Alison Wenham appointed Non-Executive Director at Funnel Music

03 July 2019 - Press release

Former AIM & WIN CEO Joins Board in Strategic Role

Funnel Music, which addresses the many issues of artist development by focusing on the resource gap that plagues the artist development process through technology and the unique community it is building, has appointed respected industry figure Alison Wenham to the position of Non-Executive Director. 

Alison, who co-founded both The Association of independent Music (AIM) and Worldwide independent Network (WIN) and served as CEO at both organisations for two decades will join the main board at Funnel Music.

The board already includes CEO Tim Delaney,  former V2 Records Managing Director David Steele – who is also Director of Artist Management for the company -  and Funnel Music COO Joss Yerbury,  previously Senior Label Manager at InGrooves. They are supported by Music Glue Founder Mark Meharry  and former President of Sony Music International Rick Dobbis  & Joe Romulus, both of whom are based in the US . 

As well as having a fiduciary and governance remit Alison will help develop a strategy for Funnel Music to build relationships with the global independent music community.

Funnel Music was founded by music industry veterans Ric Yerbury and Alex Pilkington to address the need for longer term artist development and the creation of sustainable careers. Their model, powered through a ‘Shared Outcome Agreement’, incorporates key elements of rights holding music companies and artist services offerings providing a unique, one-stop solution covering all aspects of the artist’s career. Professionals who commit to early stage acts through this model can participate in future projects regardless of whether they are directly involved or not. This in turn helps reduce costs associated with early stage development without compromising access to quality services, experience and expertise.

Alison Wenham said, “Since stepping down from my full-time role at WIN last December I have had an opportunity to properly reflect on what the music industry is evolving into. The old models that, in a lot of cases,  have traditionally seen artists treated like second class citizens are becoming obsolete , particularly in the independent music community  which has always led the way in innovation, and there is a definite shift towards more equitable , partnership-based agreements. I was intrigued and inspired by Funnel Music’s ‘Shared Outcome Agreement’ approach , which seemed to me a very pragmatic and ,importantly, fair way of working with artists . I am excited about joining a company and a board that already has expertise & experience in abundance and looking forward to helping further develop their global strategy.”

Ric Yerbury, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Funnel Music said, “To have such a universally respected music industry figure as Alison join our board is a major coup for Funnel Music. As well as her experience of running high profile organisations such as AIM and WIN her unique understanding of and relationships with the global independent music community will give us an amazing insight into this sector.”

Please visit www.funnelmusic.com for more information about Funnel Music.