expansion is around the horizon
Rich Goodwin

Management: The Reytons

Name:
 Rich Goodwin
Role:
 Management: The Reytons
Bio:
 Following beginnings in the live sector as a promoter, with a keen focus on artist live development, Rich began working with South-Yorkshire indie band The Reytons in Summer 2018. A strong emphasis on creative brand and live strategy, combined with sheer work ethic throughout the team has catapulted the ‘Kids Off The Estate’ up the industry ladder and cultivated a fiercely loyal army of fans. 2021 proved massively successful for the band; they were finally able to play their sold-out headline tour to over 13,000 UK fans and released their debut album against the intense competition in November, selling over 8,200 units. The Reytons now head into 2022 with a Number 11 Debut Album under their belts and tour dates across the UK and Europe to look forward to in Spring, the highlight of which being the 4000 capacity sold-out headline at South Yorkshire’s Magna.
Sim Virdi

Management: Wonky Logic, Ed Begley, Kefaya

Name:
 Sim Virdi
Role:
 Management: Wonky Logic, Ed Begley, Kefaya
Bio:
 Originally from the Netherlands (now based in South-East London), Sim moved to London 6 years ago to pursue her aspirations as a vocalist. It was then that she discovered her flair for the business side of the music industry and ventured into a role in Event Management. Combining her business skills with her music insight, she started managing music collective Kefaya in 2016 and successfully drove their album/tour campaign to win multiple awards including Songlines Magazine Best Newcomer. In 2019 Sim joined MERLIN (Music and Entertainment Rights Independent Network) as a Product Manager for two years, which allowed her to gain a greater understanding of digital licensing deals and the wider industry. She is now poised to fuse her various skills and expertise into her own organisation focusing on artists who are pushing boundaries through experimentation, cross-genre collaboration and exploring political borders in music. Sim has recently expanded her roster to include multi-instrumentalist and producer Wonky Logic – an artist at the forefront of the new British Jazz scene – and contemporary vocalist/composer Ed Begley – an established musician who is set to launch his career as a solo artist.
Steven Odufuye

Management: Jords, Mike Brainchild, Kadiata

Name:
 Steven Odufuye
Role:
 Management: Jords, Mike Brainchild, Kadiata
Bio:
 Steven has been in the entertainment industry for 8+ years and has been developing and managing talent throughout that time. The foundation of his career was formed at Parallel Music, this is where he gained his core knowledge of the entertainment industry. Steven later worked at ILUVLIVE as an Events Manager which gave him great insight on how to curate and run events successfully. Throughout his time in the industry, he has made and maintained a number of key relationships with various third parties such as record labels, publishers, DJ’s, managers, artists, and brands etc to help with the growth of his clients. TLWG was formed in 2018 when he found Jords & Kida Kudz. TLWG pka The Lone Wolf Group is a diverse talent management company, it is currently home to music artists Jords & Kadiata and producer Mike Brainchild previous clients include Off Colour, Kida Kudz & IAMDDB. We also hope to welcome athletes & influencers in the near future. The nature of the business is to consult and manage the careers of all talent and bring structure whilst utilising our new and existing contacts in order to help our clients achieve their aspirations in their chosen field.
Thando Zulu

Management: Jerub, BEKA, Joel Baker

Name:
 Thando Zulu
Role:
 Management: Jerub, BEKA, Joel Baker
Bio:
 Zulu Music operates with a relationship-first approach to working with current and prospective signings. This approach was born out of pre-existing friendships Thando Zulu has with the current artists on the roster; BEKA, Joel Baker and JERUB. Zulu Music seeks to be a company that is excellent in it’s execution, integral in its dealings and is built on authentic relationships . In this way, Zulu Music’s aim is not only commercial success but the holistic flourishing of its roster and staff. Zulu Music seeks to be a company that helps its creatives reach their full potential whilst still maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Yasin El Ashrafi

Management: Harri Georgio, Maniscooler, Ffion Rebecca, Jada O'Neill, Alice Kube, Flynny O'Flynn, Priv OTB, Tayo B

Name:
 Yasin El Ashrafi
Role:
 Management: Harri Georgio, Maniscooler, Ffion Rebecca, Jada O'Neill, Alice Kube, Flynny O'Flynn, Priv OTB, Tayo B
Bio:
 Yasin El Ashrafi BEM is a multi-award-winning mentor and entrepreneur from Leicester. He is the founder & owner of HQ Recording Studio, HQ Familia management company/record label and Director of HQ CAN (Community Arts Network) CIC. Yasin currently manages 8 artists who are being developed by himself / HQ Familia. Originally set up as an outlet for the freshest and most exciting music to come out of HQ Recording Studio in Leicester, HQ Familia is an artist management/record label and collective of like minded artists, producers, and creatives with the focus on pushing the boundaries of art and music. Now regarded as Leicester’s most promising homegrown urban label, HQ has received strong support from the BBC Introducing team and has achieved Ditto Music’s ‘Record Label of the Month’. HQ Familia is now known nationally and looking to take the brand global.
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