AIM Ireland

This week in Belgrade, AIM Ireland attended and took part in WINCON. WINCON is WIN’s annual conference for the independent network.

The leaders of trade associations of +40 countries met to drive the independent agenda forward, share knowledge and resources, and celebrate being part of a diverse, multilingual and multicultural community.

WINCON is the space to:

Bring together the independent community.
Build capacity for the independent network worldwide.
Discuss the latest technologies, tools and advances in the music industry.
Drive opportunities for the recorded music industry in the host country (Serbia).
WINCON took place this year within the Runda Digital Day conference in Belgrade, Serbia. AIM Ireland featured on a panel during WINCON, highlighting our Creative Europe projects – and the activities we have worked on with Music From Ireland, Ireland’s export office. AIM Ireland also took part on a panel for Runda Digital Day focused ‘Working Together, We Can Make The Change.’

Irish based company AI:OK also featured on a panel focused on How To Use GenAI In the Music Industry, alongside AIM UK, Beggars Group, Aporia Records and A2IM.

Thanks to the team at WIN for bringing the indie trade association community together, for this vital summit!

Ireland Music Week kicks off in Dublin next week, and on Oct 2nd AIM Ireland will present three panels. We have more information on speakers to share with you!

Wed 14:00 AIM Ireland - The Changemakers: Recipients of the IMPALA Changemaker Award (Lost Lane Main)
The Recipients discuss why EDI is no longer optional for those working independently in music.
Speakers - Ben Wynters (AIM UK), Leon Diop (Black & Irish)
Moderator - Gill Dooley (AIM Ireland)

Wed 15.00 AIM Ireland - Music Production in the 21st Century (Lost Lane Main)
Four AIM Ireland producer & studio members discuss the landscape for music production and studios in Ireland in 2024.
Speakers -Simba Bianchi (Artist), Richey McCourt (Producer), Elaine Mai (Artist / Producer)
Moderator - Lisa Murray (Producer)

Wed 16.00 AIM Ireland - DISCO: Music Management Solved (Lost Lane Main)
We meet the team behind leading music file sharing and workflow platform DISCO. Built by Music Supervisors, Australian founded DISCO is home to thousands of independent artists from around the world, and the leading platform for music supervisors.
Speakers - Katrina Balcius (DISCO), Jennifer Oloo (DISCO)
Moderator - Gill Dooley (AIM Ireland)

For the full conference break down visit the Ireland Music Week website! Don’t forget to use your AIM Ireland members discount code contained in your members newsletter to get tickets if you haven’t done so already.

Thank you Runda - Regional Association of Independent Discographers Balkans for such a great event - fantastic to hear Srbija stvara / Serbia Creates speak about cross creative industry support and cooperation! 🇷🇸

AIM Ireland are proud members of Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), the organisation that brings together independent music trade associations from across the globe.

Next week we will be in Belgrade for the 2024 edition of WINCON, the annual flagship conference for the independent recording music industry. This year, the two-day summit is to take place in Belgrade as part of Runda Digital Day. Leaders from the independent music community will come together to address industry challenges and drive innovation.

WINCON will serve as a crucial forum to tackle industry challenges, exchange perspectives, and foster collaboration to advance the global music ecosystem.

WIN members and Runda Digital Day attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a wide array of sessions, including keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities. The member-only part of the programme will delve into critical issues such as streaming reform and performer remuneration in the digital age, positioning WINCON as a pivotal event for shaping the future of the independent music industry.

Open sessions, available to all Runda Digital Day attendees, will include discussions on the ethical implications of generative artificial intelligence, streamlining data exchange through DDEX standards, and insights into the digital value chain in Latin America and Asian markets.

AIM Ireland will attend the full event and take part in a panel on Monday September 23. This panel will only be for WIN trade associations and the board, and by invitation, Merlin. The panel is titled: ‘Sharing Best Practices and Resources within Our Community’ and the speakers are: Eva Karman (SOM, Sweden), Gill Dooley (AIM Ireland), Dylan Pellett (IMNZ, New Zealand), Maria Amato (AIR) and Nerea Serrano (WIN).

AIM Ireland will also take part in a panel titled ‘Working Together, We Can Make The Change’ on Tuesday 24 with Andrew Cash (CIMA Canada) with Ana Ilić (Serbia Creates) / Helen Smith (Impala) / Gill Dooley (AIM Ireland) / Larry Bringsjord (FONO Norway)

This week’s Member Spotlight comes from AIM Ireland member Cian Sweeney, who is launching his production studio Birds of Paradise.

**Introducing Birds of Paradise Studio**

Cian Sweeney - platinum-selling producer and the creative force behind 1000 Beasts - proudly opens the doors to Birds of Paradise Studio in Cork City. This boutique studio is dedicated to helping artists, bands, vocalists, and songwriters turn their musical visions into reality. With over 100 million streams and a track record of working with artists such as Le Boom, Shiv, Stehpanie Rainey, Ryan Mack, Toucan and Robert Grace, Cian brings his expertise to a space designed for creativity and excellence.

Birds of Paradise offers top-tier services in songwriting, production, and mixing, all supported by a talented team of session musicians. Equipped with a Universal Audio setup, Focal monitoring, an envious collection of mics and astunning 1970s Yamaha U3 Piano, the studio provides the perfect environment for crafting your unique sound. Whether you’re local or international, label-signed or independent, we’re here to help you find and develop your unique sound.

Discover more at BirdsOfParadiseStudio.com or email [email protected] for more info.

We are really on the countdown now for Ireland Music Week 2024 – if you want your badge for this year’s event to have your name printed (and not handwritten), please ensure you place your order before before Monday 23rd. You can use the code provided in your members newsletter to get a huge 50% discount.

We are delighted to be returning to Ireland Music Week this year, kicking things off on October 2nd with Local Focus Day In Association with AIM Ireland! Ireland Music Week have given three panels over to AIM Ireland on this day – and here is what you can expect from us:

14:00 AIM Ireland - The Changemakers: Recipients of the IMPALA Changemaker Award (Lost Lane Main)

15.00 AIM Ireland - Music Production in the 21st Century (Lost Lane Main)

16.00 AIM Ireland - DISCO: Music Management Solved (Lost Lane Main)

These panels are just part of a whopping three days of activity from the conference and festival – and you can check out the full, exciting conference schedule here.

We can’t wait to connect with our members over the week – and with new faces too of course!

In Case You Missed It 🚨- check out all of the invaluable input from our June ‘In The Round’ participants 🌈

Highlights: AIM Ireland's "In The Round" - 'Amplifying LGBTQIA+ Voices in Ireland's Independent Music Community' The highlights. Our participants discuss: Q***r collaboration and team building Allyship and lack of LGBTQIA+ visibility Experiences of discrimination Algori...

Great to have featured in this, with our project Algo-Rhythms! Thanks Creative Europe Desk Ireland - Culture Office 🇪🇺

Across Borders - Across the Board Vol 5 features Irish partners in Creative Europe projects 2021 to 2022 | Creative Europe Desk Ireland Creative Europe Desk Ireland - Culture Office is delighted to announce that it has published Across Borders - Across the Board Volume 5 which features Irish projects funded by Creative Europe from 2021 to 2022!

AIM Ireland members The Bunker & The Goo Magazine are delighted to present a night of music and entertainment in the heart of Dublin City for Culture Night 2024.

Featuring a range of artists performing on the night, this Free BYOB event is the perfect chance to see some artists you’ll know, and some you’ll get to know in the unique setting of The Bunker Studio.

Join the team on Friday September 20th from 5pm at The Bunker Studio for Culture Night 2024!

Doors 5pm. Walk ins welcome. Lineup includes The Savage Hearts, Carron with more TBA. Link for tickets in this weeks newsletter!

This week AIM Ireland Interim Chair Joe Clarke, CEO Gill Dooley and board member Solomon Adeisyan attended AIM Connected in London. AIM Connected is the UK’s Flagship Independent Music Conference. This year the event delved into The Future of Sync, Deezer’s Artist Centric Remuneration Model, Digital Piracy & Fraud and much more. AIM Ireland also got to catch up with a number of Friend of partners.

Independent producer, AIM Ireland member Gui Morais also attended the event - building on the incredible relationships he is developing in his role as Consultant, A&R and Client Development at Symphonic Distribution.

It finished with a keynote interview with Transgressive Records, the world-renowned independent label, publisher and management company known for its work with artists such as Arlo Parks, Foals, and SOPHIE.
With the label celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, co-founders Tim Dellow and Toby L were joined by The Waeve’s Rose Elinor Dougall and Graham Coxon (also of Blur) for an interview with esteemed journalist and broadcaster Pete Paphides (The Times, Melody Maker, Mojo, Q and others). They reflected on Transgressive’s past two decades at the forefront of discovering and nurturing new talent, and its vision for the future.

“It’s been great day at AIM Connected. Some great insights- but also some sobering facts - particularly for the sync business. Lots for us to bring back to AIM Ireland.” Joe Clarke, AIM Ireland, Interim Chair.

This week we are in Bucharest, taking part in Romania’s fantastic three day music conference and showcase event Mastering the Music Business.

As part of the event, IMPALA held their AGM and board meeting, using the time to gather the membership for a Brainstorming Session focused on streaming, national market issues, and competition.

AIM Ireland joined a panel focused on ‘Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Emerging Artists’ alongside Eurosonic booker Oskar Strajn and other guests. We also took part in a recording for the official MMB podcast which we will share with you once live.

The event also served to celebrate the 30th anniversary of leading Romanian indie label Roton Music – find out more about Roton and their hugely successful roster here. A huge thanks to our fellow trade association Indie Ro for their hospitality and expertise.

There was also a meeting of the IMPALA Diversity Taskforce, which AIM Ireland are members of. With a new report on EDI being actively worked on by the taskforce we are looking to include Irish success stories from our members in their efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the Irish independent music sector. Get in touch on [email protected]

Friend of AIM Ireland Downtown has just launched its new global campaign, The Music Industry Lives Here featuring nearly 100 artists and songwriters - including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Tori Amos, The Hives, and Yoss Bones - alongside interviews with over 50 clients globally.

As part of this, Downtown have also launched their first ever group-wide newsletter – we wanted to share a sign-up link here for our members!

The Downtown newsletter is open to the entire industry and will provide exclusive news, interviews, and offers from Downtown and an opportunity to learn more about the artists, songwriters, and music companies changing the way the industry works.

Sign-up form link in this week’s members newsletter: – get involved! 📥

AIM Ireland will, for the first time, take part in RUNDA Digital Day on Sept 23rd and 24th in Belgrade, Serbia.

Runda are the Regional Association of Independent Discographers, Balkans and fellow members of IMPALA and WIN. For the very first time this year, RUNDA is hosting the annual summit of WINCON, the worldwide network of independent music trade associations 🌍

AIM Ireland will take part in panel discussions, and attend WINCON 2024 on this trip. Industry leaders will also be attending from YouTube, Bandcamp, Merlin and more.

The two-day conference programme will gather more than 200 delegates from over 40 countries and will be accompanied with a rich music programme, Serbia Creates: The Spotlight, organised with the conference’s partner - the platform Serbia Creates.

Find out more about RUNDA here 🇷🇸

AIM Ireland members can avail of a huge discount for the upcoming AIM Connected one day event in London.

The UK’s Flagship Independent Music Conference returns to the Barbican, London on Thursday 12th September 2024. AIM Connected is the UK’s high-level independent music conference and key networking event, focussing on the themes of music business, technology, and people. Hear expert speakers from across the industry and beyond deliver keynotes, interviews, TED-style ‘Strong Opinions’ and Deep Dive sessions, alongside networking opportunities across the day.

This is a must-attend event for business founders, owners, strategists, leaders and execs in music. You’ll come away with the fresh insights, new tools, and new connections you need to stay ahead of the curve, run an effective music business and maximise your income.

Find out more here. And to avail of a huge 58% discount use the code in today’s members newsletter when purchasing tickets.

With thanks, as always, to the team at AIM!

AIM Ireland & MPAI this week travelled, as part of a pilot delegation, to Los Angeles to promote growth, awareness and opportunities for the independent Irish music industry in film, TV and advertising
The delegation enjoyed meeting with the music teams at Netflix, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Disney, DISCO, Baxter House Music, Orfium and more
We worked with the fantastic Consulate General of Ireland, Los Angeles - enjoying a night networking with the key industry figures at the Residence: where guests heard more about the opportunities there are to work with Irish companies, professionals and artists for their projects
And the delegation were all delegates at the stellar State of Music in Media Conference - a fantastic event, offering high level insights and networking opportunities
A huge thanks to & for supporting this activity
The delegation consisted of:
Dina Coughlan: MPAI, Tremolo Songs, Planet of Sound
Brian Scally: Paragon
Michael Roe: Faction
Jeanette Rehnstrom: Avant Music Port
Alan Hennessy: Bohemia Records, Crashed Music Group
Gill Dooley: AIM Ireland
🇮🇪 🇺🇸

Excellent dissemination here from the brilliant Strata Financial team 👏🏻

New Guidelines On Employment Status For Taxation Purposes > strata financial New guidelines from Revenue ask businesses apply a five-question decision-making framework to resolve whether an individual is an employee or self-employed. Following an in-depth review of the guidelines, here, we outline our summary and advice on next steps.

🇷🇴 MMB is the first and biggest international music business conference and showcase festival in Romania. Dedicated to all music enthusiasts, MMB is the place where both independent artists and key music business professionals are offered the opportunity to meet with leading experts in the local and international industry, learn from them and interact with them directly.

This year AIM Ireland CEO Gill Dooley will be taking part in the conference, speaking on a panel on Sept 4 titled ”Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Emerging Artists” – see more: .

will also be holding their AGM and Board Meeting at the event.

MMB has the support of HEMI (Hub for the Exchange of Music Innovation), project co-financed by Creative Europe

💡 M E M B E R S P O T L I G H T 💡

Proven hitmaker and AIM Ireland member Philip Magee has been working behind the scenes for more than 17 years, supporting artists like Kodaline, The Script, Gavin James, Miles Kane, The Academic, Wild Youth and many more.

This week, Philip shared the incredible stat that his works have now amassed 2.9 billion streams – which is more than 85% on the industry*

“I feel very lucky to be a part of so many musicians journeys throughout my career, and I feel especially proud that most of these streams are for Irish artists.”

Philip was a founding member of the steering committee to set up AIM Ireland from 2019 – 2021, and has a keen understanding of the business, across a wide range of genres, working also in A&R, movie music supervision, and music consultancy.

Congratulations to Philip on this milestone achievement – find out more about Philip: .

*source: .ai

Members - your weekly newsletter is in your Inbox and contains an update on important upcoming changes from Revenue that may impact many of you who are self-employed working independently in the music industry.

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Be sure to check your emails and pay attention to this update.

Friend of AIM Ireland, Ticketmaster Ireland, have an exciting job opportunity, based in Dublin.

They are actively seeking a new marketing assistant, to be a part of the Marketing team - the successful applicant will be working on tours, events and productions across the Irish live entertainment industry. The Marketing Assistant will be responsible for providing marketing support to the Marketing team, assisting with announcements, onsales and day to day marketing tasks. The team look after some of the biggest clients across Music, Sport, Arts, Theatre and Family.

More info and link to apply in this week’s members newsletter - in your Inbox now 📥

This week, WIN launched its Supporters programme with a first wave of exciting partners!

As proud members of WIN, AIM Ireland join them in welcoming to Bandcamp, Marauder and Random Sounds.

Similar in nature to the Friends of AIM Ireland programme, the WIN Supporters programme is available to those who want to support WIN’s work, show themselves to be a champion of the global independent sector, and engage with its entrepreneurs in a sustainable and mutually beneficial way. Supporters can leverage WIN’s resources and network to expand their knowledge of emerging markets, build meaningful new connections and partnerships, and access special opportunities to promote their services, while raising their company’s profile.

Learn more about this new programme in today’s members newsletter - in your Inbox now 📥

Last week we were pleased to share the news with our members, that the Organisation for Recorded Culture and Arts (ORCA) has officially launched, marking the beginning of a groundbreaking think tank, a first for the music ecosystem, composed of leading independent music labels from around the world. ORCA’s mission is to develop and promote research, data, and qualitative and quantitative evidence that underscore the significant economic, social, and cultural value of music. The initiative is coordinated through the Center for Music Ecosystems.

Launch of First Research Report:

As part of the official launch, ORCA is proud to release its inaugural research report, “Setting the Stage: How Music Works.” This comprehensive report, presented as both an interactive website and a standalone PDF, provides an in-depth introduction to the music industry, detailing the complexity of its stakeholders and activities, and highlighting the extensive benefits it generates—ranging from economic and cultural to community-based impacts. ORCA will release a series of reports that will include research and data on the immense benefits of the music ecosystem for local economies, workforce development and job creation, and social issues spanning equity, sustainability, and beyond.

⬇️ DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINKS for Executive Summary and Full Report are in this week’s members newsletter - in your Inbox now 📥

Our 🔥 Quickfire Q&A 🔥 returns this week with Friend of AIM Ireland Ticketmaster IE’s Nuala Skeffington.

IN HER OWN WORDS:

“I’ve been with Ticketmaster for 23 years, working in various roles across the business. I’ve worked from both Belfast and Dublin offices in Operations, Box Office Ops, Programming, Client Account Management and Business Development. In my spare time over the years I’ve also been lucky enough to work as part of the production and site Team on major events such as Vital and Ward Park. Its fair to say that I have broad experience across the industry.

In 2021 I started in my current role as Client Development Manager working with the Business Development Team to build great relationships with our current clients and identify new business opportunities. In 2023, I was appointed by my peers as Ticketmaster Women’s Ambassador for Ireland.

The most rewarding part of working for Ticketmaster is of course LIVE! – you can still find me in a Box Office in a field during Festival season!”

Check out Nuala’s full Q&A in this week’s members newsletter, in your Inbox now. 📥 - with a sneak peak in our Stories! 👀

AIM Ireland thank for their continued support through the AIM Ireland Friend of programme.

To celebrate Pride 🏳️‍🌈, AIM Ireland hosted a special discussion as part of our In The Round series, entitled ‘Amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices in Ireland’s Independent Music Sector’.

In today’s members newsletter we share a full report on the event, with valuable insights and learnings.

‼️43% of LGBTQIA+ artists and arts workers say they have lost or missed opportunities and experienced microaggressions in their workplace due to their gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or intersex status ‼️(AMPLIFY:A CALL FOR TRANSFORMATIVE ACTION Report, 2024)

It is essential that the voices of those within the LGBTQIA+ community, who are working independently in music in Ireland, are amplified. Advocacy is a pillar of all that we do at AIM Ireland and we thank our esteemed guests for taking part and speaking so honestly about their experiences.

Our valued participants discussed:

🔸Q***r collaboration and team building
🔸Allyship and lack of LGBTQIA+ visibility
🔸Experiences of discrimination
🔸Algorithm bias
🔸LGBTQIA+ representation on festival line-ups

And lots more.

AIM Ireland Events Sub-Committee member Dwayne Woods moderated the discussion, and co-ordinated the event.

You can watch all videos from the event now on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/.Ireland

AIM Ireland are proud members of EMMA (European Music Managers Alliance), and this month we’re excited to welcome three new members to the EMMA community, and delighted to see increased support for managers across Europe.

We were pleased to attend this week’s EMMA Board Meeting online and meet the representatives from these valued new members. 🇮🇸 🇺🇦 🇭🇺

Welcome on board:

• Porichka – Ukrainian Music Managers .music
• MMF Iceland .iceland
• ZEME - Zenei Menedzserek Egyesülete – Hungary

🇪🇺 .community