Team

Vicky Dowdall

Vicky Dowdall is the founder of VDM Music, a consultant for Crown Talent & Media Group, and has twice been nominated for Manager of the Year at the Music Week Awards. Her blend of expertise, eye-for-detail, tenacity and creativity has resulted in huge success for Ella Henderson and Nina Nesbitt, as well as significant momentum for rising stars Olivia Sebastianelli and Cody Frost.

 

Managed alongside Mark Hargreaves at Crown, Dowdall has masterminded a hugely successful second chapter in Ella Henderson’s career. A new deal with Atlantic Records resulted in Ella landing five Top 10 singles and a Top 10 album, as well as a succession of Platinum certifications. Her comeback has been cemented with 19 million monthly listeners at Spotify and an Ivor Novello nomination. Dowdall’s management of Nina Nesbitt has been similarly successful, leading to a career total of over a billion streams, stadium shows as guest to Coldplay, high impact international collabs (Seeb, R3hab, NOTD), a recent performance on the James Corden Show in LA, and praise from Taylor Swift.

 

Her next wave of artists are also on the rise. Olivia Sebastianelli is enjoying a pan-European breakthrough as co-writer of Purple Disco Machine’s ‘In The Dark’, while Cody Frost has earned support from Radio 1 and BBC Introducing. All four artists are prospering after prior challenge in their careers: Dowdall reignited Henderson and Nesbitt after previous major label deals, she has nurtured Sebastianelli over the long-term, and gave Frost a platform with Truth Records (a joint venture with Crown) to provide the freedom to fully express herself after first coming to attention on ‘The Voice’.

 

A mother of two, Dowdall aims to show young women in the music industry that you can successfully combine the needs of both your career and your family. Her own dedication was demonstrated when she hid her first pregnancy until the last possible moment, a decision she made to keep the focus on her projects rather than her personal life. Yet she fully believes that sort of approach shouldn’t become the norm – as an MMF board member, she has campaigned for a stronger focus on equality, diversity, fair pay and mental health issues within the industry.

 

Dowdall also applies her skills to a variety of other fields within the industry. She has brokered brand partnerships worth over £1 million, including Calvin Klein and Reebok to name two. She also consulted on ‘The Voice UK’ for two years.

 

Dowdall first stepped into music as an artist, championed by both Pete Waterman and Tracy Bennett. She then started working with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken at Redbus Music, where she became a director by the age of 21. Her current ethos is inspired by her early experiences as an artist. “I’m just trying to be the manager I always wished I’d had.”