AIF sets date for first AGM as independent company

12 March 2019 - Press release

The Association of Independent Festivals will hold its first AGM as a fully autonomous organisation on Wednesday, April 3.
Using independence as a theme and featuring guest speakers, the event will take place at Wilton’s Music Hall in London and will update members, as well as invited external partners and friends, about the Association’s work over the past year and what it hopes to achieve in 2019.
Formed in 2008 as a division of AIM, AIF broke away to operate as a separate company in April last year, as well as moving to new premises at The Ministry in Borough.
The Association celebrated a hard-fought victory for its members in May, after PRS for Music announced a new Tariff LP with reduced rates for festivals, a crucial change that AIF had championed and made the case for throughout a three-year period.   
AIF then went on to spearhead the Drastic on Plastic campaign in 2019, which achieved global coverage and support, and saw AIF members commit to eliminate single use plastic at their events by 2021.
AIF also published an ownership map of UK festivals last summer, making renewed calls for a competition investigation into Live Nation’s dominant market position and alleged damaging effects on competition.  
AIF now has over 65 members, with recent additions including Love Saves the Day, Mutations, Walthamstow Garden Party and We Are FSTVL.   
AIF’s Chief Executive Paul Reed said: “We look forward to holding AIF’s first AGM as an independent company and celebrating with members, friends and partners, exactly a year to the day since we first embarked on that journey. It has been an eventful and successful first year, and we’ll be taking a brief look back at some of these achievements and more importantly, outlining the opportunities on the road ahead.”