Manager Spotlight offers a small insight into the heads of incredible managers. This week in the spotlight is Nick Faber.

How long have you worked in Management?

‘Officially’ only for a couple of years, although I’ve worked closely with artists as a producer for over twenty years, does that count?

Who do you manage now?

Eda Eren, Eva Gadd, Gold Blend and Aaron Graham

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

Chris Ansah (drum and bass producer Chords) was doing some graphic design work in an office I was working in. I noticed he had Logic open on his laptop so I asked what he was up to; he played me the track and it was Eda Eren and I was just blown away, she sounded so different to anything I’d heard, the way she mixes her Turkish heritage with modern dance music in her vocal performance, I said I wanted to work with her. We released the track on my label and the relationship grew from there.

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

A good day – as in any job – is getting a good result, in this case one that the artist benefits from, be it a radio play or a magazine feature or a playlist or a gig offer or whatever. Forward movement. I try to roll with the bad days and, although they smart at the time, I tend not to linger on them.

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

Probably the massive support both Eva Gadd and Gold Blend are getting from BBC Introducing; it’s vindicating when big media get behind artists you personally believe in because it suggests they have commercial viability, which is what artists need to grow their careers right?

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

Aside from the obvious (COVID and the post Brexit touring debacle) I think an artist manager’s challenges are constantly about making the right choices for their artists. There’s clearly more competition than ever before but also more opportunity. We just need to make sure we choose what’s right for our artists to enable them to maximise their chances of success, be it promo and advertising, partnerships, live, technology. There’s a lot to unravel.

What music are you currently listening to?

I had Tres Hombres and Degüello on repeat last week of course, my Discover Weekly is like an old mixtape I never made and I’m loving Dave’s new album.