Runway Artists has announced the hire of music agent Steve Backman.
Backman arrives as the company’s first major appointment after 19 years at Primary Talent International, bringing a roster that includes …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Emmy The Great, Gabriella Cilmi and more.
Former ATC Live agent Matt Hanner set up Runway Artists last year, aiming to work with emerging and established talent.
Welcoming Backman’s appointment, Hanner said: “It's great that an agent of Steve’s pedigree had enough belief in what I'd started to want to come on board. We have a shared ethos and approach to the way we work with our artists and I think we will benefit from working together.”
Steve Backman said: “It's a chance for me to put my knowledge to something new, fresh and exciting that we have control of. We are the masters of our own destiny and that is really freeing.”
We are the masters of our own destiny and that is really freeing
Steve Backman, Runway Artists
Based in London, Runway Artists also represents Lanterns On The Lake, The Futureheads, Sleeper, I See Rivers and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, among others.
Matt Hanner said the independent agency world has “ballooned” over the past 12 months, despite the impact of the pandemic on the live sector.
“There are some big players in it now and there is a lot more scope to shake things up and work in a slightly different way,” he said. “We have the freedom to push into areas where we might be able to offer more for our acts and benefit them in the long term. Different artists want different things from their careers, and we're committed to delivering whatever it is they are trying to achieve, rather than feel we have to push every act into trying to fill arenas.”
Runway Artists expects to make further additions to its team in the coming months. “It feels like a really exciting time to be putting a new company together,” said Hanner. “This is a serious proposition. We are ambitious and we are looking to grow.”
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