When it comes to getting music placed in movies, TV shows, ads, video games and more, there’s nothing Manners McDade doesn’t do.
The London-born company, founded in 2001, runs an agency representing an exclusive list of composers writing for television, film and beyond, in addition to a publishing company to handle their rights.
It also houses a music supervision arm, as well as a Creative Services division which combines the company’s expertise in the field of Sync (music for film, TV & more) with our experience in PR, Marketing and Branding.
On the agency side of things, you may have seen the firm’s work this year in successful TV shows such Catastrophe, No Offence, Safe House, Lucky Man, The Tunnel, George Gently, Rebellion, Thunderbirds Are Go!, Silent Witness and Vera.
The Independent Echo caught up with Manners McDade’s all-female team to ask what they love about working at the company…
Ruby Wasmuth – Composer Manager
- What’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you at Manners McDade?
Going to film premieres and awards ceremonies is always pretty cool. Last year, a couple of our writers were nominated for a BAFTA, and it was especially lovely to go along to the event to support them and celebrate their success.
- What does Manners McDade mean to you and why are you proud to work there?
I finished my degree in Music Industry Management knowing that I wanted to work with composers working in film & TV. So I consider myself incredibly lucky that I went straight into a job in that exact field – shadowing one of the best agents in the business and working with such a brilliant team.
I’m really proud of the roster of composers we work with, and it’s very rewarding to work so closely with such talented creatives and to see them go from strength to strength.
- What do you hope to achieve at Manners McDade in the future?
At Manners McDade, we love signing up young and upcoming composers and helping develop their careers. I’m constantly meeting and advising young graduate film composition students, and I’m really excited to see where their careers go and helping them along the way.
Milly Paine – Publishing Manager
- What’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you at Manners McDade?
Something that always stands out to me is watching people’s reactions to our artists that we work with on a daily basis. In July last year, we all attended Nils Frahm’s sold out gig at the Barbican and just watching the energy and emotion from the audience at his gig felt really cool.
On top of that, the regular gigs (including the 3am-ers), the events, the parties, films and festivals that we go to for work are always amazing. I feel proud representing Manners McDade to the wider publishing industry.
- What does Manners McDade mean to you and why are you proud to work there?
I love working for a company that genuinely and passionately supports its artists and goes above and beyond what’s expected of a publishing company. We’re all so enthusiastic about our catalogue and the artists we represent and I think that’s pretty obvious when we’re talking about our music. I feel I can speak for everyone when I say we feel totally valued and supported working here.
- What do you hope to achieve at Manners McDade in the future?
To continue expanding our company, taking on new artists and watching their careers take off. We’re still a young company but we already have a global reputation and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Justė Survilaitė – Sync & PR Executive
- What’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you at Manners McDade?
Conversations with the writers and musicians about the ideas behind their compositions, their inspirations and creative processes give me an extraordinary look behind-the-scenes, which fascinates me a lot. As part of the Creative Services team I love to develop these into stories and make them heard.
- What does Manners McDade mean to you and why are you proud to work there?
Each day I have the opportunity to work with great people who are interested in coming up with dynamic ways to keep our company strong and growing in fast-paced and ever-changing music industry. The ability to continually learn and share my experiences with these passionate, intelligent and kind individuals is just amazing!
- What do you hope to achieve at Manners McDade in the future?
I’m very excited about the further growth of our Manners McDade Creative Services division, which we launched early this year: it combines sync, PR, marketing and branding to promote independent record labels.The international expansion and development of this area is on my goal list!
Harriet Moss – Global Creative Manager
- What’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you at Manners McDade?
I honestly don’t think there’s any part of my job that’s not the coolest thing – I truly love it. I look after the promotion of our artists, particularly for sync licensing, worldwide so get to travel alot, meeting some wonderful people and attending brilliant events and concerts.
Seeing our artists live on stage is always an incredible experience, and I personally love this at festivals in particular – Max Cooper and Christian Löffler were so awesome at ADE last year, and seeing Nils Frahm followed by Bjork at Wilderness Festival is Friday night I’ll never forget.
- What does Manners McDade mean to you and why are you proud to work there?
I’m so proud of the Manners McDade brand, of being a truly creative publisher, and of our catalogue of music – by us choosing to only work with the music we love and people we like, the roster of artists we have is so special.
It means alot to work for such lovely people, absolutely the kindest employers you could ask for. I’m also proud of Manners McDade having nurtured so many great women working in the publishing industry, it’s something that means the world.
- What do you hope to achieve at Manners McDade in the future?
I hope to continue the genuine promotion of special artists with real integrity – I’m super passionate about the genres of contemporary classical, and ambient electronic music – the more we can see this music reach the public (through sync placements, playlisting and PR), the better.