Two trophies are dished out to Coda staff when the occasion demands it – but one is far less coveted than the other. The Shame Up cup, as the name suggests, falls into the latter category. But although it is “awarded” when an agent loses an act, its intentions are wholly honourable.

“The Shame Up is more of a philosophy of how to work because I noticed that people were clamming up when they lost an artist,” Coda co-founder Alex ...