Last year saw the inauguration of a new event brought to the UK music industry by the Featured Artists Coalition and the Music Managers Forum.
The Artist and Manager Awards celebrate the accomplishments of those whose hard work behind the scenes makes it possible for the artists we love to do what they do.
No artist can find success without a brilliant manager assisting them along the way, and many of the awards at the Artist and Manager Awards show recognition to those who may not always enjoy mainstream praise for their talents.
This year’s award ceremony will be held at the Troxy , in London, on 27 November, and while 4 of the categories will be decided by MMF and FAC members, the other 4 are open to nomination by anyone in the music industry.
The categories which will be decided by MMF and FAC members are as follows:
Artists’ Artist~ Nominated by an executive committee from the Featured Artists Coalition, the recipient of the this award will be announced prior to the event.
Industry Champion~ This award recognizes fairness and altruism in the music industry.
The Peter Grant Award for Management~ This award will be decided by an executive committee from the Music Managers Forum and, as is the case with the Artists‘ Artist award, its winner will be announced prior to the event.
The Pioneer Award~ The Pioneer Award acknowledges individuals whose contributions have brought about advancement and innovation in the music industry in the past year.
The categories which are open to nominations by anyone in the music industry are as follows:
The First Rung Award~ Open to managers and management companies based in the UK who have begun their career in management in the past three years.
The Breakthrough Award~ This is open to any UK based artist who has begun their career in the past three years. Budget is a consideration in nominations and eligible candidates must not have spent more than £20,000 promoting any single, album, or EP.
The Manager of the Year Award~ Though probably fairly self explanatory, the Manager of the Year award is for the manager/management team whose skills and expertise has helped those they represent succeed. Management requires a great deal of business and practical sensibility and The Manager of the Year should personify this.
The Artist of the Year Award~ As was the case with the aforementioned Manager of the Year award, the Artist of the Year award is fairly straightforward. Nominees should be those you feel have had a particularly stellar year because of a successful album, tour, or both. The recipient of his award will be selected by a committee of FAC members.
Do keep in mind, judging isn’t based on the number of votes a manager or artist receives so there’s no need to vote more than one time.
I write about the MMF often, and this is a perfect example of why. The UK has a highly organized group of managers who work side by side with artists (particularly by way of the Featured Artists Coalition) and are, seemingly, always striving to unite the artistic and business sides of music. There have been countless times when the MMF, the FAC, or both have worked to raise awareness and try to find solutions for the problems facing the modern music industry, and they’ve done it well.
The fact that they unite to celebrate one another’s accomplishments further serves as an example to the rest of the world. Are you paying attention, America?
To get more information on the event, including how to submit nominations and how to get tickets to the event, go here: http://amawards.org
Follow them on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/AM_Awards
For more information on the FAC, go here: http://thefac.org/about/
Follow them on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/FeaturedArtists
For more information on the MMF, go here: http://www.themmf.net/about-us/
Follow them on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/MMFUK
