Bose Ogulu to receive Manager of the Year honour in UK

Organised by the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Music Managers Forum (MMF), the awards spotlight and celebrate creativity and innovation, as well as pathfinding individuals in the music industry.

Mother and manager of Afro-fusion star Burna Boy, Ogulu is the co-founder of the Spaceship Collective. She joins an enviable rank that includes accomplished British industry experts like Amy Morgan (Glass Animals), Starwood Management (Michael Kiwanuka, Marmozets, Hugh Harris, Ady Suleiman), Debbie Gwyther (Liam Gallagher) and Closer Artists (George Ezra, James Bay, James Morrison, Calum Scott).

She will be honoured for her “boundary-breaking and artist-led approach to business” which has “helped Burna Boy develop into a genuinely global talent”, according to MMF chief executive Annabella Coldrick.

Coldrick added that Bose’s Spaceship Collective’s “ethos of empowerment epitomises her positive impact on a new generation of artists.”

“It is an African success story, but with a major foot in the UK – and we felt it important to recognise the success of such a prominent groundbreaking manager,” she said.

Among many other feats, Ogulu, who was named in Billboard’s 2021 International Power Players list, is, perhaps, best known for co-executive producing, releasing and promoting Burna Boy’s Twice As Tall which won the best global music album at the 63rd Grammy Awards. She is also widely credited with leading initiatives to help African artists maintain greater ownership of their works.

Ogulu will be celebrated alongside veteran British DJ Carl Cox, hip hop duo Krept & Konan, singer Becky Hill and artist manager Martin Hall, among others. Cox will receive the Pioneer Award, while Krept & Konan will be honoured with the Entrepreneur Award. Becky Hill will take home the Artist of the Year prize, while Hall will receive the Managers’ Manager award.