New digital and culture minister Matt Hancock to give BPI AGM keynote address
Matt Hancock MP, the new minister of state for digital and culture, will give the keynote address at the BPI’s 2016 AGM next week. Taking place at County Hall’s Riverside Rooms on Wednesday, September 7, the AGM will mark Hancock’s first keynote speech addressing the recorded music industry since his appointment to the role on July 15. Geoff Taylor, chief executive BPI & BRIT Awards, commented: “We are delighted to welcome the minister to our AGM following his recent appointment. Music is a successful and growing digital industry for the UK, and it is encouraging that the Minister has recognised this by addressing us at this early stage of the new Government.” (Music Week)
FINAL CALL: Music Week Sync Awards nominations close today
Today (Friday, September 2) is the final day to submit nominations for the 2016 Music Week Sync Awards. This year’s Sync Awards take place at London’s Bloomsbury Ballroom on October 20 to celebrate the best sync teams individuals and placements across a broad range of media over the past 12 months. Plus there is the overall Sync of the Year award. Team categories include Record Company, Independent Record Company, Publisher, Independent Publisher, Agency and Broadcaster Music Department. You can find out more on each of the categories for this year’s awards here. The shortlist will be decided on the quality of nominations, rather than the number of nominations. And remember, nominations can come from either companies or individuals.
Scottish Music Industry Association adds new chairman and board members
The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) has welcomed three new board members and a new chairman. Dougal Perman has been appointed chairman and is joined by Gillian Henderson, Sharon Mair and Blake Hutchinson. They join the existing board members including Vic Galloway, Greg Kane, Michael Lambert, Claire MacKay, Lisa Whytock and Alex Smith alongside the SMIA’s every growing membership which includes managers, promoters, record labels, media, venues, agents and producers from around Scotland.
Macca and Tracey Emin produce ‘nude’ collectors’ item guitar
Sir Paul McCartney and artist Tracey Emin have teamed up to produce a ‘nude’ collectors’ item guitar to help celebrity chef Mark Hix raise money for Cancer Research UK. He is aiming to draw thousands of amateur guitarists to play together on a Dorset beach to set a new record as Britain’s biggest band. Named Guitars On The Beach, the massive event runs alongside his food festival Food Rocks in the seaside town of Lyme Regis over the weekend of September 3-4. McCartney and Emin’s guitar is estimated to be worth thousands of pounds for the event’s charity raffle. The acoustic guitar features a drawing by Emin of a nude woman on the back of the instrument. A London art collector has estimated that it could raise as much as £50,000 at auction - but instead the Guitars On The Beach team is raffling it for just £1 a ticket, so that everybody has a fair chance of winning.
Sound Development conference adds speakers
Following the Music Cities Convention in May in Brighton, global events and marketing specialist Sound Diplomacy is launching a series of events to ‘further explore the relationship between music and the built environment’. The first in this series of events takes place on Tuesday, September 6 in the form of Sound Development, a new conference featuring leading thinkers across property development, the public sector and the music and creative industries, championing cases of successful music-led economic and cultural development(s). Among the latest speakers confirmed to appear are Martin Elbourne (Talent Booker, Glastonbury and co-founder of The Great Escape), Louise Brooke Smith (CEO, Brooke Smith Planning), James Harris (policy and network manager, Royal Town Planning Institute) and Mary-Alice Stack (CEO, Creative United). Proceeds from the event will all go to charity, while ticket buyers are given the option to donate an amount upon registering.
