Damien Platt
Palms Management
Roster: Abi Flynn, Alexis Knox, Beks, Vallechi
Location: London
Listen: Damien’s Manager Of The Month Spotify Playlist
AAM’s Impact on My Journey
The AAM has played a significant part in my career journey. From the very beginning when Leanne D’Souza was the chair, she welcomed me into the management community with such warmth and kindness. These small interactions when beginning a career can make a huge impact.
I went onto grow with the AAM via their Music Passports program and Co-Pilot program. I have had the privilege over the years to be mentored by the likes of Maggie Collins, Rick Chazan and Alastair Burns.
The AAM has been instrumental in building my international career via their conference funding. My key breaks and connections have come through networking at conferences I could attend thanks to funding.
Why I Love What I Do
My artists make me proud daily by their sense of integrity, open heartedness and community. They’re about bringing people together, sharing kindness and making every day count.
I really wake up everyday excited to talk to each one of my clients.
Although there is a lot of hurdles to overcome with work, the joy and love that the clients brings, makes the journey incredibly enjoyable.
Key Achievements
There have been so many career highlights recently. It’s been a wonderful fresh chapter in management. One of them would be recently having Abi Flynn spend over 10 consecutive weeks in the UK Top 40 official singles charts with her song “Here In Your Arms” with Nathan Dawe. Last week it went silver in the UK, selling 200,000 units.
Having accumulated over 1B streams from her famous splice sample pack she recorded during her journey with cancer, it was the first time she had been credited on a major release. We have a huge summer of collaborations coming, you may have seen releases from Joel Corry, Morgan Seatree and Tinie Tempah being teased online and with many more under wraps Abi is set to become of the most prolific voices in the UK.
Another highlight would be the achievements we’ve had totally independently with Australian pop artist Beks’ EP campaign “Hard Gloss”. The EP was partially written on my balcony in London during a rainstorm. We both huddled under an umbrella whilst it blew a gale and in the harsh environment we wrote initial concepts for the EP. She went on to do sold out headline shows across Europe, saw Soundcloud give her a billboard in Shoreditch, London on the release of her EP and land the cover of the UK’s Fault Magazine. Seeing those packed rooms for her shows was a real achievement of months and months of hard work and overcoming a lot of challenges. I may have had a tear or two of joy.
Over the past two years its been a privilege to share my expertise speaking at panels around the globe including ADE, Primavera Pro, Brighton Music Conference, Liverpool Sound City, Electronic Music Conference, Paris Electronic Week and more.
Finally, a career highlight is working with incredible teams everyday throughout my career. I’d like to thank the incredible people that have significantly shaped and supported my career.
Approach to Management
A piece of advice that has always stuck with me was given by Lorne Padman. I take this advice when I’m about to go into conferences, important meetings and so on. It helps calm the nerves. The piece of advice is that “People will remember how they felt around you, they won’t remember what you said”.
I always like to pass on this advice too. It helps you be more present and in the moment with people. Instead of coming to people with an agenda, you come to people with openness and ears to listen. It takes the pressure off saying the right thing.
This is an industry built on relationships, relationships come from bonding and connection. Not from transactions and agendas.
Dream Industry Initiative
It would be amazing to see more programs to provide further capital for managers to succeed, giving them sustainable long-term cash advances to dive fully into management. A lot of managers are balancing other full times jobs. It wasn’t until I left my full time job alongside management things really shifted for my career at a lighting pace.
The more the manager can build and develop it’s going to flow onto the artists, we’re going to see more artists breaking through, and in effect this creates a positive economy for the whole industry.