I am pleased to report that the autumn issue of the MU’s award-winning magazine, The Musician, is being posted to UK based members in sustainably sourced and fully recyclable paper envelopes for the first time.
Tag: News
Kingston kicks
I spent an enjoyable afternoon visiting Kingston. Firstly dropping into Printstore where designer Steve Ames was ready to assist in creating “Musicians’ Passport” images for our promo materials ahead of the impending party political conferences.
Meeting AFCB
My son Ben and I are spending a few days in my hometown of Bournemouth, enjoying the summer sun and visiting old haunts around the town and in the neighbouring Christchurch and Poole.
Two days in Bath
I completed my regular mid-summer visit to magazine publishers Future Fusion in Bath today. I caught the 8am train from Paddington yesterday and arrived in good time to have a full day working on the autumn issue of The Musician magazine.
Tileyard Studios
I drove Naomi Pohl and John Shortell to Tileyard Studios in London N7 this afternoon as we delivered a comprehensive supply of MU promo materials to Girls I Rate.
Songwriting camp
I have spent a superb few days at Tilton House, near Lewes in Sussex, in the company of eleven musicians, at a songwriting camp hosted by lyricist Chris Difford of Squeeze fame. Chris has arranged over twenty-five of such retreats and it proved a fascinating exercise in co-writing with new contacts.
Delegate Conference
The contents of the MU’s 2019 Conference Report have been edited and laid out in the eye-catching new format, which significantly benefits from supporting graphics, illustrations and photos.
The Musician (June)
The summer 2019 issue of The Musician is being dispatched to members this week and in this edition we lead with a profile of vocalist/writer Zara McFarlane.
Most improved
It was presentation time at The Warren FC this afternoon as the club and its staff marked the end of the 2018-2019 football season.
Media training
An MU team could be found at Kindred PR’s offices in Horseferry Road, SW1 today, as General Secretary Horace Trubridge, Deputy General Secretary Naomi Pohl, National Organiser for Orchestras Jo Laverty and National Organiser for Recording & Broadcasting Phil Kear and myself spent several hours in a media training session.
Comms survey
The MU’s Communications and Government Relations Dept met this afternoon to review the results of the latest survey into our communications and campaigns and how these are perceived by the members.
Music Declares
I attended a meeting on behalf of the MU this evening at offices in Euston, following an invitation from a group set up the banner of Music Declares Emergency.
Go karting 2
A busy day for Ben, as The Warren Reds FC had a friendly end-of-season match in the morning at Westerham FC, which proved an exciting sign-off to a few months of squad development.
Future Fusion
I was up early yesterday morning to catch the train from Paddington to Bath to visit the offices of Future Fusion and complete the quarterly edition of The Musician, the magazine I have edited since late 2004.
Team awayday
At least once a year, the Communications & Government Relations Dept of the MU take time out to share an ‘awayday’ and undertake a pastime close to one of our hearts.
Out and about
Early on Thursday evening I drove over from the MU HQ in Oval to meet long-term friend and producer James Reynolds at the Duke on the Green, in the New King’s Road. After a delicious cod and chips we walked over the Green to his studio, where we spent an enjoyable hour listening to new recordings by a number of rising artists.
Venue visit
My MU colleague Jane Austin and I drove to Brighton today to visit this summer’s Delegate Conference venue, the Metropole Hilton.
Go karting Sunday
I was kindly given a present for my 60th by my work colleagues at the MU of 50 laps for a friend and myself at the multi-level 400m Go-Kart Track in Mitcham, south London, and so Mark Batchelor and I drove over to the site early this morning.
Record Store Day
I was kindly asked this afternoon for my contribution to UK Music’s page marking Record Store Day, set to take place across the UK tomorrow, and to recall either my first record purchase or my memories of record stores in days gone by.
BBC Introducing
My MU colleague Sam Jordan and I attended a planning meeting at the offices of the Music Publishers’ Association in Southampton Row this morning, at the invitation of James Sterling, Head of BBC Music. The meeting had been arranged to coincide with the launch of this year’s BBC Introducing Live event at Tobacco Dock, which is to run from 31 October to the 2 November.
