Forever Living Originals to be honoured at Artist & Manager Awards
The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and the Music Managers Forum (MMF) have revealed more awardees for the upcoming Artist & Manager Awards in association with BeatBread.
The ceremony returns to London’s Bloomsbury Big Top on the evening of Thursday November 23.
The Artist & Manager Awards will recognise Forever Living Originals, which incorporates the collective musical talents of Sault, Cleo Sol, Little Simz, Chronixx and Inflo. They will be presented with the Team Achievement Award, in recognition of their dedication to recording, production and visual achievements.
Sault alone have issued 11 albums since 2019, dropping five in a single day last November and one (Nine) for a limited period of 99 days. Last month, Cleo Sol released two stunning studio albums (Heaven and Gold) in the space of two weeks.
Making a statement on their award, Forever Living Originals said: “Essentially what we endeavour to do at Forever Living Originals is let the art take centre stage and do away with timelines and systems that we feel might limit the freedom and uniqueness of what our creatives have conceived.
“When we set out on this path, there was an understanding that we may be pushing against the tide with our approach however, we felt with consistency both creatively and from a business aspect we could make positive inroads and hopefully, as a result of some good and honest work, be a lighthouse to those who would also like to initiate their own way. Similarly to those before us who we took inspiration from. Any recognition for this can only come about by the enjoyment and relative success of each artist on our roster and the pleasure of the people who receive it.
Forever Living Originals, said:
“With that being said, all of us at Forever Living Originals are very honoured to receive this award and are grateful to the Artists and Managers Awards, The Featured Artists Coalition and The Music Managers Forum for choosing us. And last but definitely not least all praise to the Most High. What we endeavour to do at Forever Living Originals is let the art take centre stage. Thank you.”
The FAC and MMF are also revealing shortlists for the Breakthrough Awards, recognising artists and managers who have made a significant career leap over the last 12 months.
The list for Breakthrough Artist consists of 10 acts from a wide diversity of genres. The Breakthrough Manager list features eight individuals and two partnerships, all drawn from across the UK, and including three previous participants from the MMF’s Accelerator Programme for Music Managers. The Breakthrough Manager Award is sponsored by Amazon Music.
Unlike other award categories, the two breakthrough winners will be announced on the night.
Breakthrough Artist of the Year 2023 shortlist:
Amaarae
Bakar
Olivia Dean
Peggy Gou
Kenya Grace
Nia Archives
Obongjayar
Maisie Peters
The Reytons
Shygirl
Breakthrough Manager of the Year 2023 shortlist, sponsored by Amazon Music:
Akheim Allen, Peral Music (Young Chencs, Nick French, Dido Wilson, Yvng Finessa, Roddy Beatz, Saint 6, Samo)
Raphael Adekunle, Rax Productions (S1mba, Kawali, ZT.Switch)
Whitney Asomani, (Sugababes)
Pascal Balletti, Paya (Enny)
Emily Braham, Yo&Co (Olivia Dean)
Dave Bryan, DMB Management (Lovejoy)
Nikita Chauhan, TranslateNC (ShowdemCamp, GuiltyBeatz, Semtrex)
Paul Keen & Sarah Keen, S1bling (Raye, Abby Keen/Absolutely, Lauren Keen)
Louise Latimer, (Self Esteem, The Big Moon)
Lyle Scougall & Nathan Dunphy, Manana Music Management (Josef, Testpress)
David Martin, CEO, FAC and Annabella Coldrick, chief executive, MMF, said:
“We are really excited by these latest announcements. Forever Living Originals are responsible for some of the most artistically important music of recent years, and are fully deserving of this recognition for Team Achievement. Collectively, they have raised the bar in terms of innovation and inspiration, and we are honoured they will be joining us on the evening to pick up their award.
“After long and careful deliberation, we are also delighted to reveal the shortlists for Breakthrough Artist and Breakthrough Manager. These are incredibly tough lists to draw up, and we look forward to presenting the winners on November 23 in what’s shaping up to be one of our strongest ceremonies yet.”
Doc Brown, aka Ben Bailey Smith, will return to host the awards. Tickets are available now.
As previously announced, Duran Duran and their longtime manager Wendy Laister will be picking up the Artist-Manager Partnership award (sponsored by Hipgnosis Songs) at the ceremony.
Other previously announced winners are Bello (Manager of the Year, award sponsored by PPL), the Cookie Crew (Pioneer, award sponsored by TikTok) and The Flight Club’s Samuel Ademosu & Ruth Gyaniao (Producer/Songwriter Manager).