Fancy being managed by the team behind Ed Sheeran’s rise to global superstardom? Well, that could now be on the cards, with Stuart Camp planning to extend the remit of his Grumpy Old Management company.
Camp – Music Week Awards Manager Of The Year in 2018 – has overseen Sheeran’s unstoppable ascent, including the campaign for new album, the No.6 Collaborations Project (Asylum/Atlantic), which smashed straight to No.1 in both the United States and here in the UK, where it is the fastest-selling album of the year so far. The album is on track to stay at No.1 this week, according to the Official Charts Company midweeks.
Camp went it alone from Rocket Music back in 2018, after a decade under the Rocket umbrella, and hired Gabrielle Cawthorne as GM later that year. But, while Camp has only looked after Sheeran ever since taking him on as a client (although he previously handled the likes of James Blunt and Lily Allen), the expansion of Grumpy Old Management means the firm may now take on other projects.
“It’s good being out on our own,” said Camp. “We’ve got some staff and we’re settling into that. It’ll be interesting to see whether we start looking at other things to get involved in next year, during a mostly quiet period – at least publicly – on the Sheeran front. It feels very good, we’re in a strong position and I’m very happy with how we work, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes along.”
Earlier this month, Camp revealed to Music Week that Sheeran will take another long break after the ÷ world tour finally wraps in Hong Kong in November, with another solo album proper unlikely before 2021. Camp’s stellar success with Sheeran means the firm is certain to be in demand for other projects, but would the manager himself take on other management clients?
“Not me personally I don’t think, but we may get involved with other managers and some other acts,” he said. “We’ll see. Certainly, I’d never say never.”
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* To read the full, exclusive story behind the campaign for the No.6 Collaborations Project, click here. To read our 2017 Ed Sheeran cover story, click here. To subscribe to Music Week and never miss a vital music biz story, click here.
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