IAMA Members Meeting 7 Dec, 2009

 

1. Welcome

 

2. Register              John Willan, Hazard Chase Ltd. Chairman (JW)

Christian May, Melos Konzerte (CM)

Janet Marsden, Van Walsum Management (JM)

Sally Donegani, Van Walsum Management (SD)

Aino Turtianen-Visala, Fazer Artists Management (ATV)

John Bickley, Britten Sinfonia (JB)

Libby Abrahams, IMG Artists (LA)

Monica Felkel, Young Concert Artists (MF)

Roderick Thomson, Hazard Chase (RT)

Helen Sykes, Helen Sykes Artist Management (HS)

Karsten Witt, Karsten Witt Music Management (KW)

Emma-Jane Stokely, Konzertdirektion Schmid UK (EJS)

Veronique Jourdain, Veronique Jourdain Artists Management (VJ)

Tom Croxon, Tom Croxon Management (TC)

Dorothy Currie, IMG Artists (DC)

Keith Motson, Association of British Orchestras (KM)

Olli Mrummer, Fazer Artists (OM)

Robin Tyson, Gabireli Consort & Players (RT)

Ben Rayfield, Rayfield Artists (BR)

Caroline Phillips, Caroline Phillips Management (CP)

Libby Percival, Hazard Chase Ltd. (LP)

Jill Davies, Davies Music (JD)

Alex Monsey, IMG Artists (AM)

Trudy Wright, HarrisonParrott (TW)

Cathy Graham, British Council (CG)

Wray Armstrong, Armstrong Arts (WA)

Jonathan Brett, English Classical Players (JB)

Sally Groves, Schott Music (SG)

Susanna Simmons, BBC (SS)

Simon Brown, BBC (SB)

Philippa McEvoy, UK Trade and Investment (PM)

Clare Bowdler, Britten Sinfonia (CB)

 

Listening via Skype:

Geoffrey Parkin, Young Concert Artists Trust

Miranda Heldt, Rayfield Artists

Marina Vidor, Gabrielli Consort & Players

 

IAMA Staff:

Atholl Swainston-Harrison, Chief Executive (CE)

Ashley Morris, Manager: Administration & Operations (MAO)

Andreas Flohr, Manager: Membership & Projects (MMP)

 

Apologies:

David Sigall, Ingpen & Williams Ltd

Helen Sykes, Helen Sykes Artist Management (HS)

Toshio Yoshizumi, Japan Association for classical music presenters                  

Patrick Garvey, Patrick Garvey Management

Catherine Le Bris, CLB Management

 

3. Approval of the Minutes of the meeting held on 24^th April 2009.

The minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 24^th April 2009 were approved. Proposer: Janet Marsden Seconder: Aino Turtianen-Visala.

 

4. Matters arising.

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

 

9. Any other business

9.1 It was noted that the meeting was being “broadcast” using Skype on a test basis to establish if international members could listen to meetings held in London.

 

9.2 The following new members were welcomed to the association:

Armstrong Arts, China

DTC Classics, Switzerland

Davies Music, UK

 

Pioneers in Culture, Netherlands

Colegium Vocale Ghent

 

9.3 New Initiative: tele-conferences

Members were reminded of the upcoming new initiative of tele-conferences. The first session was advertised with Dr.Hart on Stress and Anxiety. The tele-conference is free to members, with 10 places available. The conversation will be a broad discussion on the issues and will not focus in individual cases. Members were also reminded of the new list of health based links available on the IAMA website. Members were invited to contribute to the list if they were aware of further sites.

 

9.4 Midem 2010

The CE informed members that a special discount offer was available for members of only €395 per person for the whole event, covering Midem and MidemNet. There were 6 places left at the time of the meeting.

 

9.5 Members were alerted to the forthcoming legal workshop in Germany on 27^th November 2009, to be held in Munich with Daniel Kaboth. There will be a focus on media and the legal implications. The seminar will be conducted in German.

 

9.6 Deutsche Orchestertag (DOT). Members were alerted to the forthcoming DOT meeting in Germany, to be held on the first weekend of November, UK members were reminded that there was no UKTI funding available for this trip, but a special IAMA members rate had been negotiated.

 

9.7 Website guidelines. The CE informed members that guidance on company and artist websites would be released shortly which would be posted on the website.

 

9.8 Professional development seminars. The CE reminded members of the workshops being held in partnership with the Music Managers Forum and the Performing Rights Society. Meetings were to be held in October and November. The next session was to be on Negotiation and contracts with IKON arts representing IAMA.

 

9.9 Georgina Ivor. Georgina Ivor has retired from the artist management business, but has opened a Bed and Breakfast in London. The intention is that colleagues from the business might be able to make use of the accommodation, details available on the IAMA website.

 

9.10 Watchlist. The CE informed members that there had been a number of problems with late payments and urged members to be cautious, particularly when dealing with Johannesburg Philharmonic and TCC productions.

 

9.11 Press Cuttings. Emma-Jane Stokely (EJS), KDSchimd UK, raised the issue of a press cuttings service. EJS was interested to hear if any members use a company to collect press coverage. The CE agreed to follow up the situation. Any members using such a service were encouraged to let IAMA know the details.

 

5. Opera media rights and BBC rights update.

The CE reported that a new contract with Royal Opera House has been negotiated. The New York managers and the opera committee have collaborated to reach the agreement and discussion continues with Opera Europa. English National Opera, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera were now discussing the contracts with a view to adopting it. The CE informed members that details of the discussions and meetings could be read in the minutes on the IAMA website, under the opera committee news section.

 

BBC rights update.

Simon Brown reported on the activity with the BBC committee – they have been working on 3 main items 1) AV clips 2) Visualisation and 3) Noise clauses for conductors. SB reported that clips are now allowed to be used on artist and managers websites. The BBC requires a simple licence agreement to be signed, which then allows for a clip to be shown for 1 year. Visualisation had been agreed too. SB recommended to contact the producer of the production to get the clip material. SB highlighted the fact that the BBC will not clear the permission with any orchestra or publisher – that is the responsibility of the artist manager. The material should be delivered in a DVD format from which a clip can be selected, but not edited together.

Tom Croxon raised the issue of YouTube and the way many clips are hosted there. SB assured members that the BBC has a good relationship with YouTube and regularly removes items. SB undertook to find a suitable contact for IAMA members to approach for clips.

On the noise clause – SB explained it was a BBC response to the noise at work regulations without being too difficult or impractical. The clause is no more than the law requires, and a pragmatic approach should be adopted to remain practical.

JW reminded the membership that IAMA is in very regular contact with the BBC and members should keep track with the regular updates on the IAMA website.

 

7. Shanghai Expo 2010.

Cathy Graham (CG) from the British council was invited to tell members about the forthcoming Expo in 2010. The theme for 2010 is Better City, Better Life. The UK plans to highlight the innovative and technical expertise of the country. Members were advised that the three main supporters for the Expo were the British Council the Foreign Office and UK Trade and Investment. The Expo will run from May to October 2010, with a projected 70 million visitors. The UK will have a prime site on the river, with a pavilion created from acrylic rods. There are themes scheduled for each month of the Expo including health, sport, connections and science.  Artists confirmed as taking part include the LSO, and English National Ballet, those performances are being funded through sponsorship. There will be 33 performance spaces at the Expo, but no tickets can be charged for. Shanghai venues are at a premium and many were already booked. The Expo should reach across China for the whole year. The UK space will not include a performance space, but lots of smaller performances will be encouraged, most of which will be outdoors.

The British Council sees china as an important market and emerging economy. There is a staff team dedicated to the 2010 Expo. CG warned that there is little or no money available for grants to attend the Expo. The British Council will brand all events and promote events that are put on and offer help with publicity.

 

Philippa McEvoy (PM) from UKTI reported on the relationship with the creative industries, and the role of promoting excellence. PM confirmed the UKTI sponsorship of Expo 2010, and a strong desire for all industries to be involved, taking business to China and bringing business to the UK. Regional areas will also be presenting at Expo 2010 and Liverpool has its own area as they are a twin city with Shanghai. There is a creative board working on the programme for Expo 2010, but the budget is very small. Architecture and city design will also be supported by UKTI under the better city, better life theme. The Liverpool stand will be putting on a monthly performance within their space.

 

JW thanked CG and PM for the presentations to the members. The board members present at the meeting were identified to the other members present.

 

6. The London Olympic Cultural Olympia

Susannah Simons (SS) from the BBC reported to the members on plans for the London cultural Olympiad. The BBC is involved in “sounds” a project forming part of the cultural Olympia. The events surrounding the Olympics have been divided into different Tiers. Tier 1 will cover official events, such as opening and closing ceremonies. Tier 2 is covered by agencies with artists taking the lead. This tier will include new work being commissioned. The Arts Council was currently asking for submissions for projects. So far 60 projects had applied for the £5000 funding available, many of which were music based. The 12 finalists were due to be announced in October 2009. SS warned that money was tight, and that control over the Olympic brand was very strict.

 

Music in Tier 1 will be organised by LOCOG (London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games), they hope to licence 2000 tracks to be played during the games at every award ceremony etc. SS reported that this process was currently out to tender. Much of the programming would be dependent on who was appointed artistic director for the opening and closing ceremonies. An advisory panel was formed to work on the cultural Olympiad, which had so far met only once.

 

The BBC sounds project was to curate a series of projects to show sounds and themes of 2012 including diversity. The largest project is “World River”, a series of events scheduled on 21^st and 22^nd July 2012. 5 stages along the river are planned culminating in Trafalgar square. All 205 competing nations were to be invited to participate in the event. The lottery had promised £4m to the project, which will include artists from around the world, promoting excellence.

 

SS informed members of a planned project with the Performing Rights Society to commission 20 pieces each 12 minutes long, including chamber music, classical and jazz. The funding for the project was to come from the PRS, BBC and Arts Council of England, with each project awarded between 8 and 10 thousand pounds. The performances of the pieces will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

 

The Association of British Orchestras had been working with the BBC to plan a large scale orchestral event over one weekend in the March before the Olympics.

 

Other projects are still to be confirmed, but include “one big weekend” with a large scale event with a concert somewhere unusual. The Queens Diamond Jubilee may also be combined with some of the cultural Olympiad projects. The Proms are likely to have an Olympic theme, but sponsorship and broadcasting issues may be very complex. The torch relay will also be used to heighten cultural awareness with performances and events along the way linking some of the performances with the venues.

 

SS reminded members that all London venues will be putting on large events and have busy schedules during the year. The cultural Olympiad will be in addition to other planning so plenty of opportunity for artists should exist. The issue of diverting money away from core projects was raised, but SS assured members that this shouldn’t happen too much, and might perhaps have been done already as many venues are planning beyond the 2012 season.

 

JW thanked SS for her presentation.

 

Having established there was no further business to discuss, JW thanked those present and the meeting was closed at 17.29