AAM Awards Date Revealed, Nominations Now Open

The Association of Artist Managers (AAM) has revealed the date and venue for this year's AAM Awards. 

Held at Crowbar in Sydney on Thursday, 27 April, from noon, the AAM Awards is an invite-only event that celebrates Australian artist managers' incredible domestic and international achievements, shining a light on the key figures behind the global success of Australian artists. The award ceremony will also be live-streamed from 1 pm, with special performances scheduled to take place throughout the event.

The first-ever event, held in Melbourne last year, saw managers for artists such as Amyl & The Sniffers, Courtney Barnett, Eskimo Joe, The Cat Empire and many more receive awards.

The AAM Award categories are:

1. Manager of the Year (Presented by Oztix) - Recognising outstanding achievements as an Artist Manager over the last 12 months (for managers with 3+ years experience).

2. Breakthrough Manager of the Year (Presented by Select Music) - Recognising the achievement of a developing manager who has had a breakout year with notable successes for their artist(s).

3. Community Engagement Award - An award recognising a manager's contribution to their music community over the last 12 months.

4. Legacy Award - In recognition of an incredible career in Artist Management (for managers with 10+ years experience) (Award curated by the AAM board) 

In addition, the APRA AMCOS Lighthouse Award recipient will also be announced as part of the AAM Awards.

Last year's winner for Breakthrough Manager of the Year was Ellen Kirk - Look Out Kid, while Manager of the Year went to Simone Ubaldi and Andrew Parisi - Sundowner, Cath Haridy - Catherine Haridy Management scored the Community Engagement Award. The Legacy Award was presented to Correne Wilkie.

Ellen Kirk oversees the careers of Grammy Award-winning artist Arooj Aftab and Legacy Polaris Prize winner Beverly Glenn-Copeland, and also directed the global marketing campaign behind Courtney Barnett’s Things Take Time, Take Time album release in 2021.

Meanwhile, Simone Ubaldi and Andrew Parisi of Sundowner had an exceptional year with Amyl & The Sniffers following the release of the band’s second album, Comfort To Me, and breakthrough artist Grace Cummings.

Industry legend Cath Haridy (Eskimo Joe, Bob Evans, Jebediah and more) picked up the Community Engagement Award, which recognises a manager's contribution to their community, while The Cat Empire’s manager Correne Wilkie was bestowed the first-ever AAM Legacy Award during the event.