The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) is launching WINHUB, an international networking project.
It is being developed to foster market access and export capacity within the independent recorded music sector, expanding on the resources already available to WIN’s members.
WINHUB is a digital portal where companies can connect with colleagues abroad and access online sessions with a regional focus, as well as face-to-face sessions at existing conferences and industry events. The new WINHUB portal will also allow participants to browse a directory and filter companies based on common interests.
The first WINHUB activities will begin in December with an in-person networking session at Fluvial conference in Chile. The first online event will be held in January 2023 and see WIN associations AIM (UK), AIM Ireland, AIR (Australia) and IMNZ (New Zealand) present on their local markets and offer members the chance to engage in networking sessions with businesses from the other participating countries. Applications will open soon for members of the participating associations.
WIN’s general manager Noemi Planas (pictured) said: “Truly connecting the independent community around the world is one of our main goals. WINHUB will create new opportunities for independent music companies to build relationships with members of other WIN associations, promoting inter-regional collaboration and business development.”
Truly connecting the independent community around the world is one of our main goals
Noemi Planas
AIR CEO and WIN Chair Maria Amato said: “International networking is a top priority for WIN so that independent music companies that are members of our network of trade associations can connect and share insights to propel business development and develop reciprocal promotional opportunities. The first WINHUB International Networking online event will be a great opportunity to connect AIR (Australia) members with other companies in Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK.”
WIN has also launched Foro de Independientes del Cono Sur (The Southern Cone’s Independents Forum, or “FICS”). FICS is a touring summit of independent music companies and professionals promoted by WIN and the LatAm Network working group.
For its first edition, FICS will visit Buenos Aires (Argentina), Asuncion (Paraguay), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Valdivia (Chile) from November 17 to December 3, 2022.
FICS will include panels, presentations, workshops and networking sessions, organised by WIN in collaboration with local partners. A face-to-face meeting of the LatAm Network will take place in Valdivia, Chile on December 3.
Oliver Knust, director of Chilemusica and WIN board member, said: “FICS promotes regional associativity, which is very necessary in Latin America. This is important because the live sector is becoming more interconnected, but the recorded music industry is not well articulated. WIN is the key to this integration and FICS is the tool to accelerate and implement it."
Noemi Planas said: “Through its LatAm Network, WIN has enabled a level of cooperation between associations and independent music companies that has resulted in the success of projects like the Latin American Observatory of Independent Music (OLMI), and now launches this exciting new project, FICS. We are proud to be part of the articulation of the independent sector in the region and thrilled about the potential for growth.”
To support both initiatives, as well as the organisation’s efforts to build bridges between the continents, the WIN board will meet in Chile for the first time on December 2.
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