Janée Bennett (aka Jin Jin), Gomez’s Tom Gray and Daniel Kidane have today (September 11) been confirmed as the newest members of the board of directors at The Ivors Academy.
An official press release stated that the positions arose after Rupert Hine passed away in June 2020, and the decisions by Paul Hartnoll and Stephen McNeff to stand down from the Board ahead of elections in April 2021, "to support the Academy’s commitments to championing equality, diversity and inclusion."
It continued: “These three appointments follow Hope Winter and Imogen Williams taking up a shared role as under-25 Directors to empower younger creators. The Academy is currently co-opting up to two music creators to each of its four Genre Committees for the remaining term.”
Speaking about her new position, Jin Jin – elite songwriter, owner of publishing and management company Jinsing, senior A&R at Parlaphone Records and former Women In Music Awards creative winner – said: “I feel extremely honoured to have been elected for inclusion on such a prestigious board. I am hoping to provide a voice to those who may feel invisible or excluded within the music industry.”
Tom Gray – songwriter and composer as well as member of Gomez, a director of PRS for Music and founder of the #BrokenRecord campaign – said: “I’m joining the board of The Ivors Academy in the hope that I can help it gain even greater reach as a national campaigning organisation for the rights of songwriters and composers. For too long corporations have failed the interests of our sector with unethical practices and unsustainably diminishing revenues. It’s time for all that to change.”
Acclaimed composer Daniel Kidane, who has worked on everything from solo pieces to large orchestral works premiered by orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra – said: “I am delighted to join the Ivors Academy Board of Directors. Having been part of the Classical Committee for several years, I look forward to broadening my contribution to the Academy and upholding the great work that the organisation already does to champion the interests of music creators. As a classical composer of diverse heritage, I actively strive to promulgate fairness and openness within the community and I understand that there is still much work to be done with regard to everybody being seen, listened to, heard respected and valued.”
Crispin Hunt, chair of The Ivors Academy, added: “It’s a huge honour to welcome Jin Jin, Tom and Daniel to the Academy Board. As an Academy we are committed to representing and championing all music creators. And I’m thrilled to have such wonderful new colleagues on the Board to help us do that. I would like to sincerely thank Paul Hartnoll and Stephen McNeff for their contributions to the Academy, and for their continued involvement as advocates of music creators.”
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