Tom Schroeder on Raye’s unique live journey
Wasserman Music agent Tom Schroeder has opened up to IQ about Raye’s unique, near decade-long journey to the top.
The UK singer-songwriter, who dominated the 2024 BRIT Awards with a record-breaking six wins from seven nominations, played her biggest headline show to date at The O2 in London in March.
The background to the concert – announced just five weeks ahead of time – was a story in itself.
“We found out about The BRITs nominations, and Paul [Keen], her manager, said, ‘How do you think we react in terms of live?’ I just immediately said, ‘We’re going to do an O2, dead on top of the BRITs,'” recalls Schroeder.
“Obviously, I then panicked and had to go and have a think about it – but I called Kelly [Chappel, Live Nation promoter] and asked her to back me, and she did immediately. I called Raye, congratulated her and explained the idea. She said something like, ‘You are mad, but I’m in’ – and so we did it.
“It was her first arena, with only a few weeks onsale, but I knew she would sell it out instantly. Her moment was now, and she had the show to pull it off – and that’s what she did. Raye can do whatever she wants now – from global arenas to jazz clubs, to rowdy festivals full of wonderful youngsters.”
“She definitely had a journey to go on to work stuff out and I think artists need that time”
Famously, Raye was signed to a major label before eventually finding success as an independent artist. Schroeder has been by her side on the live scene for eight years and counting, and believes playing the long game has paid off for all concerned.
“She definitely had a journey to go on to work stuff out and I think artists need that time,” he says. “There are lots of examples of it – Charli XCX being another good one – sometimes things take time. But Raye played lots of shows during that time, from arena supports to festivals to small headlines, and all artists get better and better when they do shows. It’s just so tough how immediate the demands on them can be.”
The 26-year-old BRIT School graduate has been on the crest of a wave since releasing her debut album My 21st Century Blues last year, and Schroeder considers Raye to be a total package as an artist.
“Where do I start? The voice, the performance, the songwriting, the vision – she just has all of it,” he says. “But I think it is much more than that too. She isn’t just a once in a generation talent, she is wonderful company: confident but humble, open and honest – and she is in charge, which I think is hugely important.”
As a case in point, Schroeder, who was named top agent at this year’s Arthur Awards, discloses how her latest live campaign came to life.
“We had a small headline tour booked in London and through several European cities, all sold out,” he recalls. “Right timing, right venues, all good. Then Raye calls me one day and she’s like, ‘Tom, the tour’s all wrong.’ As everyone knows, agents are always right, so I was a bit taken aback and asked her to explain. She wanted the shows seated – just her and a piano, and two-and-a-half hours long.”
“Listening to an artist’s vision is everything right now”
He continues: “It was the worst idea in my mind, and we had sold everything as standing, etc. Anyway, she was so eloquent, so passionate – explaining that she needed to explain to her fans what had happened with the label, why the musical direction was going to change, and why she needed to play some songs for the last time.
“So we turned everything on its head and made it all work, and I sat, dumbfounded, through one of the most incredible shows I had ever seen. She was right, I was wrong – and I think understanding and listening to an artist’s vision is everything right now. That moment changed her career, and mine too.”
Raye, who will join artists including Girls Aloud, D-Block Europe and Kylie Minogue by performing her own O2 Priority gig at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on 23 September, completed her run of European festival appearances at Kalorama in Spain and Portugal this weekend.
Her summer schedule has also included slots across Europe at the likes of Reading & Leeds, Montreux Jazz Festival, Electric Picnic, Metronome Festival, Flow Festival, Rosendal Garden Party and Bergenfest.
“She has won,” concludes Schroeder. “She is the standout artist of summer 2024, pulling massive crowds everywhere she has gone. There are very few acts that can win at Montreux and Reading in the same summer, but that’s exactly what she has done.
“She is one of the UK’s most exciting exports, and a wonderful person to boot. We should all be very proud of her – I certainly am.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Raye steals the show at 2024 BRIT Awards
Raye dominated the 2024 BRIT Awards with a record-breaking six wins from seven nominations.
The UK singer-songwriter surpassed Harry Styles, Adele and Blur’s previous joint record of four for the most BRIT wins in one night, taking the awards for Album, Artist, Songwriter, Song (Escapism), Best New Artist and R&B Act.
The 26-year-old BRIT School graduate, who was signed to Polydor before finding success as an independent artist, also performed a medley of her hits at the event, held on Saturday (2 March) at The O2 in London. She will return to the venue on 15 March to play her biggest headline show to date.
“Raye stole the night, but we all know that,” her live agent Tom Schroeder of Wasserman Music tells IQ. “She stole it with the record breaking wins, with the performance, with her messaging about fairness within the industry, but most importantly with her story.
“Raye’s career took off when she took control, when she started making decisions; Raye runs Raye. We continue to break the rules, with March’s O2 being another chapter in the story – but everyone around the globe now knows what a complete artist she is – one of the UK’s greatest. She has changed the game and is the blueprint of how to do it.”
The 44th BRITs also saw performances from Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, Tate McRae, Jungle, Becky Hill and Chase & Status, Rema and BRITs Global Icon Award recipient Kylie Minogue, who closed the show.
Other winners included Jungle (Group), Bring Me the Horizon (Alternative/Rock), Calvin Harris (Dance), Casisdead (Hip-hop/Grime/Rap), SZA (International Artist), Dua Lipa (Pop), Boygenius (International Group), Chase & Status (Producer) and Miley Cyrus (International Song – Flowers).
Hosted by Maya Jama, Clara Amfo and Roman Kemp, the Mastercard-sponsored event was broadcast live in the UK on ITV1 and ITVX, and livestreamed on YouTube for international viewers.
“Artists and managers and labels and agents have kept supporting it to enable it to be the event that it is today”
Meanwhile, the annual BRITs Week wraps up tonight (4 March) with BRITs Rising Star winners The Last Dinner Party at The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge.
The annual charity concert series features intimate one-off performances from big names. Since BRITs Week’s inception in 2009, the shows have raised more than £7 million for War Child to help children whose lives have been torn apart by war.
Produced by AEG Presents, BPI, Bauer Media Audio UK and War Child, BRITs Week commenced on 19 February with gigs by Cian Ducrot and You Me At Six will kick off proceedings at London’s Union Chapel and Brighton’s Concorde 2. The 2024 line-up has also included the likes of Baby Queen, Aitch, Ash, Pendulum, Sleaford Mods, CMAT and Venbee.
“It’s genuinely a joy to work on,” says Simon Jones, AEG’s SVP, live music international, speaking to IQ. “An industry fixture that has grown and grown over the past 10 years. Artists and managers and labels and agents have kept supporting it to enable it to be the event that it is today, and I hope it continues in that fashion.
“Maggie Crowe from the BPI has continued to give it its full backing, and Will Smyth from AEG and the whole War Child team have continued to tirelessly deliver the event to an even higher standard every year. We’re lucky artists want to play it; it’s not easy, but it always comes together!”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.