Regional Radar: WMF turn 10, Wales aim for independence

The Welsh Music Foundation (WMF) is celebrating its 10th Birthday this weekend, following the news that the Welsh Music Industry could soon be forming an independent licensing and royalties collection agency.

The WMF will take over the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff over the weekend of 10 and 11 September for a programme of live events and industry seminars. To find out more about events happening and who is playing, go to their website.

Lisa Matthews from the Welsh Music Foundation said: “It’s really important that we have the infrastructure in place to encourage people to invest in music here – be that from enabling independent promoters’ access to relevant authorities or helping people to promote their music”.

The celebrations are well timed, with the publication of a feasibility report promoting the establishment of an independent music agency for Wales that could raise the profile of the region and jump start their entertainment economy.

The report, published by the Welsh Music Publishers and Composers Alliance (WMPCA) explores the idea that such an agency could help retain the income generated from home grown talent to emerge from the region. Significant international acts to come out of Wales include the Manic Street Preachers (pictured), Duffy and Stereophonics.

The WMPCA will now meet to discuss the next step and to present the proposals to leading Welsh Politicians, with a view to establishing an independent music licensing and royalties collection agency in the next three to five years. The report argues that a locally based collection body could market, monitor and administrate music usage more effectively than national or global agencies.