In the Spotlight: Henry Carden

If you’ve ever wondered how someone goes from playing in a band to managing multiple artists, co-founding and running a festival, managing musicians, and mentoring up-and-coming talent, the answer might surprise you. For Henry, it all started with one crucial moment: running out of holiday leave. Sounds like the beginning of a rock-and-roll saga, doesn’t it?

Back in the day, Henry was in a band that landed a record deal, and when it came time to tour and record, he was forced to choose between a day job and his passion for music. After using up all his annual leave, he quit the 9-to-5 and registered as self-employed, marking the official start of his freelance career. Now, almost two decades later, Henry has built a successful career in the music industry, all while staying rooted in Tees Valley. From managing artists to organising festivals, he's mastered the art of juggling multiple roles—and we’re here to hear all about it.

We caught up with Tees Valley Creates: Freelancer Network member Henry. Get ready for some wit, some wisdom, and a peek into the life of a true freelance music maven.

Hi…. let’s introduce you to the network, tell us a bit about you.

Hello! I'm Henry. I'm a freelancer (obviously) in the music industry, working in a variety of roles including artist manager, festival promoter, artist development mentor, songwriter and more. I wear lots of hats and spin lots of plates, which makes me sound like I work in a circus... which probably isn't that far from the truth.

You are based in Tees Valley, did you grow up here?

I spent the majority of my childhood over in Guisborough and moved to Middlesbrough in my early 20s after a brief dalliance with Leeds. Although I've lived outside of Tees Valley from time to time during my adult life, I'm quite stubborn in proving you can successfully work in the music industry AND stay in Teesside.

Can you tell us about your journey into the music industry? How did you become a music manager and festival organiser?

The long story short is that in a past life (at least it feels that way), I played in a band that signed a record deal. As I'd already used up all of my holiday allocation in my day job from being on tour, I didn't have enough annual leave to go record our album. So I quit my job and registered as self-employed. That was almost 20 years ago and I've never really looked back! Initially I started doing other bits of music related work when I wasn't on tour, and then over time, the off-stage roles overtook the on-stage role.

Can you walk us through a typical day or week in your life as a music freelancer?

I know it's incredibly cliched to say this and I'm trying my best not to say it... but... the beauty is, no two days or weeks are ever really the same! Although being a freelancer can sometimes feel like quite a solitary existence, a big part of my role as a manager is to have regular catch-ups with my artists. Whether that's on Zoom or in real life, a sizeable number of hours each week are spent talking/planning/scheming directly with my management roster.

There's quite a lot of travel involved too - over the last few years, I've travelled everywhere from London to Toronto to Brussels to New York to Hamburg to Glasgow to Liverpool to Newcastle and well, you get the idea. Working in a number of different roles does give me quite a lot of variety, so there's always a nice balance to be found. My favourite part of my job is getting to listen to so much new music. Whether it's artists I manage sending me through new demos, or booking agents sending me upcoming releases from artists they're working with, it's a genuine privilege to be able to hear so much amazing new music.

How do you identify and nurture talent? What qualities do you look for in an artist?

The most important thing for me is that I genuinely love the music. I want to be able to tell people: "this amazing artist has just released the best song I've heard all year" and mean it. It really helps if you like the artist on a personal level, too. I really, really want the best for the artists I work with. They're all wonderful people and I'm not sure I could motivate myself to work as hard for somebody who I thought was a bit of a prick. Alongside loving the music, I have to feel like I can genuinely add value to what the artist is already doing. Whether that's from a creative perspective or from a business standpoint, I need to be confident that I'm the right person to help take that artist forward. In terms of nurturing talent, a big part of it is resetting aspirations and ambitions. It might sound a bit grandiose, but getting artists to think nationally and globally, rather than just locally. What's the 2 year plan? What's the 5 year plan? If this all goes as well as it possibly can, what does *that* look like - and how do we get there together?

How do you connect with and discover new local talent? Are there specific venues, events, or communities you rely on?

A strong music community in Tees Valley is a huge part of it - whether it's gig goers, promoters, musicians, bloggers, DJs, podcasters or sound engineers, there are lots of people who I really trust when it comes to spotting new talent. I love it when somebody recommends an artist to me without any sort of agenda - somebody like Mal from the T T Teesside Music Blog or David Hayhoe (and his infamous gig jacket): they go to so many gigs, if they see somebody who really stands out and they send me a message about them, I know I should check them out. Mal was who initially put me onto Jodie Nicholson and I'm very grateful that he did. I also make sure I listen to Shakk's BBC Introducing show every week - he gets sent so much new music, so it's an incredible way to discover new artists and to hear who he's excited about too.

Can you share a memorable success story where you helped an artist reach a significant milestone? Or any career moments you are particularly proud of?

I love the early wins you can get with an artist: those first national radio plays, the first Spotify editorial playlists, the first sold-out headline shows - that kinda stuff. I remember the buzz I got when my old band got our first national radio play and to be honest, I still get that same buzz now when one of my management roster gets played! 

I think as a manager, there's always a tendency to talk about my artist's successes and not necessarily focus on my own notable moments - but I'm incredibly proud to be on the BRITs Voting Academy, which essentially means I'm one of the judges for the BRIT Awards. A lot of music industry stuff is still skewed heavily towards London, so being one of only a handful of regional voices on the voting academy means a lot to me. I was also very proud to be on the Music Manager Forum and YouTube's prestigious 'Accelerator' programme a couple of years ago. The MMF do some amazing work and it was incredible for me to be able to access so much of that alongside 20 other upcoming managers.

What is the local music scene like, and how does it differ from the larger national or international market?

Generally speaking, I find the local music scene to be a lot more collaborative than you get in larger markets. There's less rivalry and more of a sense of community: we are all in this together and if one of us does well, we should all benefit. 

If you could work on any dream project or with any dream artist, who would that be and why?

Jodie who I manage has a toplining EDM alter ego called 'soft centre', which is all about collaboration and having an outlet for her more dance/electronica influences. She's done some amazing collabs so far, but having an artist I work with collaborate with Calvin Harris would be an absolute dream. When you look at the vocalists who've featured on his tracks, it'd be an absolute gamechanger for us - and I genuinely think Jodie would smash it right in! 

What role does networking and building relationships play in your work?

It's vital. I'm not necessarily the greatest networker, but once I've built relationships with people, I really value their opinions and advocacy. Once somebody is in my network, I hope they stay part of it for a long time! I'm a big believer in once you've found your people, you make sure those people know you appreciate them. So let it be known, Simon Pursehouse at Sentric: I appreciate you! Bradley Kulisic at Singing Light: I appreciate you! Andy Carr at The Kids Are Solid Gold: I appreciate you! Claire Dupree at NARC. Magazine: I appreciate you! There's lots of other people who deserve appreciation too, but I'll save them for my Grammy winning speech. 

What are you most looking forward to as a member of Tees Valley Creates: The Freelancer Network?

I'm looking forward to being part of a community of freelancers. Whether people work in museums, arts, music, film, radio, digital or whatever else, having people to share experiences and knowledge with is something I'm looking forward to. I find it really inspiring hearing about other people's successes, so please, share those wins with me! I know what it's like when you've been working on something for a while and you get that breakthrough, and there's nobody else in the office to share the moment with... other than the cat.