Leap year: Manners McDade and Faber create 'powerful' publisher

Twelve months after Faber Music’s acquisition of rights business and composer agency Manners McDade, execs talk synergies, growth and sync success WORDS: ANDRE PAINE PHOTO: LOUISA RECHENBACH One year on from Faber Music’s acquisition of Manners McDade, senior executives have spoken about the “creative energy” across the business. New synergies are now being developed across Manners McDade, Faber Music and the alternative, non-classical division Faber Alt. There are around 75 members of staff across the combined company. Led by Harriet Moss, the Manners McDade publishing company and composer agency retained its brand identity following the seven-figure deal. “It’s been a challenge in some ways,” Faber Music CEO Richard King told Music Week. “But we were right in our assessment that, culturally, the two companies would work really well together. “I would say it’s been better than expected, because what you don’t really plan for is the creative energy that you can get when you put two dynamic teams together. It’s been a massive and wonderful shot in the arm for the existing Faber business.” Manners McDade’s specialism is in neo-classical and electronic, with a publishing roster including Nils Frahm, Max Cooper and Poppy Ackroyd. “We have a renewed international presence,” Moss told Music Week. “We were also able to bolster the team with some sync support too. “We’ve actually had significant growth across the publishing and agency businesses in year one of this acquisition, so it’s really all we can ask for.” Up to the end of the third quarter of the financial year, Manners McDade increased revenues by 20% on the publishing side and 10% on the agency side. “The combined business hit the ground running,” said King. “A year on, it’s settled down brilliantly. We were very much our own established, quite mature classical, film and television [publisher], and into that has come all this youth, dynamism and diversity. There’s a lot of cross-fertilising creativity and ideas – the combined team is powerful.” Within months of the Manners McDade deal, Faber Music acquired the printed music business of Edition Peters from Wise Music Group. “It’s been a big test and a massive change for Faber,” said King. “We’re not really an acquisitive style company, we generally just dig deep with our relationships and allow the organic growth to do its thing. Here we’ve done two [major acquisitions] at the same time. So it’s been a big year.” A new wave of promotions and signings has now brought Manners McDade and Faber Music closer. Moss, formerly head of international creative, has become commercial rights director. She manages the commercial rights publishing of both Faber Music and Manners McDade, and works with Richard Paine, director of business affairs and rights. “Harriet is exceptionally talented at the business side as well as the creative,” said King. As she steps into the new role, Moss described her main passion as “team management”. “It feels great to mark this anniversary one year on,” she said. “We have happy composers, we have a satisfied team and significant growth.” Faber Music’s has been promoted to creative director. Holliday leads both the rock/pop print business and Faber Alt. “Lucy can parachute into any of the creative meetings across the whole commercial rights business, using her A&R strength and contacts,” said King. “She is extremely well-connected in the industry. So she’s injecting a new angle into the creative Manners McDade room.” Jenna Fentimen, formerly head of creative, has become head of agency at Manners McDade. The latest signing, for both publishing and the agency, is Lucinda Chua, who last year released debut album YIAN via independent label 4AD. Faber Alt has agreed an expanded catalogue deal with singer-songwriter Keaton Henson, as well as signing the artist and composer Tawiah, an existing agency client for Manners McDade. Meanwhile, Faber TV & film composer client Paul Englishby has joined the Manners McDade agency. “We can now be so competitive in this space,” said Moss. “There’s the work that we put in on the sync front and collection tracking, but also the creativity that we bring to a relationship and our strength as part of a wider artist team. “We are being really ambitious in that because we feel really secure now that we’ve got a good solid team behind it. Moving forward, we’re hoping to make that impact on maybe a wider [range of] genres within the music industry too.” The sync business is expanding despite the impact of the Hollywood writers’ strike in 2023. “We still had one of our best years at the agency, the growth was still there, and that’s really testament to the amount of media that we touch,” said Moss. “We do some huge film and TV projects, but we also do a lot in the advertising space and video games.” Recent scores include All Of Us Strangers by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch and One Day by Bristol-based duo Vanbur, who had a prominent sync in the Netflix show with In Cold Light. “They had a TikTok moment with that,” said Moss. “It was the big emotional [finale].” As Faber Music approaches its 60th birthday in 2025, King said it will continue to be defined by “integrity, creativity and independence”. “We’re more than happy to be a specialist, especially in this world of AI,” he said. “AI is certainly a threat to all of us and an opportunity. But specialist has been the watchword for us really, and integrity lies at the heart of it.”

Spotlight: BRIT School principal Stuart Worden

Stuart Worden presented former student Raye with the Album Of The Year trophy at last month’s BRITs – one of her six awards. Here, The BRIT School principal reflects on 30 years at the creative institution, mental health and music, and AI’s impact on emerging talent... WORDS: Andre Paine PHOTO: The BRIT School It’s a challenging time for breakthrough artists – are your students affected by that? “We’ve had a good run. Whether it’s Black Midi, Loyle Carner or Ella Eyre, they’ve come through at a young age. So the students are always seeing someone go on into the music industry. I like the fact that Olivia [Dean], Rachel [Chinouriri], Lola [Young] and Strandz are doing it. But I do also understand that it might be difficult to see where it’s going to come from next.” How has music become more collaborative since you started teaching there 30 years ago? “We’re trying to say, ‘Surround yourself with good people.’ Because the solo singer-songwriter is few and far between. What’s changed over the last three decades is the arrival of the digital world. We now have a course for games, apps, 3D and AI specialists, and they are working with the musicians. So that sense of who you’re going to have around you on your journey is what we’re trying to encourage here.” What does the impact of AI mean for the next generation of artists from the BRIT School? “They’re quite savvy. I don’t know when they rejected AI but it was quite a while ago [laughs]. I just think they thought, ‘Why would I bother with that?’ They’re excited about what you can do in terms of manipulation, but they’re not that bothered about it in creativity. So I don’t think they’re particularly frightened by it. But I can see why the industry needs to come to terms with it. It can probably show you how to steal someone’s ideas, but it can’t make you a creative.” Are new partners increasingly vital for you? “I’m part theatre director, part principal, part fundraiser – and the fundraising bit is a big deal. In order for a school like this to survive, we need to have friends. We have people that believe in us, and primarily that’s the record industry. So the BRIT Trust that helped set us up and the majors all those years ago, they have been amazing. We’ve branched out with YouTube, we’ve got this beautiful deal with Burberry, there’s the Mastercard support recently. Dr Martens said, ‘We’re a brand that wants to attract a rebellious image, we’ll come in with you.’ I think for the kids, [the brands’ support] has opened up amazing opportunities.” How do the labels support the BRIT School? “All the majors have really invested in the school with time, advice and support. They have also – really brilliantly – left the talent alone. So we don’t have a lot of A&Rs down here because they understand this is a school. With some artists, they have come down and gone, ‘That kid is incredible,’ but they’ll wait. We’re about creating a place where young people can grow as artists.” George Ezra and Loyle Carner have supported mental-health campaigns with you. Has that been an important conversation? “They were here talking about mental health well before it became the topic of conversation. George was very open that day, Loyle is always open and Jason [Iley, Sony Music UK & Ireland CEO/chairman] was too, just saying that this is not an easy industry. It’s the same message that Raye gave [to the students], you need to take care of yourself. I think the kids respect that.” PPL is now lead partner in careers-focused activities and workshops. How will that help? “PPL have been brilliant. Most schools aren’t funded for careers advice, which is a shame. So you might have a careers advisor on a Friday afternoon seeing a few sixth formers who don’t know what to do [after leaving school]. But we have a team of three and PPL are really behind that initiative. We’ve got at least three years of support from them, so it feels good.” Finally, do you have a high point from the last three decades of working at the school? “I think it probably is Raye’s [BRITs] moment. Her and Loyle Carner have been [important] for me personally, because I taught them both, we’re still in contact and we are friends. Raye is an independent artist, a strong woman with a serious album – and that’s only album number one. So that’s pretty exciting.”

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