AIM Announce AGM Details and 'Your Big Idea' Initiative

17 August 2016 - Press release

The Association of Independent Music (AIM), which represents over 800 independent music companies in the UK, has confirmed the date of its Annual General Meeting (AGM), which this year takes place on Tuesday 20^th September at Glaziers Hall, London.

Starting at 2pm a full programme of events is planned for the day including a keynote address from AIM’S departing Chairman and CEO Alison, on-stage discussions and the AIM council elections, which will see new members join the organisation’s board of directors. 

Full details of these activities will be announced in the near future. 

AIM is also reintroducing its ‘Your Big Idea’ session for the first time since its 10^th Anniversary AGM in 2009.

‘Your Big Idea’ sees AIM inviting ideas from its membership that will become agenda setting policies, initiatives or campaigns moving forward. Submitted in advance by AIM members these ‘Big Ideas’ are pared down to a shortlist of 10 by the AIM board with individual board members supporting and ‘sponsoring’ an individual idea. That board member then works closely with the idea’s proposer to present the idea at the AGM in front of the membership and there is then a vote to decide which one is adopted and actioned. 

In 2009 the winning ‘Big Idea’ was “Lobby the BBC to encourage them to play a wider range of independent music on Radio 1 and Radio,” which was proposed by Wez Wesley of Full Time Hobby and sponsored by then AIM board member Sir Harry Cowell.

Just some of the other ‘Your Big Ideas’ suggested by the membership in 2009 included:

• “Death to the CD promo! An industry wide switch to streaming! Be green!” 

• “Develop and keep up to date a comprehensive UK music related media industry database.”

• “Indie retail needs our help and support to weather the retail downturn. If AIM members were to devote some time and resource to working with their local indie retailer, if we could find a way to work together to create events, showcases and exciting exclusives for our retailers, we could re-energise the sector. And, if we created a fund to make this happen, we could preserve the unique status of indie retail as a local destination for new music.” 

AIM members are invited to submit their ‘Your Big Ideas’ suggestions along with a short email outlining the idea to  judith@musicindie.com .  If the idea is chosen a board member will sponsor it and the proposer will be contacted directly. 

Alison Wenham, Chairman and CEO of AIM said, “We know our membership are very engaged and have great ideas about the direction AIM should be going in so we have reinvigorated our ‘Your Big Ideas’ strand to give them an opportunity to put forward what they think we should be focusing our efforts on moving forward.  I am stepping down as AIM's CEO this autumn, and with a new CEO coming in, the AGM this year will focus on our member’s ideas for the successful future of the independent sector and we want them to play a big part in shaping our agenda for the next 5 years. The goal is to produce and publish by the end of this year a manifesto which sets out 10 big ideas to help the indie sector to thrive in the coming years.  No matter how grand and high level, or how focused and practical, or even how off-the-wall they are, we want our members to start sending their ideas in now so that we can have a lively discussion and reach a proper consensus at our AGM in September.”