Faber Music Distribution

Faber Music was founded in 1965 as a sister company to the distinguished book publisher Faber and Faber. Over fifty years later, the company is now one of the leading independent British publishers of classical, contemporary, Film & TV,  pop and printed music, enjoying a reputation as one of the most influential publishers of serious contemporary classical music in the world.

Built upon repertory works by Arnold, Britten, Holst and Vaughan Williams, Faber Music’s performance catalogue comprises a distinguished list of composers that includes Thomas Adès, George Benjamin, Jonathan Harvey, Anders Hillborg and Oliver Knussen. Several generations of internationally recognised composers are featured: from Peter Sculthorpe and Nicholas Maw to Colin Matthews and David Matthews; from Julian Anderson and Tansy Davies to Francisco Coll, Tom Coult and Martin Suckling.

Faber Music also handles Carl Davis’s renowned scores for great films of the silent era (including Napoleon, The General and the Chaplin Mutuals), Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, the outstanding choral and concert works of Howard Goodall and the ‘classical’ works of Sir Paul McCartney. The company is increasingly involved in publishing concert works by composers who are also active in the film/TV or pop worlds. Apart from Davis and Goodall such composers include Danny Elfman, Jonny Greenwood, John Harle, Keaton Henson and Anna Meredith.

The company’s substantial Film & TV division represents an outstanding and stylistically diverse group of composers including Paul Englishby, Dan Jones, entertainment TV specialist Marc Sylvan and Oscar-winning film composer Stephen Warbeck. The department offers a full representation (agency) service to composers as well as a specialist service of worldwide copyright administration to composers and production companies. It also provides music supervision services, notable credits in this area including three series of the BBC’s hit show Killing Eve. Notable composer credits include Channel 4’s hit series Humans (Sarah Warne), popular BBC TV series such as Line of Duty (Carly Paradis) and Keeping Faith (Laurence Love Greed), the BBC’s successful returning children series The Dumping Ground (Simon Rogers) and Hetty Feather (Simon Lacey), and films including Johnny English Strikes Again (Howard Goodall) and The Other Man (Stephen Warbeck).

Faber Alt. is the brand under which the company represents indie pop and ‘alternative’ crossover writers and artists. The roster includes Boy Azooga, Mesadorm, Penelope Isles and Phoria, folk artist Jon Boden, BC Camplight (the stage name of American singer and multi-instrumentalist Brian Christinzio) and Swiss DJ, producer and composer Pablo Nouvelle.

In 2023, Faber Music acquired the specialist publisher Manners McDade in a deal that included both the Manners McDade composer agency and publishing companies. Founded by Catherine Manners in 2001, Manners McDade has grown to be one of the UK's most respected composer agencies, representing media composers and artists working in film, television, advertising and games, including Oli Julian (Sex Education, Catastrophe), Jessica Jones (Tinder Swindler) and Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, who scored the Oscar-nominated film Living starring Bill Nighy. Manners McDade’s publishing catalogues of instrumental & and electronic artists, including Nils Frahm, Max Cooper, Poppy Ackroyd, Aisha Devi, Büsra Kayikçi and Balmorhea, have achieved considerable success in the sync area and the company also holds the rights to many of the film and TV scores from the agency side of the business. 

At the core of Faber Music’s print catalogue are tutors, repertoire and educational publications by world-renowned figures in their respective fields, including Fanny Waterman, Paul Harris and Pam Wedgwood. In 2014 Faber Music entered into an exclusive publishing partnership with the world-famous pianist Lang Lang, launching a major new piano programme with him that has received global acclaim.

Following an exclusive European print licence deal with Warner Chappell in 2005, the catalogue now encompasses some of the most famous names in popular 20th-century music, from jazz classics to an array of films and musicals, including La La Land and Hamilton, as well as some of the biggest names in contemporary pop and rock, including Radiohead, Elbow and Muse. As the exclusive agent for the Warner Chappell rental catalogue outside North America, Faber Music handles a vast array of musicals (including Bugsy Malone), operas, operettas and popular concert works (including Gershwin, Bax, Coates and Loewe).

Following the acquisition of the Edition Peters print music business from Wise Music in 2023, the Faber Music catalogue now includes one of the world's leading classical music publishers. With a distinguished history stretching back to 1800, the Edition Peters print catalogue consists of over 12,000 titles and its name is synonymous with the highest quality music worldwide. It remains unrivalled in its range: from the most up-to-date Urtext editions and trusted core repertoire to top educational editions and an extraordinarily diverse choice of works by the world's leading contemporary composers. 

The company operates from three sites: publishing, marketing, digital, promotion, copyright, media and administration functions are based in London, while sales, customer service, accounts, IT, hire and distribution functions operate from its distribution centre in Harlow, Essex. Edition Peters editorial, customer service and sales functions are based at the historic Edition Peters building in Leipzig, Germany. Staff across the entire company build and nurture the closest possible relationships with composers, writers, clients and customers. The company continuously builds and promotes its music copyrights internationally, and is proud to provide publishing, administration and distribution services of unrivalled excellence.