AWAL is looking to come flying out of the blocks with CMAT's new album Euro-Country, due out August 29.
The Sony-owned company signed the Irish musician, born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, in 2021. She has released two LPs so far: 2022’s If My Wife New I’d Be Dead and 2023's Crazymad, For Me, which both topped the Irish charts.
The latter record, which received Ivor Novello and Mercury Prize nominations, reached No.25 in the UK, where it has current sales of 22,093, according to the Official Charts Company.
Speaking in the August edition of Music Week, AWAL SVP Sam Potts said the firm is targeting CMAT's “best ever week-one results” with Euro-Country.
“The plan is optimised to have the album live a long life,” he said. “We are operating around market factors like Grammy and Mercury Prize submission dates, but we are very much in this for the long haul.”
Describing CMAT as “a typical AWAL artist", Potts added: "She’s difficult to categorise, isn’t driven by overnight commercial success and is uncompromisingly independent.”
Euro-Country deserves to win every award going this year
Paul Hitchman
He continued: “We believe our artists maintain their independence because they own their own rights. Ciara has a record company full of genuine fans who understand her, fight every single step of the way for her, and know how to take alternative music into the mainstream.”
CMAT's single Take A Sexy Picture Of Me (57,969 sales) became her first UK hit at the start of June, peaking at No,42 after sparking a TikTok dance christened the ‘Woke Macarena’. The current Music Week cover star has more than 3.9 million likes and 150,000 followers on the platform, as well as 2.6m monthly listeners on Spotify.
“CMAT is one of the most distinctive and original artists and songwriters in the world,” said AWAL COO Paul Hitchman. “She has never compromised her vision and it’s hugely gratifying to now see her music breaking through to a wide audience globally on her terms. Euro-Country deserves to win every award going this year."
Moreover, SVP Victoria Needs praised the 29-year-old singer-songwriter's influence on the wider industry.
“CMAT has cleared a space for a different type of female artist,” she said. “One who can be an exceptional songwriter and taken seriously at the Ivors, but also fun and provocative.
“There is no ceiling. She wanted to break the mould on this album and she will do so again and again.”
Being a superfan herself, Ciara understands what an audience needs and can talk to them without barriers
Victoria Needs
CMAT has inspired many of the campaign elements, such as the Sinceremat newsletter, which goes out to more than 16,000 fans as “a compendium of brilliant words and thoughts from your local gorgeous pop star CMAT”.
“That was Ciara’s idea,” said Needs. “Newsletters are typically part of the marketing funnel to drive revenue. In this case it wasn’t that; it was a choice by Ciara about how she wanted to talk to her audience, and we trust our artists’ instincts.”
In launching the newsletter, the artist tapped into her first-hand experience as a superfan of Bombay Bicycle Club, having run two blogs about the band in her youth.
“Being a superfan herself, Ciara understands what an audience needs and can talk to them without barriers,” said Needs. “We had a lot of fun when she turned up unannounced at a fan-promoted karaoke night dedicated to her. The power is in the hands of the audience in 2025, and hers is smart, inclusive and fun.”
Needs suggested that CMAT’s “relentless commitment to live performances” had also been key – the musician's high-profile summer slate included a set at Primavera Sound, a landmark afternoon appearance on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage and a support slot on Sam Fender’s stadium tour.
“It’s been an amazing opportunity to see her play on the big stages,” said CMAT's agent, Mother Artists co-founder Natasha Gregory. “It’s where CMAT belongs.”
Once you see her live you are in for life
Natasha Gregory
Further festivals are in the offing for the remainder of the summer, with live dates across Europe and the US also planned for the autumn, prior to a sold-out night at Dublin’s 3Arena in December.
“Once you see her live you are in for life,” added Gregory. “And it’s the attention to detail on touring that will see her through for years to come, from arenas, top festival billings and beyond.”
Further breaking down CMAT's appeal, Will Hunt, AWAL's VP of A&R, said: “She writes exceptional songs and has an ability to connect with people. She’s addressing issues like Irish economics, but also referencing Elon Musk and Jamie Oliver.
“The duality of CMAT is compelling and is central to why she resonates so deeply. The lyrics to Take A Sexy Picture… call out the challenges of the female experience while providing a space for people to dance – how many artists can make you feel both of those things at once?”
Hunt said that AWAL’s partnership with CMAT “means a lot of trust between artist and label”.
“Great records get made this way, as well as campaigns that marry critical and commercial success,” he concluded.
Subscribers can read the full CMAT cover story in the latest issue of Music Week, or online here.
