As we come to the end of 2021 and get ready to hunker down for Christmas, we’d like to reflect on our year at the MIA. There have been lots of changes in 2021 with an expanded team, a new board, and a new vision for how your trade body supports its members. So without further ado, here are some notes from your MIA Executive team and some of our highlights of 2021 all wrapped together in the 12 days of Christmas. Merry Christmas and we hope you enjoy!
“2021 has been a really exciting year for the MIA. My personal highlight has been setting up the Young Professionals Network; a safe space that gives the next generation an opportunity to network, engage, discuss and socialise. The network now has around 30 members, and we’re bursting with ideas and inspiration. I’ve also really enjoyed our zoom drop-in initiative. Over the last 6 months, we’ve spent our Friday mornings with almost 100 unique virtual attendees. Being able to share ideas and discuss issues directly with the people who make the MI industry tick has been invaluable. In 2022, I’m looking forward to hosting many more networking and training events and driving the MIA forward.”
In March 2021 we put out a call for new directors to join the MIA board. This recruitment drive formed part of our ongoing efforts to create effective organisational change and set us up to achieve our vision of making musical instruments, music technology, and music learning accessible to everyone in the UK.
You can click here to meet and learn a little more about each member who has formed a part of your new Music Industries Association Board in 2021.
Matthew Ash –
“I joined the MIA team in March, and these past few months have flown by. It’s been great getting to know the team and board, re-connecting with industry colleagues I’ve worked with before and making new acquaintances. It has certainly been a busy time and I’ve enjoyed working across the scope of the organisation, especially in the area of music education about which I am very passionate, but also regularly touching base with my experience in MI retail and distribution. I’m ready for the Christmas break now, but I’m also looking forward very much to putting our big plans in place for 2022; building and strengthening relationships across our sector, and making a difference.”
Brontë Askwith –
“I joined the MIA team in May of this year. I had a great feeling about the MIA after meeting with Ant, Alice, and Matt in early 2021 and knew I was joining an organisation with incredibly talented and dedicated people. I have been given the opportunity within these first 6 months to re-brand many aspects of the MIA and switch up our approach in reaching out to our members, as well as expanding my knowledge of the music instrument industry. It’s been a delight to meet the new board and MIA members throughout this year and learn all about the fantastic musical community around the UK. We’ve all joined forces throughout yet another turbulent year of Covid and I am incredibly proud of what’s been achieved as a team and excited for what’s to come. We have big plans for 2022 and I’m very much looking forward to putting those plans into play. ”
This year on September 23rd we successfully brought the industry back together!
This was a great event, buzzing with MIA members that were thrilled to see their old industry colleagues face to face again following the pandemic. We had fantastic panels on the journey to Net Zero, Facing up to Global Logistics & Component Shortage problems and The Build Back Better strategy & MI retail. We also had inspiring talks from Roger Wilson (Director of Operations, Black Lives in Music), Chris Sands (Founder of Totally Locally) and Betty Heywood (Director of International Affairs, Namm). Circumstances allowing, we can’t wait to plan more of these get togethers in 2022, and to seeing you in person.
Watch the video here:
In April this year, we announced the launch of a brand new initiative focused on knowledge sharing; the miacademy. We’re enthusiastic about offering a wide variety of sessions offered by the MIA under this initiative, resulting in a body of knowledge that can be accessed on-demand as well as in live, interactive sessions.
Click here for all of our miacademy content in 2021
As part of the renewed drive within the MIA to deliver maximum value and relevance to our members in 2021, we’ve developed focused communities to allow our members to meet with fellow MI officials and benefit from the unique perspectives and knowledge on offer. It has been a very positive start for this venture, with developments and expansion already in progress, and we’d love for you to read more about it.
The Manufacture Community, click here to find out more.
Young Professionals Network, click here to find out more.
In 2021 engagement with MIA members helped us to gain an understanding of what the MI industry needs in order to thrive against a backdrop of the pandemic, Brexit, and policy changes.
Here’s some of our work representing you in 2021;
Department for International Trade turns off the TAP – Click here to find out more
MIA action around EU VAT policy changes – Click here to find out more
MIA partners with the SRC to lobby Scottish Government – Click here to find out more
Black Lives in Music – Read here
Making your comms dazzle with creativity – Read here
Getting the industry back together…in person! – Read here
What COP26 means for MI – Read here
All about customer accessibility – Read here
Read our top Blog post of 2021 here:
Will Christmas come early, late, or both? – Read here
We love to share the latest news and updates with you, and this of course includes offering you all the breaking MI news that passes through our inboxes. Here’s some of the top stories from 2021;
Joe Lamond to step down as President and CEO of NAMM – Read here
GAK announce Private Equity backed MBO – Read here
Music China postponed to January 2022 – Read here
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation signs definitive agreement to acquire PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. – Read here
In 2021 meetings within the MIA have continued to take place, predominantly over Zoom. We’re delighted to remind you of some of our lovely virtual chats with members and fellow MI colleagues. Here we’ve been able to gather further information about all that’s to come from NAMM in 2022, as well as gaining a unique perspective on the benefits of Music Education within the MI sector.
Click below to watch some of our ‘In Conversation with…’ best bits!
Betty Heywood – Click here to watch our conversation with Betty
Joe Lamond – Click here to watch our conversation with Joe
Stuart, Spider Music – Click here to watch our conversation with Stuart
Gary Griffiths – Click here to watch our conversation with Gary
Coming up next year…
We can’t wait to get started again in 2022 and you can expect lots of positive change coming your way. Whilst we can’t tell you absolutely everything we have planned so far (we’d like to keep some surprises) we are delighted to give you some things to look forward to…
- A brand new website – That’s right! The MIA Executive Team has been beavering away in the background to create a brand new website to suit our member’s needs. This website will allow you to join relevant communities, select the content you’re most interested in, sign in to your MIA Membership account, reserve meetings with your trade body and curate a newsfeed that is perfectly tailored to all the MI news you love.
- Training opportunities – We’ve had a fantastic response following our launch of the miacademy in 2021. We’re now planning upcoming training opportunities for 2022, to reflect responses and feedback we have received from our active members in recent months.
- Events – We had a fantastic time seeing some of you face to face this year and hope to continue this into 2022. We hope to touch base with our members based further north and to potentially hold multiple events throughout the year…
