MODEST! MANAGEMENT
Richard Griffiths & Harry Magee
Co-founders
Modest! Management
Richard Griffiths and Harry Magee’s achievements in orchestrating One Direction’s global conquest might be a case study in distilling vast collective industry experience into an international mission. But Modest! is far more than a one-band samba, representing U.K. pop staples Olly Murs and Little Mix, veteran vocalist Alison Moyet and others, with offices in London, Australia and New York. The executives still run the business by feel, with “no specific breakdown of different responsibilities,” Griffiths says. In 1D world, 2014 looks likely to be even bigger than the year that preceded it. “With our stadium tour, we’re going to be playing to probably 2 million people” outside the United States, he adds. “Doing our first European tour last year was great — we did incredible business there — and going to Japan for the first time was maybe the most exciting thing. Alison Moyet had her first top five album in the U.K. in over 20 years last year [“The Minutes” on Cooking Vinyl]. She’s just been touring in South Africa for the first time and she did her first European tour for many years. And we still represent [crossover tenor] Paul Potts, who’s touring around the world all the time. From day one, international has been a key part of our thinking.”