{"id":423059,"date":"2026-04-29T07:35:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T07:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/423059\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T07:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T07:35:09","slug":"2026-aam-awards-announces-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/423059\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 AAM Awards Announces Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSundowner Artists\u2019 Simone Ubaldi and Andrew Parisi were the big winners at the Association of Artist Managers\u2019 fifth annual awards<\/a>, presented lunchtime Wednesday (April 29) at Sydney\u2019s Crowbar, just hours before the APRA Music Awards.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe pair, who manage the international breakthrough punk rockers Amyl And The Sniffers, won manager of the year, the same category they nabbed at the inaugural AAM Awards in 2022.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Kid<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey\u2019ve helped each of the Sniffers through areas they didn\u2019t need to which is a testament to their generosity,\u201d explains Amy Taylor, the ARIA Award winning band\u2019s firebrand singer, in a statement. \u201cNot only are they music managers, they also run a live music venue and contribute to community radio, and love going to watch live music. They\u2019re not persuaded by dodgy deals and they\u2019re fiercely protective, as anyone whose come in their crossfires I\u2019m sure is aware of. Their job isn\u2019t easy but they\u2019ve not only managed us as a band they\u2019ve also managed to not blow their brains out dealing with our shit for eight-odd years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tManager of the year was one of seven categories announced on the day, all recognizing notable achievements and activity from January 2025 to December 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe AAM Awards \u201crecognize the managers at the center of artist careers; the ones driving strategy, navigating complexity, and making the work happen behind the scenes,\u201d comments AAM executive director Maggie Collins. <\/p>\n

\n\tThis year\u2019s nominees, she continues \u201creflect the strength, diversity and ambition of our community. Our winners set the benchmark for modern management: forward-thinking, resilient, and deeply invested in their artists\u2019 success. But they\u2019re also part of a broader ecosystem of managers who are all shaping the future of Australian music.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tFinalists were determined thorough consultation with a panel of respected representatives from different areas of the Australian and international music industry.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso on the day, AAM presented the Legacy Award to Melita Hodge of Six Boroughs Management, an honor curated by the trade body\u2019s board. Hodge\u2019s long-time artist Kasey Chambers, the ARIA Hall of Fame inducted country legend, was on hand to pay tribute with words and song. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be the artist, I wouldn\u2019t be the woman, I am today without you,\u201d Chambers remarked, holding back tears. \u201cLet\u2019s do it for another 30 years, if you can put up with me,\u201d she quipped. Chambers then performed a solo rendition of \u201cThe Captain,\u201d the first song she and Hodge worked on together. The performance ended in happy tears.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso during the ceremony, the Patron\u2019s Gift Award to Ben Pierpoint of Ben Pierpoint Management, an accolade curated by the AAM patrons, and the 2026 APRA AMCOS Lighthouse Award was presented to Neon Tiger Mgmt\u2019s Kristie McCarthy. In addition to the award, McCarthy receives a grant valued at A$5,000 to support her business and professional pursuits.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cReceiving the Lighthouse Award at this point in my management career feels incredibly special \u2013 just days before my daughter\u2019s first birthday and only a month after launching my own business,\u201d she remarked.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many first-time mothers, I was apprehensive about how I would manage maternity leave, especially as an artist manager. I\u2019m so grateful to my former teammates for looking after The Cat Empire while I was away, and to Felix and Ollie for taking this next step with me as I begin Neon Tiger Mgmt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMatt Okine emceed the ceremony, a week after he co-hosted the Queensland Music Awards on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n

\n\tGuest speakers included John Graham, special minister of state, minister for the arts, minister for transport, minister for music and the night-time economy. \u201cWhen you look at the music industry, so much has challenged the years, but one of the constants has been a value of high quality managers, guiding us through an incredibly complicated system, and changes every time you turn around,\u201d he remarked from the podium. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so good to be here to acknowledge the role that managers part.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPresented by\u00a0White Sky<\/a>, this year\u2019s show, like all previous editions, was a lunchtime gathering before the\u00a0APRAs, hosted this year at the Hordern Pavilion. Last year\u2019s edition was presented in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe not-for-profit AAM boasts more than 400 artist manager members, representing over 1,250 Australian artists globally. Read more\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t2026 AAM Awards winners:<\/p>\n

\n\tManager Of The Year (Presented by White Sky) \u2014 Simone Ubaldi & Andrew Parisi, Sundowner Artists<\/p>\n

\n\tRoster: Amyl and The Sniffers, Grace Cummings, The Gnomes, Girl and Girl, Nice Biscuit (Consultant Managers), Baby Cool (Consultant Managers)<\/p>\n

\n\tBreakthrough Manager Of The Year (Presented by DMT Law Firm) \u2014 Christopher Kevin Au, 24 Karat Enterprises<\/p>\n

\n\tRoster: POSSESHOT, SPEED (Co-Manager), Shady Nasty (Co-Manager), FUKHED (Co-Manager)<\/p>\n

\n\tEmerging Manager Of The Year Winner (Presented by PPCA) \u2014 Ali Tomoana, Soul Has No Tempo<\/p>\n

\n\tRoster: Miss Kaninna<\/p>\n

\n\tCommunity Engagement Award Winner (Presented by The Orchard) \u2014 Tani Webb, First Nations Focus (FNFocus)<\/p>\n

\n\tRoster: FLEWNT, Inkabee, Taija<\/p>\n

\n\tLegacy Award Winner (Presented by Frontier Touring) \u2014 Melita Hodge, Six Boroughs Management<\/p>\n

\n\tRoster: Kasey Chambers, Andy Golledge, Denvah, Ball Park Music (Co-Manager), Ruby Jackson (Co-Manager)<\/p>\n

\n\tPatron\u2019s Gift Award Winner (Presented by the AAM Patrons)<\/p>\n

\n\tBen Pierpoint, Ben Pierpoint Management<\/p>\n

\n\tRoster: Dino Dimitriadis, DOBBY, GODTET, Jamaica Moana (Co-Manager), Milan Ring, Ngaiire (Co-Manager), Rose Riebl, Wallace<\/p>\n

\n\tLighthouse Award (Presented by APRA AMCOS \u2014 Kristie McCarthy, Neon Tiger Mgmt<\/p>\n

\n\tRoster: Riebl Tedesco McGill and The Cat Empire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sundowner Artists\u2019 Simone Ubaldi and Andrew Parisi were the big winners at the Association of Artist Managers\u2019 fifth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[6971,13724,93,61,60,278],"class_list":["post-423059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-awards","tag-bbnews","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}