About one week following the rollout of Apple Music Classical, Faber Music has officially announced that it’s purchased “specialist publisher” and composer agency Manners McDade in a “seven-figure share deal.”
London-headquartered Faber Music, which bills itself as “one of the leading independent British publishers of classical, contemporary, educational and media music,” unveiled its Manners McDade buyout via a formal release today. The transaction is said to encompass the latter business’s 22-year-old composer agency and 17-year-old publishing component alike.
Also based in London, Manners McDade represents composers who have created scores for visual media projects including Sackboy: A Big Adventure as well as Netflix’s Sex Education and The Tinder Swindler. Now, these and other music professionals are set to join Faber’s “existing roster of agency clients,” according to higher-ups.
Meanwhile, the companies intend to establish a “new international creative hub” within Faber, and Richard Paine, who has for more than three decades served as Faber’s director of commercial rights and business affairs, is poised to lead the unit.
Additionally, Manners McDade “will be preserved alongside Faber Music’s own brand and Faber Alt,” execs indicated, with Harriet Moss (who joined Manners nearly a decade ago) bringing along her “entire creative team” to head the division.
Addressing the acquisition in a statement, Paine emphasized the professional accomplishments of Manners’ namesake founder and longtime director, Catherine Manners. (According to her LinkedIn profile, Manners this month started working for Cognitive Shift Recordings, or “a new home for contemporary classical music.”)
“In Manners McDade Catherine Manners has created a composer-centred business that has legions of admirers here and overseas,” said Paine. “Perfect synergies exist between the company and our own composer agency and commercial rights business, including shared beliefs in the values of creativity, integrity and fierce independence. We look forward to building on Catherine’s amazing legacy.”
As mentioned at the outset, Faber Music’s buildout arrives a week or so following the official debut of Apple Music Classical, which the Cupertino-headquartered company is touting as a game-changer for the genre.
Per Apple, Classical boasts “the world’s largest classical music catalog,” with north of five million tracks, besides “thousands of exclusive albums,” custom-developed search functions, and more.
But Universal Music Group operates a classical streaming service of its own, Stage+, via Deutsche Grammophon. About three weeks ago, UMG scooped up British classical label Hyperion Records – and took the opportunity to draw attention to its perceived status “as the definitive home for classical music globally.”
