A&MAs: One Love Manchester team named ‘industry champions’
Ariana Grande, her manager, Scooter Braun, Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn and SJM Concerts’ Simon Moran were tonight honoured as ‘industry champions’ at the sixth Artist & Manager Awards, recognising their efforts in producing the One Love Manchester concert on 4 June 2017, which raised more than £17m for victims of the Manchester Arena bombing and their families.
The Artist & Manager Awards, organised by the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), celebrate innovation and achievement in the artist management sector. The 2017 ceremony took place this evening (14 November) at south London venue Printworks.
The industry champion award was presented by FAC’s Imogen Heap, who performed with Grande at One Love Manchester, and was accompanied by video messages from Braun and Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester.
“Although this is incredible, I want us to remember that the city of Manchester and all those families are the real heroes,” said Braun. “Sixty thousand people of Manchester came forward and filled that stadium. It was the greatest act of defiance in the face of evil that I’ve ever witnessed, and I will never ever forget it.
“On behalf of myself, Ariana and the rest of the team, I want to say to the city of Manchester, ‘thank you’ – this is your award tonight, and you have taught us all a valuable lesson. Evil will never win.”
Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the MMF, added: “The terrorist attack at Ariana Grande’s Manchester Arena show was one of the year’s darkest moments, targeting young music fans and their families. It left 22 dead and more than 250 injured. To organise a concert in their memory, and to turn it into a joyous celebration of youth and music, was an incredible achievement.
“I want to say to the city of Manchester: ‘thank you’. This is your award tonight”
“The MMF and FAC are humbled to honour the team behind One Love Manchester, and would like to dedicate this award to all those still impacted by the events of 22 May.”
Other winners at the A&MAs, which was sponsored by Spotify, included Depeche Mode’s longtime manager, Jonathan Kessler, who picked up the Peter Grant award for lifetime achievement, and Tracey Thorn, who was crowned artists’ artist.
The award for manager of the year was presented to Tap Management’s Ben Mawson and Ed Millett by Lana Del Rey, while Rag’n’Bone Man was declared artist of the year, recognising his decade-long journey to success.
Giggs and his management team, Michael ‘Buck’ Maris and Trenton Harrison-Lewis, received the pioneer award from Island Records president Darcus Beese OBE, while Eleven Management’s Niamh Byrne and Regine Moylett received the entrepreneur award for their work on Gorillaz’s album campaign for Humanz. Echo Beach Management’s Jill Hollywood picked up the award for writer/producer manager.
A special tribute was also paid to former MMF president Jon Webster, who stepped down earlier this year to write a book about his experiences at Virgin Records in the 1980s. Performances on the night came from Dermot Kennedy, one of TAP Management’s priority artists, and ATC Managements’ the Boxer Rebellion.
A full list of winners is available from the A&MAs website.
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The 1975 lead Manchester tribute at Parklife
Musicians, festival promoters and the mayor of Manchester paid tribute to the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing at Parklife on Saturday 10 May.
Ahead of Saturday headliners The 1975’s set, screens at Heaton Park were lit up with the text ‘We All Stand Together’ and messages of support from several Parklife performers, including DJs Carl Cox and Goldie.
They were followed on the main stage by people who helped the attack’s victims, including paramedics, firemen, nurses and police officers, and festival directors Sacha Lord and Jon Drape. Manchester city councillor Pat Karney started the 15-minute tribute, joined by Manchester’s lord mayor, Carl Austin-Behan, and its elected mayor, Andy Burnham.
Austin-Behan hailed the emergency services, telling the crowd: “All of these people have helped the victims in the arena,” he said. “The police protected us, the fire services protected us, the paramedics protected us. Let’s have a big round of applause…
“Always choose love over hate”
“I want to thank all those people, from the hotels to the taxi companies, the people on twitter, on Facebook, on social media, they opened their doors… The fact that we’re so unique, so inclusive, so diverse, is what Manchester is all about.”
Burnham, meanwhile, implored festivalgoers to “choose love over hate”.
Matt Healy of The 1975 then took the stage, urging the crowd to make a “minute of noise” rather than silence:
https://twitter.com/the1975online/status/873676465036042240
The eighth Parklife, headlined by The 1975 and Frank Ocean, sold out its daily capacity of 80,000. Other performers included Jess Glynne, London Grammar, Run the Jewels, Stormzy, Two Door Cinema Club and George Ezra.
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Grande, Bieber, Coldplay for LN Manchester benefit
Ariana Grande will return to Manchester this Sunday (4 June), headlining a star-studded benefit in aid of the families of the victims of last Monday’s bombing.
One Love Manchester, underwritten by Live Nation and produced by Festival Republic in association with SJM Concerts, will take place at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground (50,000-cap.) and feature performances by Grande, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Usher, Take That and 1D’s Niall Horan.
Tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster at 10am on Thursday 1 June, while those who attended Grande’s tragic show at Manchester Arena on 22 May can register to attend for free.
All net proceeds for the show, which will be broadcast on BBC TV and radio and Capital radio, will be donated to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.
“We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us”
In an open letter to fans, Grande (pictured) – who postponed her Dangerous Woman tour in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack – says: “My heart, prayers and condolences are with the victims of the Manchester Attack and their loved ones. There is nothing I or anyone can do to take away the pain you are feeling or to make this better. However, I extend my hand and heart and everything I possibly can give to you and yours, should you want or need my help in any way.
“We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win… Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before.
“Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy. So that is what it will continue to do for us. We will continue to honour the ones we lost, their loved ones, my fans and all affected by this tragedy. They will be on my mind and in my heart every day, and I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life.”
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