Adrian Norman: Always hustling

Monday 22 April 2024

Joining the world of finance straight from school is a well-trodden path in Guernsey. Adrian Norman followed in the footsteps of countless others when he did just that at 16-years-old. But now, having forged a successful career in finance spanning three decades, he has taken a completely new direction in life.

"I left school at 16 and joined Credit Suisse as a trainee. I think I probably had curtains for hair, I was out and about all the time, I didn't like school, I was bullied, and even without the bullying, I probably just didn't really fit into that structure.

“I wasn't a tearaway, but I wasn't great. I wasn't my best at home anyway. So, from my parents' perspective I had to get a job.

"This was back in 1992 when finance was really booming, and I don't think they could get enough bums on seats in a way.

“I got into the office, and I just took to it. I saw what other people were doing, I could see how they were getting on, and from there I ended up being the youngest account manager at 21 at Credit Suisse Worldwide. I did exams and I did well, and I succeeded.”

Adrian stayed with Credit Suisse for six years before moving to Barings and later Carey Commercial and then Odey. While with Odey, he was offered an opportunity that in time would lead him in to his second career.

"I was about 35 and I was starting to think, ‘what am I going to do?’

“I'd never travelled. I'd never had a year off. I was starting to think, ‘do I move away? do I go travelling?’. I was thinking all these different things.

"The head office for Odey was in London and they offered me the chance to go over there for six-months, and I never came back, and I’ve never looked back.”

Pictured: Adrian, with some of the artists he manages.

By 2017, the finance sector was changing and when his employer decided it was time to downsize the number of employees, Adrian joined a hedge fund start-up which kept him busy for a few more years, until he decided it was time to really shake things up.

“I love music,” he said. “I've always loved music. Much to my parents’ despair I was probably clubbing at the age of 15. To me, that was how you made your friends and how you find your community.

"When I moved to London, I was a bit like a kid in a sweet shop because you just had different gigs every night of the week. And then you realise how many different venues there are in different areas.

“Even if you didn't necessarily like a band, you would just go to see the venue, and I realised how exciting it all was again.

“I ended up managing a friend who was a DJ and doing quite well. He said, ‘would you manage me?

Just help me out with the business’ and I was like, ‘yeah, go on then’.

“It was an escape from finance.”

This first foray into music management started while Adrian was still working for the hedge fund start-up - “they work you really hard, I would say it's the hardest I've ever had to work,” he said.  Managing his friend’s music career was intended to be “a nice distraction” from his busy and high pressured day job.

"It was a nice balance and actually the complete opposite (to the day job),” he said. 

"I really looked forward to it, and then after doing that for a couple of years, I realised that it was something I wanted to do more of.”

Adrian’s many years of experience in different sectors within finance gave him a different perspective on the music business to the people he now works with.

"Each musician is a business, right? And I think what they're really bad at is running themselves as a business. They’re all about the creative side of things, and I think being able to use the business skills I've honed over the years into that sort of area was really different to what most people had seen.

"I decided I wanted to do more of this, so I did a few courses on the side, and then obviously the pandemic hit, and I realised how much time I had on my hands because I wasn't going out to gigs.

“I was still working very hard (with the hedge fund start-up) but when I actually took a step back and looked, I thought ‘we don't know what life was going to look like after the pandemic’.”

Working for the hedge fund start-up took up a lot of Adrian’s time during the pandemic as he was considering what to do with himself in the long term. 

He describes his time working on the hedge fund start-up as “the pinnacle” of his career in finance, working with an “amazing” team, but he was really enjoying his side line in music management too. 

“I realised that I wanted to give something a go that I thought I'd be good at it. I wanted to give it a chance, and really get it right. 

“So, I took on a couple more artists, I incorporated the company, and I think by the end of lockdown we had 3 or 4 artists to manage, and that was exciting.”

Turning his side line into his full-time work has seen Adrian expand his management services more widely. 

He’s managing a core number of artists including Thomas Irwin, ROZZZQWEEN, Max Ryan, James Carn, and LUXE; some of whom are photographed on these pages, alongside some not-for-profit  work. 

He also has his UniteVerse app which was launched at an event in Guernsey last month too.

Pictured: Adrian has recently launched the UniteVerse app.

Adrian describes himself as a “digital nomad” because he can work from wherever now – a big contrast to the office-based world of finance which he used to inhabit. 

“I'm responsible for my own destiny,” he said. 

“Yes, I've got myself to answer to. I guess there are times when sometimes you may not be as constructive because you don't have that routine, so you've got to try and keep yourself in a routine.”

His routine involves keeping all of his artists under management organised.

"...you know, check the emails, do the research, try and keep up to date with everything. Try and keep all the artists organised. Make sure their schedules are organised, that's a job in itself!

“Sometimes it's like being a glorified PA really, and I'm just really trying to hustle all the time as well. Always trying to reach out, always trying to make a noise, always trying to move things forward.

"Sometimes it is slow, but I just keep everything on track.”

Compared to finance, Adrian says being slow is just one difference between the two industries he has worked in, while technology is also an area where finance leads.

"The one thing that finance has got is it does spend on technology. It does invest and it is efficient.

“You can't sit around; you can't not get things done.

“In music you can wait months for someone to get back to you. There are these nuances that you just wouldn't get away with in business.”

Adrian’s artist management company is called Orean Music, and alongside that he has developed the UniteVerse app “to increase safety for a more enjoyable, safe, and inclusive night out”. 

The app will personalise recommendations for social experiences based on each individual user’s likes and dislikes and interactions. It will rate venues based on different reactions to guest enjoyment, and safety, while also giving information on accessibility and nearby travel connections. 

It will direct people to cosy pubs, busy nightclubs, or more eclectic venues based on the information given to the app.

You might even come across one of Adrian’s managed artists playing at a new destination.

"It opens up opportunities for them because we're going to do a roadshow around the UK with the app as we launch it.

“We're going to get them to play at the gigs. That gives them a bit of exposure, a bit of practise and helps raise their profile as well.”

Pictured: Adrian Norman with ROZZZQWEEN who he manages. 

When it comes to booking gigs for his artists, it’s clear that is a part of the job that Adrian still really enjoys.

"I think there's nothing nicer than giving good news like, 'we've got you this gig here, and we've got you in there’,” he said.

While lining up those gigs for the creatives he manages, Adrian has to keep on top of every other aspect of their lives and careers too. 

“Every little milestone just adds to it. The content you've got on social media, all that good news and building that, I think again, it's interesting. 

“If you can sell a 400-capacity venue, you've probably got interest from a big label. And if you've got that then you’ll probably find that if one promoter has heard of you, then they all start hearing about you. 

"It's like anything as an employer, those are the exciting parts, I think. 

“It’s when they are playing somewhere, and we’ve got some coverage, or we’ve managed to get you signed to this label. All these things are exciting because it is tough, the amount of work they have to do, the hustle and the sort of creativity all the time as well. 

“There’s so much to consider, it's a balancing act really.

“It's trying to be a friend, trying to be not a boss, but more like a partner.

"I do think it's a partnership. We're in it together. We're a team.”

This article first appeared in the March edition of CONNECT, Express' sister publication. 

The latest edition of CONNECT can be read HERE.