Faber Music is a British independent music publishing company headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1965 as a sister company to the literary publisher Faber and Faber, it has developed from a specialist publisher of classical scores into a broad international music company covering classical and contemporary music, educational publishing, printed popular music, film and television music, musicals, licensing, synchronization, and music talent representation. 1

Today, Faber Music describes itself as one of the leading independent British publishers of classical, contemporary, film & TV, pop and printed music, and particularly as one of the world’s influential publishers of contemporary classical music.

Quick facts

Foundation

Faber Music was established in 1965, initially as a sister company to the highly regarded literary publisher Faber and Faber. Its early identity was strongly connected to British classical music, particularly the work of composers associated with the British musical tradition.

Among the foundational repertory were works by Benjamin Britten, Malcolm Arnold, Imogen Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Britten’s importance to the company’s origins is particularly significant: the company was established in an environment in which there was a need for strong professional representation and international dissemination of contemporary British composers.

This early catalogue gave Faber Music an unusually strong position in British contemporary classical music and helped establish the company’s reputation as a publisher interested in living composers rather than simply historical repertoire.

Expansion beyond classical music

Over subsequent decades, Faber Music expanded considerably beyond its original classical focus. Its catalogue came to encompass:

• contemporary classical composition
• orchestral and chamber music
• choral music
• educational and instrumental publications
• jazz
• popular music
• rock
• musicals
• film scores
• television music
• commercial music
• licensing and synchronization

A major development was the expansion of its printed-music business through licensing arrangements and acquisitions. In 2005, Faber Music entered an exclusive European print-licensing agreement with Warner Chappell, subsequently developing additional joint ventures and publishing relationships.

This helped bring major popular-music, film and musical-theatre properties into its printed catalogue.

Corporate history

The present-day corporate entity has a somewhat more complicated legal history than the Faber Music brand suggests.

Faber Music Limited was incorporated in the United Kingdom on 2 April 1992. It initially operated under the name FC1017 Limited, subsequently becoming International Music Publications Limited. The company changed its name to Faber Music Limited in 2011. Companies House currently lists it as an active private limited company whose principal business classification is publishing. 2

The Faber Music business itself, however, traces its history and brand identity back to the company’s establishment in 1965.

Classical and contemporary music remains one of Faber Music’s defining areas. Its catalogue includes major British composers such as:

• Benjamin Britten
• Ralph Vaughan Williams
• Malcolm Arnold
• Imogen Holst
• George Benjamin
• Thomas Adès
• Oliver Knussen
• Jonathan Harvey
• Colin Matthews
• David Matthews
• Julian Anderson
• Tansy Davies

The company also represents composers from outside Britain, including Anders Hillborg, Peter Sculthorpe, Carl Vine, Francisco Coll and Matthew Hindson.

This gives Faber Music an interesting position within the classical publishing industry: its catalogue connects the twentieth-century British tradition with a substantial roster of contemporary international composers.

Faber’s composers have also had a strong presence at major festivals and concert institutions. For example, its 2026 BBC Proms activity included music by Thomas Adès, Francisco Coll, Imogen Holst, Oliver Knussen, Colin Matthews and Vaughan Williams.

Faber Music also has an important film and television music operation. Its catalogue and publishing activities have included composers such as:

• Danny Elfman
• Jonny Greenwood
• Carl Davis
• Howard Goodall
• Stephen Warbeck
• Marc Sylvan
• Segun Akinola
• Anna Meredith

The company has handled music associated with major films, television productions and other screen projects. Jonny Greenwood, for example, is part of the company’s composer catalogue, while Faber’s broader commercial-music activities include film and television rights and synchronization.

Faber also handles Carl Davis’s scores for silent-film classics, including Napoleon, The General and films featuring Charlie Chaplin.

Although Faber Music is particularly associated with classical and contemporary composition, its printed-music catalogue extends deeply into popular music. The company has published or represented printed music associated with artists and properties including:

• The Beatles-related repertoire and major twentieth-century popular music catalogues
• David Bowie
• Radiohead
• Aurora
• Keane
• Enter Shikari
• Paul McCartney
• Yiruma

Its catalogue also includes major modern musical and film properties such as La La Land, Hamilton and SIX.

In 2023, for example, Faber published official piano editions of Yiruma’s SOLO material.

Another major part of Faber Music is music education. The company’s educational catalogue includes method books, instrumental repertoire, teaching materials, theory resources and publications for students and teachers.

Notable educational authors and figures associated with the catalogue include:

• Fanny Waterman
• Paul Harris
• Pam Wedgwood

Paul Harris is particularly prolific, having authored more than 600 publications. In 2026 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art of Piano Education Awards.

Faber Music has also developed piano anthologies and other educational/repertoire collections designed to introduce students to a broad range of music.

The company’s educational publishing therefore serves a different audience from its professional-composer catalogue: instead of primarily serving orchestras, performers and professional composers, it also works directly with students, teachers, schools and amateur musicians.

Lang Lang partnership

One notable educational initiative was Faber Music’s publishing partnership with internationally renowned pianist Lang Lang. In 2014, Faber Music entered an exclusive publishing partnership with Lang Lang and launched a major new piano programme. The project became an important part of the company’s educational publishing activities.

One of the most important recent developments in Faber Music’s history was its acquisition of the Edition Peters print-music business in 2023.

Edition Peters has a much older history than Faber Music, with its publishing tradition extending back to 1800. Its catalogue contains more than 12,000 titles, spanning classical repertoire, Urtext editions, educational music and contemporary composers.

The acquisition significantly expanded Faber Music’s presence in the international classical-print market. Edition Peters is particularly significant because its historic catalogue includes works by many of the central figures of Western classical music. Consequently, Faber Music now combines its strong twentieth- and twenty-first-century contemporary catalogue with one of the world’s historically important classical-print catalogues.

Another major recent development is Manners Faber, launched in 2025. Manners Faber is a music talent agency operating within Faber Music. It represents composers and sound creatives working across:

• film
• television
• games
• advertising
• other media

It emerged from the partnership between Faber Music and Manners McDade, combining the histories of the two businesses. Its roster includes composers and music creators such as Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, Oli Julian, Evelyn Glennie, Dan Jones, Vince Pope, Matthew Herbert and Tawiah.

This represents a broader evolution in Faber Music’s business model—from simply publishing existing compositions toward helping develop and represent creative talent across the wider screen and media industries.

Faber Music does considerably more than print sheet music. Its business includes:

• copyright administration
• licensing
• synchronization
• commercial music publishing
• film and television rights
• distribution
• rental/hire of performance materials
• international promotion of musical copyrights

This means Faber can sit between composer, performer, production company, orchestra, educational institution, record label and consumer, depending on the project.

The company’s commercial catalogues include Faber Music, Faber Alt. and Manners McDade, covering a diverse range of composers and artists.

Faber Alt.

Faber Alt. is the company’s alternative/commercial publishing catalogue. It represents artists working across contemporary and alternative music, including artists such as Phoria, Keaton Henson, Alfa Mist, Antony Szmierek and Lara Somogyi.

This part of the business illustrates how Faber Music has broadened its identity beyond traditional classical publishing.

It is important to distinguish Faber Music from Faber and Faber. Faber and Faber is primarily a literary publisher, historically associated with poetry, fiction, drama and other books. Faber Music was established in 1965 as its sister company, specifically focused on music publishing.

The two companies therefore share historical roots but operate as distinct publishing businesses.

Faber Music operates internationally rather than as a purely British publisher. Its main functions are distributed between several locations:

• London — publishing, marketing, promotion, licensing, synchronization, film & TV and administration
• Harlow, Essex — sales, customer service, accounts, IT, hire and distribution
• Leipzig, Germany — Edition Peters editorial, customer service and sales operations
• North America — Faber Music Inc. oversees sales and marketing, with distribution handled by Alfred Music

The Leipzig operation is especially significant because of Edition Peters’ historic German publishing heritage.

Faber Music’s catalogue is unusually broad. Examples of important areas and works associated with the company include:

Faber Music’s importance comes from the combination of several characteristics.

First, it has played an important role in British contemporary classical music for more than half a century. The company’s catalogue contains several generations of major British composers, from Britten and Vaughan Williams through to Thomas Adès, George Benjamin and younger contemporary composers.

Second, it has become considerably more diversified. Its activities now extend from concert-hall composition to film, television, games, popular music, musicals, education and synchronization.

Third, the acquisition of Edition Peters gave Faber Music an exceptionally deep historical classical catalogue, complementing its modern/contemporary strengths.

Finally, the creation of Manners Faber demonstrates that the company is increasingly positioning itself not merely as a traditional sheet-music publisher but as a broader music-rights, publishing and creative-talent business.

As of 2026, Faber Music is a substantial independent music-publishing group with a portfolio spanning both heritage repertoire and contemporary music. Its identity can essentially be understood through four pillars:

1. Classical & contemporary publishing — representing composers and licensing their works.
2. Printed music & education — producing scores, sheet music, instrumental methods and educational publications.
3. Commercial, film & TV music — managing music rights, publishing, licensing and synchronization.
4. Talent and creative services — increasingly representing composers and sound creators through Manners Faber.

The company’s current strategy therefore combines its historic strength in high-quality classical publishing with a much broader international presence across contemporary music and the wider media industry.

1. About | Faber Music
2. FABER MUSIC LIMITED overview – Find and update company information – GOV.UK
3. Faber Music