Chloe Freedman is the founder of Red Tape Management, a music management company with a focus on signing talented musical artists. While having enjoyed growth and success over the years, it has taken a lot of hard work and dedication to overcome so many obstacles, that someone faces when making their start in what is a notoriously competitive industry.
Chloe was nice enough to take some time out of her day, to answer some questions about Red Tape Management and her journey within the business.
Chloe, could you tell us a bit about your background?
I actually trained in dance and performing arts once I finished my school education. I then went on to teach dance for 5+ years. After this I had an injury and decided to move on to a different area within entertainment, and the only other thing I was ever interested in was music.
I started off interning at a very reputable PR company, which led to me realizing that I wanted to work on the management side of things. From there, I assisted many top artist managers and worked my way up the ladder. One day I decided to start my own business, as I wanted to develop my own artists, and this led to many opportunities for me as well as training overseas with top executive and producer ‘Cory Rooney’ in LA.
I have worked across many development projects, as well as some bigger artists across the UK and Europe. Over the years I have built a very large network of talented people, all whom I have great relationships with.
What motivated you to start Red Tape Management and when did your passion for music start?
The reason for starting up my own company ‘Red Tape Management’, was mainly down to the fact that I really struggled to get a regular position in a management company in London. I went through a lot of meetings with different companies and it was never down to my experience or knowledge within the industry that was the problem, it was mainly down to there being no positions available.
I had to make a choice to either give up and do something else, or really push for what my dreams and goals were. My passion for music started from a very young age. As I explained before, I have always been into dance and performing arts, and since I was a child, I loved all types of music. I come from a musical family too with my mother who used to play the piano and she also took up a career in the music industry, my father who plays guitar and he used to be in a rock n roll band and my brother with whom I used to perform in musicals with together with my father. Music has always been a love of mine!
Does your management company focus on a wide range of musical genres, or focus on more niche sounds?
As a company I am super open to working with different genres. Right now, I’d say the main types of genres I work with are rap, pop and hip-hop, however I am open to other genres and types of artist.
What have you achieved whilst working in music industry?
During my time in the industry I have been fortunate enough to run into many great opportunities including working alongside the music team on X Factor UK, and collaborating with some awesome producers including ‘Cory Rooney’, ‘Rodney Jerkins’ and ‘ChrisNTeeb’ on acts I have been developing in the UK and Europe. I have also been fortunate enough to work with some amazing artists on consultancy across UK and Europe including ‘Big Narstie’, ‘Katie Melua’, ‘Lady Leshurr’, ‘Lariss’.
What are some of the challenges you encountered a music manager?
I would say there have been many challenges I have encountered as a music manager. I feel like the opportunity in the UK especially seems to be very closed off and minimal. It almost felt like knocking your head against a brick wall, trying to get any executive, label, A&R to listen to some music or take a meeting. It was definitely a challenge but something I had to decide not to give up on and remain persistent.
Another big challenge within music management are the types of things we face as day to day managers, for artists who rely on you for everything. You have to be strong; you have to be someone who doesn’t get affected and take things to heart and personal. This job definitely does come with many challenges, but overall it is super rewarding when everything starts falling into place.
What do you do differently in comparison to your main competitors?
I feel like the one thing I do, is give everything I do a very family-oriented feeling. My team are family and we treat everyone with respect, and we like to make sure that everyone we work with feels apart of the family. Together with that I like to have my artists and talent very involved in their own projects in respect of music choices, styling, ideas etc. I like them to feel really involved. I also have a strategy wherein I like to team up with many different people in the industry on all of my different projects to give the projects and artists everything they need to succeed.
What would be your advice to those trying to break into the music management scene?
My advice to anyone trying to break into the music management scene is 1. Do not give up, stay persistent and you will eventually get there! 2. Network, network, network. Networking is everything in this industry. Don’t be afraid of anyone, the worst that can happen is someone says no!
