AIM to boost 100k UK music entrepreneurs via free new membership tier
Open to every client of AIM’s independent Distributor Members
Five new directors elected to board, now majority female
London, 28 October 2020: The Association of Independent Music (AIM), the non-profit trade body which exclusively represents the UK’s independent music sector, made several announcements in the proceedings of its online AGM today, including a brand new, free, Associate Membership tier, and five new directors elected to its board.
The new tier will be open to every client of AIM’s independent Distributor Members, providing the next generation of independent music entrepreneurs with access to key foundational music business knowledge and resources. This includes AIM’s ‘Start-Up Guide to Music Business’ and ‘Distribution Revolution’ industry guides, educational webinars on key business skills, ‘tip sheets’ and free access to selected AIM conferences.
Trialled at the end of this year and fully launched in early 2021, the new tier is expected to see AIM’s total membership grow from the current 1000+ labels and associated businesses to 100,000+. It is intended to ensure that nearly anyone building a career or business in music can access crucial resources for free. Last week, a British Business Bank report found that fewer Black, and Asian and Other Ethnic Minority entrepreneurs access valuable advice for free, relative to White entrepreneurs.
Paul Pacifico, CEO of AIM said: “The launch of our Associate Membership tier is a huge moment for AIM, not only in terms of our reach and structure, but in our commitment to activism and social justice. We are bringing thousands of the next generation of music entrepreneurs into our community, giving them a significant boost and instigating substantive and much-needed change across the industry. I believe that the Associate tier exemplifies AIM’s values of fairness, innovation and entrepreneurship, and reinforces the strength of our Member businesses and the independent sector as a whole.”
Simon Wills, Director of Absolute Label Services and Chair of AIM’s Distribution Committee, said: “We’re delighted to help establish this new membership with AIM. The free access it will provide to industry knowledge, resources and contacts will provide a boost for many of our clients and those of our fellow distributors in the independent sector. With this, we can continue to move forward together in a meaningful way with a shared objective to help and support the independent community.”
Ammo Talwar MBE, Chair of UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce, said: “Breaking down barriers, listening and collaboration are the key drivers to making change and challenging systemic issues. AIM's new free Associate tier of membership shows leadership and action by delivering critical social capital to the next generation of artists and entrepreneurs. This is what real change looks like.”
In a year which saw record voting numbers from the AIM Membership and a record number of nominees standing for the board, five new AIM Board Members were appointed as part of the formal business of the AGM. The all-female list of newly elected Board Members represents a diverse range of companies within the AIM Membership:
Clare Mckinney (Domino Recording Company)
Maya Kalev (Stones Throw Records)
Nicole Mckenzie (MIC Records)
Rachael Patterson (!K7 Music)
Suzanne Lachapelle (Cooking Vinyl)
They replace the following retiring Board Members:
Adam Velasco (Cherry Red Records)
Chris Goss (Hospital Records)
Harry Martin (Domino Recording Co)
Paul Trueman (AWAL)
Rachael Patterson (!K7 Music) 1
The newly elected Board Members bring the total of women serving on the AIM board to a majority - 10 out of a total of 18 Board Members. This election has now honoured two of AIM’s Keychange pledges, which it extended and renewed earlier this year to include ethnicity as well as gender representation on its board, two years ahead of schedule.
This year the theme of the AGM was Activism, Business and Community (‘The ‘ABC’ of Independence’). The AGM hosted a panel discussion on the theme, featuring leading change-makers and influential creative professionals: Dal Darroch, Head of Diversity & Inclusion Programmes for The Football Association (FA), award-winning writer/director Rubika Shah, Natasha Guthrie, Partnerships & Marketing Manager, Young Urban Arts Foundation (YUAF) and Sharan Dhaliwal, Editor-in-Chief of the UK’s leading South-Asian magazine Burnt Roti.
During his annual report, AIM CEO Paul Pacifico said: "Structural barriers prevent our market from being a meritocratic one and the intersection between Activism, Community and Business is here. A diverse and meritocratic independent music sector is one that will continue to discover the best and brightest talent, the best and most exciting new music and the next generation of the most successful music entrepreneurs. We see time and time again that doing the right thing for the community leads to better business outcomes over time."