The final four recipients for the 2024 Artist & Manager Awards have been revealed ahead of the November 21 ceremony at Bloomsbury Big Top in London.
Paloma Faith is to be honoured with the Icon award. Over the last 15 years, the singer and songwriter has secured five Top 5 albums including a No.1.
Her live schedule over the past 12 months has included performances at Glastonbury, The Royal Variety Performance, Hampton Court Palace and London’s Eventim Apollo.
The Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition will also recognise Riverman Management (the Managers’ Manager award), which recently marked its 35th anniversary.
Launched by Alex Weston and Dave McLean in 1989, Riverman initially started as concert promoters, bringing US artists such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against The Machine, Green Day, Beck, Cypress Hill, Foo Fighters and Alice In Chains across the Atlantic for their first and subsequent UK tours.
Moving into management in 1995, they have represented Placebo through the release of eight studio albums alongside a diverse roster of talent, including Bryan Ferry, Wild Beasts, Deaf Havana and David Sylvian.
In 2002, Riverman managed the newly reformed Roxy Music tour which took in 51 arena shows worldwide. In 2006 they promoted Bangkok’s first international rock festival with headliners Oasis, Snow Patrol, Franz Ferdinand and Placebo.
The company has also branched out into film production, with the indie hit Schemers which was an Audience Award winner at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. A second film is currently in pre-production.
Alongside Placebo, their current roster includes Friedberg, Dea Matrona, Tom Fleming (ex Wild Beasts) and Dougie Poynter. The Riverman team is completed by Angus Blue and Virginia Lee, while the company operates from offices in London and Bangkok.
The 2024 Writer & Producer Manager of the Year is awarded to Ant Hippsley, head of UK operations for Milk & Honey.
Milk & Honey represent Finn Keane (aka Easyfun), who co-wrote and produced Speed Drive, Charli XCX’s contribution to the Barbie soundtrack, as well as five tracks on Brat.
In addition, Milk & Honey UK clients include Stuart Price (Cat Burns, Romy, Jessie Ware, Halsey, The Killers, George Ezra), The Elements (J Hus, Mahalia), Billen Ted (Anne-Marie, Tom Grennan), Jordan Riley (Guetta & Becky Hill’s monster hit Crazy What Love Can Do) and Biff Stannard & Duck Blackwell (Kylie Minogue).
Formerly a touring session musician, Hippsley worked at Big Life Management and Spilt Milk, before starting a management business, and joining Milk & Honey in January 2020 to launch their London office.
The Artist & Manager Awards always seeks to recognise and celebrate the widest spectrum of talent
David Martin & Annabella Coldrick
The FAC and MMF will also salute Croydon-based Finesse Foreva with the Team Achievement trophy.
The company was founded in 2017 by childhood friends SK, TK and producer JB MadeIt. It operates an independent record label, production house and management company, managing artists like Russ Millions and Skengdo x AM.
Finesse Foreva contributed to the chart-topping hit Body, a collaboration between Russ Millions and Tion Wayne, also featuring their production client Gotcha. It became the first drill track to reach No.1 in the UK.
Elsewhere, JB MadeIt co-produced Drake's Demons and worked alongside Jimmy Lovine on the DJ Spinall & Summer Walker record Power.
Finesse Foreva have also worked on community and youth empowerment, offering free courses in the music business, event management and production for young people aged 16-25. In 2023, they founded the Music NXT Gen CIC and organised the largest music conference in South London Croydon in collaboration with the MMF.
David Martin, CEO, Featured Artists Coalition and Annabella Coldrick, chief executive, MMF, said: “The Artist & Manager Awards always seeks to recognise and celebrate the widest spectrum of talent, and we are delighted to reveal our final four awardees: Paloma Faith, one the UK’s most iconic and celebrated voices, Riverman Management, Milk & Honey’s Ant Hippsley and Finesse Foreva. Between them, they represent the best of British music and innovation, and we can’t wait to celebrate their achievements on November 21.”
This year’s ceremony will also see the introduction of a new award, the Secret Weapon Award, that recognises a critical member of a management company who has made invaluable contributions behind the scenes.
The shortlist is as follows, with the winner being revealed on the night:
2024 Secret Weapon Award Shortlist
Fifi Holley, September Management – day-to-day manager
Tatum Van Dam, Young Artists – social media manager
Marusa Ojstersek, Raw Power – digital marketing manager
Hope James, Atlas Artists – junior manager
Seb Wheeler, One House – digital strategist
Winners of Breakthrough Artist (sponsored by TikTok) and Breakthrough Manager (sponsored by Amazon Music) will also be revealed on the night.
FOLLOW 
