Manager Spotlight offers a small insight into the heads of incredible managers. This week in the spotlight is Accelerator manager Clare Wright!

How long have you worked in Management? 

Six years ago I started to take on my own clients however I’ve been in management for 12 years working my way from the bottom up.

Who do you manage now?

I manage 4 artists. JFDR from Iceland, Æ MAK from Ireland, Eliza Shaddad and Esya from the UK.

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

My first client on my current roster, JFDR, was introduced to me by my long term colleague and friend Dean O’Connor from Big Dipper. He asked me to co-manage her with him and I just could not resist. She’s a dream to work with as are all my artists.

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

A good day is receiving new demos, mixes, artwork – anything creative. All four women I work with are incredibly talented in all aspects of their craft and I’m always excited and invigorated to hear/see anything new coming in. I genuinely adore speaking to each of my artists too so our catch ups are always fun for me. I’ve been careful to work with artists that appreciate my creative input too so quite often our calls are colourful and positive. A bad day is when I get struck down with a bout of imposter syndrome. It’s something a lot of us have to deal with but talking about it helps.

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

Growing my roster and really carefully choosing who I work with and the artists in return choosing me. JFDR winning Icelandic artist of the year, Esya signing to Mute Song, Eliza Shaddad delivering her latest incredible record and Æ MAK performing on a TV show that I can’t announce just yet are just a few of the highlights of the last 12 months for me.

What do you think are the big challenges for a manager in 2021?

I think not being able to be in the same room as my clients is a minor challenge. Two of my artists I’ve never even met human to human – we have no idea what each other smell like! Hopefully this will change as the year progresses. And of course live and not touring is tricky – it is such a stream of revenue for artists be it festivals / merch + simply growing your fanbase on the ground. So thinking of innovative ways for your artists to continue to make a living. The marketing side of your brain has to be totally switched on.

What music are you currently listening to?

I’ve been listening to my roster a lot lately as we are going to be releasing loads of new music this year. I also run Sigur Rós’ record label, Krunk, and have been listening to a huge amount of composer/artist Alex Somers who is on the label. I’m the type of person that gets obsessed with an artist and then listens on repeat. Forever. Always on repeat for me are Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Big Thief, Yves Tumor, Blood Orange, Fiona Apple, Sonic Youth, Frank Ocean, Sharon Van Etten, Phoebe Bridgers, Moses Sumney, Lana del Rey and Tyler the Creator. New artists that i’m really loving are Anaiis and Gugusar.