Face The Music Speaker Focus: Charlotte Abroms

Company: Music Manager - Haarlo, Ainslie Wills, Gretta Ray, Angie McMahon

How did you first become involved in the music business? I saw Big Scary play at The Great Britain and I wanted everyone to see them, so I started a website called Large Noises where we filmed bands playing music that made us feel things.

What's your area of expertise and what experience do you have? Well, what I don't have a lot of experience in is writing about my level of expertise! Management is about intuition and instinct. I think I have an ability to read people in a meaningful way.

What topics will you be mostly talking about at Face The Music? Predictably, I veer towards the emotional side of the industry. My main goal is to find ways for audiences to connect to music in the way I do, without compromising the emotions of the artist.

What's been the biggest change in the music business you've seen over the past 12 months? There's a younger generation of managers who believe in collaboration and helping each other out. These managers are looking after acts who are starting to break. They don't compete, they congratulate. It's a beautiful thing.

What do you think will be the biggest issue affecting the music industry in the next 12 months and why? Music is an eclectic concoction of beauty derived from deeply emotional, sensitive people, instability, uncertainty, inflated egos and crippling insecurities. We're talking about it, let's start finding ways to help in the next 12 months.

What advice would you give young practitioners in your area starting out today? I always suggest anyone wanting to be a manager should set this precedent early; only work with people who care as much about your career as a manager as you do theirs as an artist.