MBW’s World’s Biggest Managers collection profiles the very best artist managers within the world enterprise. Right here we speak to Ryan Richards, a rock drummer turned main supervisor presently guiding the profession of one of many greatest breakout bands of the previous couple of years, Sleep Token. World’s Biggest Managers is supported by Centtrip, a specialist in clever treasury, funds and overseas trade – created with the music business and its wants in thoughts.
Ryan Richards regarded like he was on prime of the world. He was the drummer/scream vocalist in Welsh post-hardcore legends Funeral For A Buddy, some of the profitable UK rock bands of their technology, touring the world and enjoying to 1000’s of adoring followers.
After 5 albums and a whole bunch of gigs, nevertheless, in 2011 Richards discovered himself getting his thrills elsewhere. No, not within the sex-and-drugs-and-rock’n’roll way of life that has distracted so many drummers through the years, however within the little wins achieved by the native bands again in his native South Wales that he was advising and serving to out.
It was that, mixed with a want to spend extra time along with his younger household again within the Valleys, that noticed him sit down for a chat with the band’s supervisor, Craig Jennings of Uncooked Energy Administration.
“I stated, ‘I feel my touring days are numbered’,” Richards remembers. “‘This administration factor is the place my ardour is and the place I see my future going ahead’.
“Just a few days later, Craig rang me up and stated, ‘Should you’ve made up your thoughts to do this, why not come and work with us at Uncooked Energy and be taught there?’ It was an enormous studying expertise, and so useful to my growth as a supervisor. It was the right subsequent step.”
Fourteen years on, Richards has his personal administration firm, Future Historical past, and is himself some of the profitable rock managers on the planet. In a UK business starved of breakthroughs, the large success of Sleep Token – one among three bands he had on his roster when he left Uncooked Energy to arrange Future Historical past in 2018 – has been exceptional.
The mysterious, masked UK rockers have headlined Obtain Pageant, signed to RCA in America and scored a No.1 report with their fourth album, Even In Arcadia, on each side of the Atlantic. Extra to the purpose, their pop sensibilities, hyper-engaged fanbase and savvy use of on-line advertising have taken them to locations different rock and metallic bands can not attain: Sizzling 100 hits, late-night TV appearances and the most important US streaming week for a tough rock band ever. That’s ever.
That is uncharted territory for a rock band in 2025, however Richards is taking all of it in his stride.
“To not self-aggrandise, however I all the time thought from the beginning that that is the place it might find yourself,” he chuckles. “I used to be all the time a real believer.”
Neither is it more likely to be a one-off. Richards has cultivated a roster of fast-rising rock acts, together with the likes of These Rattling Crows, Holding Absence, Bambie Thug, President, Zetra and Lifeless Pony.
They’re the type of bands Richards would have cherished in his personal South Wales youth, when he was inspired in his musical skills by his household, at first enjoying piano/keyboards earlier than deciding on the drums when his musical tastes – initially formed by a babysitter who would play him Bon Jovi and Weapons N’Roses – turned too heavy for tickling the ivories to be concerned.
He performed in a variety of native bands earlier than becoming a member of Funeral For A Buddy. He realised the band was going locations once they scored a Kerrang! function that tagged them, ‘Essentially the most thrilling new band on the planet’.
“Then it was like, ‘Proper, I assume we’d higher get critical’,” he chuckles. The band signed to Atlantic Information UK and Sanctuary Artist Administration (after Rod Smallwood noticed them play on the Kerrang! Weekender in Camber Sands) and Richards settled into the unofficial position of liaison between band and business advisors on their unstoppable rise to rock stardom, marking him out as a future exec within the making.
When Sanctuary dissolved, Funeral stayed beneath Craig Jennings’ wing at Uncooked Energy (“I nonetheless contemplate Craig a mentor,” he says), whereas Richards began serving to out native bands by passing on contacts and serving to them safe gigs.
He joined Uncooked Energy when he went full-time with such administration issues, working his approach up earlier than leaving when he discovered himself once more spending an excessive amount of time away from Bridgend (“Wales retains drawing me again: the inexperienced, inexperienced grass of dwelling that Tom Jones sang about actually is that magnetic,” he laughs).
Initially, he labored alone from his dwelling workplace, that means he and his artists may climate the Covid shutdown because of his low overheads, however Future Historical past is now increasing quickly, with Obtain Pageant boss Andy Copping becoming a member of as a director.
“with rock being such a rising style, I’d wish to assume it’d empower the scene to have extra leverage or affect.”
Accordingly, Richards – who spent the summer time again within the reformed Funeral For A Buddy, enjoying the band’s greatest ever gigs, together with a headline at Cardiff Citadel – fizzes with plans for the likes of Bambie Thug (who simply signed a publishing cope with Common), President (“Out of any band I’ve ever labored with, that’s been the quickest out of the traps,” he declares) and the reviving rock style basically.
“It’s exhausting work being a rock band,” he says in his mellifluous Welsh tones. “Climbing up that hill generally is a slippery and steep slope. However, with rock being such a rising style, I’d wish to assume it’d empower the scene to have extra leverage or affect. We’ll definitely hold attempting…”
Earlier than that, nevertheless, he sits down with MBW in his Bridgend dwelling workplace on a classically wet South Wales morning to speak streaming, mystique and why Sleep Token aren’t really a metallic band…
Unusually for a band in 2025, Sleep Token have mystique. How huge a component has that performed of their rise?
I like that stuff. I used to be listening to a music business podcast just lately and the subject of dialog was social media and the way it’s modified the dynamic between band and followers, and the way it’s a disgrace you may’t do issues in the best way you used to, once you had
that mystique.
And I used to be pondering to myself, ‘Properly, absolutely you may in the event you select to?’ And that’s what it’s been. It’s about wanting to search out that magic once more, that deeper connection between fan and artist, which, conversely, comes from that separation, it engenders that deeper connection.
As a result of the band is working the best way it does, by way of the anonymity and never connecting within the standard methods with social media, interviews and press, it’s about placing all the things round that and giving extra substance to the entire story.
You go to a Sleep Token present and, though the band doesn’t converse in phrases, there’s that unstated connection and dialogue between the band and the fanbase which is absolutely particular, fairly distinctive and really highly effective.
Will you have the ability to hold all that up, or will there be a ‘Kiss with out the make-up’ second?
The distinction there’s, it doesn’t really feel like anybody – definitely not the fanbase – needs that. They’re not attempting to peek backstage, dissect it and invade upon what the band is doing, or to interrupt that fourth wall.
It’s not nearly respecting it, however actually indulging in it, shopping for into it and having fun with it for what it’s. It was totally different again within the day with Kiss, and perhaps even Slipknot, the place it was like, ‘Oh, I ponder what they appear like and who they’re?’ Now, perhaps as a result of the daybreak of the web means info is all the time at your fingertips, individuals worth having that mystique and separation.
With any film or TV present that comes out, earlier than you watch it, you may log on and discover out the ending. You may spoil it for your self – however why would you do this? I don’t see something optimistic or useful in that and it looks as if individuals really feel the identical.
Typical business knowledge suggests rock music doesn’t work on streaming. How have you ever bucked that pattern?
One of many huge issues is the understanding of the place rock is now. Quite a lot of the listening public have had a skewed imaginative and prescient or notion of what rock/metallic/exhausting rock is and appears like, knowledgeable by music from the previous or what they outline of their heads as rock
or metallic.
Should you’re an individual that by no means listens to metallic, however you’ve heard Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or any of the massive, heritage metallic acts and also you don’t like every of these bands, and also you’re seeing a band like Sleep Token described as metallic, you’re most likely not going to go and test it out.
“It’s like, ‘I don’t like Iron Maiden, I most likely gained’t like Sleep Token’ – which is to utterly miss the purpose. When Sleep Token get put into the metallic style, it’s as a result of that’s essentially the most excessive touchpoint of what the band does.”
It’s like, ‘I don’t like Iron Maiden, I most likely gained’t like Sleep Token’ – which is to utterly miss the purpose. When Sleep Token get put into the metallic style, it’s as a result of that’s essentially the most excessive touchpoint of what the band does. However there’s as a lot pop, R&B, digital and piano-led music as there’s heavy guitar; there’s maybe much more of these
different issues.
However now the band has had extra mainstream publicity and other people have heard it by chance or been really helpful it, they’re like, ‘That’s not metallic’.
There are parts of it all through the report, but it surely’s not a metallic band: it’s simply an artist portray with many colors to painting many various emotions and feelings, and that’s simply one among them.
We hold listening to about how few British breakthroughs there are nowadays. Are Sleep Token getting the business respect they deserve for his or her success?
There’s been this wave of optimism and positivity on the place that rock is in, the place it’s going and the trajectory it’s on, so it’ll be fascinating to see if that’s simply in our little circle, or if it permeates into the outer reaches of the business.
However I’ve been on this business lengthy sufficient to understand it’s all the time been this actually vibrant and thrilling a part of music tradition and all the time can be. It by no means goes away, it by no means dies, that’s why it circles spherical to each technology – it stays to be seen if that’s what that is.
It’s not one thing that I actually concern myself with, but it surely’ll be fascinating to see relating to the following extra mainstream awards. However the response from the fanbase is what it’s all about.
If you joined Funeral For A Buddy, did you count on them to turn into so huge?
Properly, the distinction then was, we measured success as ending up on a covermount CD for an impartial music journal. We have been like, ‘We’ve finished that, we’ve finished a demo and we acquired to play London – we’ve made it!’ There was no grand plan.
So, we have been like, ‘Possibly we may get signed to an indie label or have a reserving agent and do some exhibits with bands we like’, and that was it. But it surely shortly escalated!
Has going by way of the ups and downs of being in a band helped you as a supervisor?
Completely. It’s been the most important contributor to any success I’ve had in administration.
It’s essential that I make the excellence to the bands I work with. I say to them, ‘If I’m supplying you with recommendation on one thing, or steering you in a selected course, it’s not as a result of I’m a know-it-all, have this distinctive perspective, or have all of the solutions.
I’ve realized as a lot or extra from the incorrect steps I’ve taken as a band member or as a supervisor’. You be taught a lot out of your errors. They provide the information.
I all the time say to them, ‘I’ll by no means ask you to do one thing that I haven’t finished’ – and that’s fairly correct actually.
Andy Copping has joined Future Historical past – what’s going to he convey to the corporate?
He’s somebody I’ve been shut with for a few years, and he’s all the time been an enormous supporter. After I was coming by way of with Funeral, he all the time believed in us, he all the time gave us actually good alternatives by way of Obtain or different excursions.
And, on a private degree, he’s all the time been an enormous supporter of mine. After I left Uncooked Energy to begin Future Historical past, he was one of many first individuals on the cellphone to say, ‘Hey, in the event you ever want something, I’m only a cellphone name away’.
Simply having somebody with the extent of expertise, information, respect, contacts and all the things else that Andy has, in addition to being such buddy to me and my household, simply felt actually proper. He’s been a very essential addition to the corporate with all the things he brings to the desk, it’s been an enormous issue within the successes
we’ve had.
Should you may change one factor in regards to the music business, proper right here and now, what would it not be?
I’m positive I wouldn’t be the primary particular person hoping for streaming compensation to be a bit of extra engaging! Notably for artists which might be coming by way of.
It may be an actual lifeblood and an actual increase for brand spanking new artists, with the ability to really earn an honest revenue as they begin, simply to provide them that freedom to stay impartial so long as they should, and provides them that construction of with the ability to develop as an artist.
“It’s a disgrace once you come throughout a very good artist that has signed away recording or publishing rights on a deal that’s simply not good for them, however they’ve been left with nearly no selection as a result of they weren’t getting paid some other approach.”
It’s a disgrace once you come throughout a very good artist that has signed away recording or publishing rights on a deal that’s simply not good for them, however they’ve been left with nearly no selection as a result of they weren’t getting paid some other approach. They wanted that money injection, so that they signed no matter was in entrance of them, simply so that they wouldn’t should pack it in.
Then they get caught in these offers, they get a bit of additional down the road, they’ve spent their advance and so they’re again to sq. one with none commodities to promote and so they’re screwed. That’s not all of the fault of royalties from DSPs, however that will assist.
Is there a distinction between Ryan Richards the rock star and Ryan Richards the supervisor?
[Laughs] No! In relation to Funeral For A Buddy, I’m fairly fortunately again in that place the place I’m the one arranging bits and items, getting stuff prepared, liaising with promoters and reserving brokers – I don’t assume there’s a lot of a distinction there.
If something, it’s helped with with the ability to deal with the band aspect of it in the precise approach. I definitely recognize it extra; it’s a pleasant deal with to get on the market, slip these drumming footwear again on, reconnect with the fellows within the band and their households. It’s a pleasant factor to have on faucet when the precise alternatives come alongside, it’s good that it’s nonetheless there.
There are not any plans for anything – maybe there can be, maybe there gained’t however, if there isn’t, that [Cardiff Castle headline show] would one to log out on.
And the way huge can Sleep Token get?
I don’t see any ceiling. Basically, throughout any style in the mean time, you’re taking a look at probably the greatest songwriters and some of the fascinating and thrilling dwell acts on the market.
And, when you’ve gotten these two issues, then the sky’s the restrict.
