The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) is the second largest representative body of musicians in the UK, who have 6,000 members working across the music sector as performers (in ensembles, bands, orchestras and as soloists), composers, conductors, producers, technicians, sessions players, teachers, academics and students. They are members of the British Copyright Council, Creators Rights Alliance and Music Education Council (MEC).
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Incorporated Society of Musicians 10 Stratford Place, London, W1C 1AA020 7629 4413
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BPI Riverside Building County Hall Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7JA020 7803 1300
The BPI is a trade organisation representing the UK recorded music business- including the UK's four major record labels and hundreds of independent music companies. BPI members account for approximately 90% of all recorded music sold in the UK, and globally the UK's recorded music market is the third biggest.
Established in 1973, the BPI’s mandate is still to “discuss matters of common interest and represent the British record industry in negotiations with Government departments, relevant unions and other interested parties and to promote the welfare and interests of the British record industry.”
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Association of Independent Music Lamb House Church Street Chiswick London W4 2PD020 8994 5599
The Association of Independent Music (AIM) is a not-for-profit trade organisation representing the interests of independent record companies and distributors in the UK.
Now in their tenth year, the association helps individual members and supports the needs of the independent sector, offering information, advice, seminars, mentorship schemes, networking opportunities, legal and business affairs guidance, work experience schemes and open access to international markets. AIM also offers members help with commercial negotiations and lobbies and bargains with Government and other trade associations.
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Music Publishers Association 6th Floor British Music House 26 Berners Street London W1T 3LR020 7580 0126
The Music Publishers Association (MPA) safeguards and promotes the interests of music publishers and therefore the songwriters and composers signed to them.
The MPA promotes an understanding of the value of music and the importance of copyright to Government, the music industry, the media and the public. The association can provide information and guidance members of the public and provides members with a forum, a collective voice and a wide range of other benefits, services and training courses.
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The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) represents the interests of its members through lobbying politicians, civil servants and industry bodies. Related events such as the Ivors, the Gold Badge Awards and the British Composer Awards also help to celebrate the achievements of songwriters and composers.
BASCA offer advice on songwriting, copyright and legal issues, and run various seminars, workshops and courses for members.
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The Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) is a music service company working on behalf of their performer and record company members.
PPL licenses sound recordings and videos for us in broadcast, public performance and new media. This allows hundreds of UK radio and TV stations, other broadcasters and online radio stations to legally use sound recordings and videos in their transmissions. PPL’s public performance licences allow clubs, pubs, venues, shops, restaurants and bars, and other music users to publicly play sound recordings and music videos.
The PPL also holds agreements with licensing organisations abroad to collect overseas income for UK members. The generated income is then distributed to UK record company and performer members.
They also campaign to strengthen the rights of members in the UK and internationally.
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PRS for Music represent the interests of music creators and music users. Formed as an alliance of the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and Performing Right Society (PRS), the organisation brings together the two royalty collection societies and collects and pays royalties to their members when their music is exploited in various ways- when it is recorded onto any format and distributed to the public, performed or played in public, broadcast or made publicly available online.
Money is due to PRS for Music for any public performance of music, whether live or recorded, and from radio and television broadcasts and online. MCPS generates money through licence fees from the recording of our members’ music on many different formats, including CDs and DVDs.
Money collected is paid to songwriters, composers and music publishing members. The organisation is not-for-profit and only deducts a small administration/commission fee to cover operating costs.
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UK Music is an umbrella organisation representing the collective interests of the UK’s commercial music industry, from artists, musicians, songwriters and composers, to major and independent record labels, managers, music publishers, studio producers and collecting societies.
Their core goals are to promote awareness and understanding of the interests of the UK music industry at all levels, the value of music to society, culture and the economy, intellectual property rights and how they protect and promote creativity, and the opportunities and challenges for music creators in the digital age.
UK Music engage in public policy development at national, EU and international levels. The organisation is also involved in a number of education and awareness initiatives and in conducting research projects to help to develop the UK music industry.
Their members include AIM, BASCA, BPI, PRS for Music, MMF, MPA, MU and PPL.
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Music Managers Forum British Music House 26 Berners Street London W1T 3LR0870 8507 800
The Music Managers Forum (MMF) represents the interests of music managers in the UK. The formation of the MMF has allowed managers to share their experiences and learn from each other. The forum engages in meaningful discussion with Government and other trade organisations.
The MMF seeks to raise professional standards in management through developing members’ skills and knowledge of the industry. They aim to strengthen the position of artists and managers in the industry through pushing for fair intellectual property ownership standards and improved distribution of income.
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The Musicians’ Union – North of England 61 Bloom Street Manchester M1 3LY0161 236 1764
The Musicians’ Union (MU) represents the interests of over 30,000 musicians working in the music industry.
The MU offers a wide variety of services and assistance to its members including career advice, legal assistance, networking opportunities, courses, seminars and workshops, fee collection and distribution, and the union lobbies and campaigns on behalf of its members.
Individual artists and bands are increasingly being asked by promoters and venue to arrange their own Public Liability cover to insure themselves against injury or damage to members of the public caused by the artist or their equipment. Membership of the MU offers exclusive insurance schemes such as Public Liability cover with a limit of indemnity of £10,000,000.
The membership fee starts from only £75 per year for students- more details can be found on their website.
National office:
Telephone: 020 7582 5566
Email: info@musiciansunion.org.uk -
Featured Artists Coalition, Ltd. Medius House 2 Sheraton Street, 4th Floor London W1F 8BH020 7009 3800
The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) campaigns for the protection of performers’ and musicians’ rights.
The coalition want all artists to have more control of their music and a much fairer share of the profits it generates in the digital age. The FAC speaks with one voice to help artists strike a new bargain with record companies, digital distributors and others, and are campaigning for specific changes.
The Board of Directors are:
Billy Bragg, Kate Nash, Master Shortie, Ed O’Brien (Radiohead), Dave Rowntree (Blur), Howard Jones, Mark Kelly (Marillion), Hal Ritson (The Young Punx), Sandie Shaw, Annie Lennox, Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Lucy Pullin (The Fire Escapes), Ross Millard (The Futureheads), Fran Healy (Travis).
The FAC’s charter, manifesto and details of how to get involved can be found on their website.
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