How long have you worked in Management?

4 years.

Who do you manage now?

Sorry (co-mgmt), Trout, Junior Brother, Memory of Speke, Basht, Bottle Rockets.

Where did you find your first client and what inspired you to take them on?

I was their tour manager for 7 years before being asked to join their mgmt team. Extensive touring had created very special bonds, friendships and working relationships as well as a true love of the music and its development over time. The opportunity to have more of a role in how their music got out into the world and to continue working with a wonderful group of people was one I welcomed with open arms and excitement!

What does a good/bad day at work look like for you?

A good day is a music release day and seeing the fruition of everybody’s work and talent being set free into the world. Without meaning to be too much of a contrarian I wouldn’t say I have many ‘bad’ days, however I have many challenging ones… Lost passports and distributor release errors spring to mind!

What has been the highlight of your management career to date?

My first highlight was negotiating a very artist friendly publishing deal without the backing of a company and without much direct experience. I must also mention joining Only Helix. Having worked by myself for 2 years at the start of my mgmt career it was amazing to be welcomed into such a unique, friendly and progressive working environment.

What do you think are the big challenges for a manager in 2024?

For me, many of the challenges are the same as they’ve ever been but in a very different looking context. Without expressing too much naivety and an acknowledgment that there are indeed lots of new challenges, I think that the key challenge remains believing in the work you are doing and the music and the musicians that your are drawn to. It’s about persuading people to deviate from the norm, to take a risk on something new and progressive and to keep shifting the narrative away from conformity and simulation.

Why would you recommend the MMF?

I think it’s important to be part of a community. There are different ways of interacting with the MMF community and it’s various different conversations and knowledge bases. For me it offers a regular round up of key issues affecting the music industry from a managers perspective, it engages me with policy conversations and it often opens my eyes to new funding opportunities and other helpful support available to managers.

What music are you currently listening to?

My highest play count is private soundcloud links to demos of my artists – I am really drawn to demos. Outside of that my favourite recent releases have been Big Thief, Fontaines DC and in the last week I’ve been diving back into Sampha’s album Lahai and Wolf Alice’s Blue Weekend.