The Winners of the 2015 Music Managers Awards Have Been Announced

Behind every great musician there’s usually a great manager. Though, instead of receiving the attention and praise, you’ll typically find them sending emails, chasing invoices and shaking lifeless hands at networking events.

The time of year has come again where the country’s music managers get their time in the spotlight. Local initiative the Music Managers Forum New Zealand (MMF NZ) annually recognises the often-unsung heroes of the music industry and their success with an awards ceremony. The winners for the 2015 Music Managers Awards have been announced.

First-time winner Ashley Page took home the prestigious ‘Manager of the Year’ award for his work with Nelson electro-pop duo Broods and Lorde co-writer/producer Joel Little. The last year has seen Broods break into the UK and US markets and take out Breakthrough Artist at the 2014 NZ Music Awards. Beyond his work with Lorde, Joel Little has been busy working with big name acts: Sam Smith, MØ, and Ellie Goulding.

The ‘Breakthrough Manager of the Year’ award was presented to Nick Dwyer and Dick Johnson for their eclectic world music project Weird Together. The pair recently brought the iconic St James building back to life with the one-off event, Weird Night Out.

For the second year in a row, Scott Maclachlan took home the ‘International Achievement’ award, for his role in the continuing success of Lorde and opera trio Sol3 Mio. The Powerstation won ‘Best Large Venue’ for the third year running, and the Kings Arms Tavern took out ‘Best Small Venue’.

See the full list of winners below:

- Manager of the Year: Ashley Page (Broods, Joel Little, Jarryd James)

- Breakthrough Manager of the Year: Nick Dwyer and Dick Johnson (Weird Together)

- International Achievement: Scott Maclachlan (Lorde, Sol3 Mio) 2nd year in a row

- Self Managed Artist: Andrew Spraggon (Sola Rosa)

- Independent Tour: James Southgate (Devilskin ‘We Rise’ Album Release Tour)

- Large Venue: Powerstation

- Small Venue: The Kings Arms

- Industry Champion: Brendan Smyth

- MMF Mentoring Program Achievement Award: Katie Thompson – Quirky Music