Management

While studying at Oxford, Harvey worked at local nightclubs setting up and promoting student parties.^[9] Despite considering those activities to be basic, he has stated that these gigs helped him to understand how to hire a venue, book a musician or DJ, and try to make money.^[9] In 1998, Martin complained that one of the local promoters in Camden was spiteful towards Coldplay, to which Harvey suggested the band should organise a performance on their own at Dingwalls.^[9] Around 400 people attended the concert and they sold the first 50 copies of Safety throughout the set.^[10] The earnings helped Harvey to pay back his father and a roommate, as they financed the extended play.^[10] It was around this period that he dropped out of college to dedicate himself to management,^[11] which encompassed calling A&R professionals, reading Music Week, and scheduling more shows.^[12]

One of the performances arranged by Harvey was for In the City, a festival of unsigned bands in Manchester.^[13] Two days later, scout Debs Wild reached out to him, linking Coldplay to the music industry through her connections with Caroline Elleray from BMG Publishing and lawyer Gavin Maude.^[12] In 1999, the group wrote "Brothers & Sisters" and recorded it under a short-term contract with Fierce Panda Records.^[14] However, when the song was finally released, they already had signed with Parlophone.^[15] Harvey later got overwhelmed by the success of Parachutes (2000), as the record topped the UK Albums Chart and led him to work for 16 hours a day: "It was only later that I discovered most international bands have huge teams and organisations supporting them not just one bloke in a shithole office".^[10]

Despite Estelle Wilkinson being hired as his assistant to help,^[16] he declared that the 2001 Brit Awards was his lowest point, since Coldplay had won British Group and British Album of the Year, but he was feeling exhausted.^[17] Harvey announced his departure during the last recording session for A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), a situation he described as dramatic due to his friendship with Martin and the fact he was moving to another continent.^[18] His role was jointly taken over by Wilkinson and Dave Holmes, who managed Coldplay in the United States.^[17] By the end of the Twisted Logic Tour (2005–07), Holmes had assumed duties alone.^[19] He worked for the band until 2022 and sued them over a contractual dispute in the following year.^[20] As a result, Harvey became their manager again, but with assistance from Mandi Frost and Arlene Moon.^[20]

Creative direction

Following his years away from the United Kingdom, Harvey went back to London and started to hang out with Martin again.^[19] He visited the studio occasionally to give his opinion on what the band were doing,^[19] something which became a permanent role by 2006.^[21] Two years later, Coldplay published an appeal to Wikipedia via their website to stress Harvey's participation in the line-up, concluding they were actually a quintet.^[22] He was included as a member in the liner notes of all albums except Parachutes (2000) and X&Y (2005).^{[lower-alpha 2]} As per Jonny Buckland, things are easier when Harvey is around because his presence gives a sense of security to his bandmates.^[19]

He was encouraged to describe himself as their creative director, but showed disdain towards it: "I'm not particularly creative, but I guess I do try to give them some direction from time to time".^[19] Moreover, Harvey affirmed that his role includes helping with videos, designing live performances, visiting the studio regularly, writing press releases and handling any other possible situations if necessary.^[19] He has appeared as an easter egg in several music videos released by Coldplay,^[24] and is known for his interactions with fans of the band on social media.^[25] Some conversations led to albums and songs becoming more widely available on streaming services, including the track "Flags", from Everyday Life (2019).^[25]