The spring 2019 issue of The Musician magazine, the quarterly publication of the Musicians’ Union, is being dispatched to members this week and once again contains its award-winning mix of profiles, features, reports and advice.
Tag: News
Whatever you do
The MU launched a ‘Join for £1’ scheme in January and I have been busy booking full page adverts to publicise this discounted membership opportunity. Full display pages using the ‘Whatever you do – Join the MU’ design have been booked over a three-month period in a series of industry-related publications including Guitarist UK; Classical Music; Future Music; Bass Guitar; Rhythm; Music Teacher; Guitar Techniques; Total Guitar and PSNEurope.
A day in Bath
Another enjoyable and fruitful day with Future Fusion at their offices in Quay House, Bath. The principal object being to work on the 2019 – 2020 edition of the award-winning Musicians’ Union Members’ Handbook.
Google training
I spent a useful day at Media Training Ltd in Borough on a course designed to introduce attendees to working with Google Ads.
The Musician (Dec)
The winter edition of The Musician is distributed to members this week, the 56th issue for which I have been editor. The contents once more include a mix of industry focused items, MU campaigns and advice for working professionals.
Sky Garden
With Ben away on a school trip, Julie and I had the chance for a night on the town and I booked a table at the Sky Garden, the Fenchurch Street rooftop restaurant in the City.
Breaking the ceiling
The Performers’ Alliance All-Party Parliamentary Group has proposed an inquiry into the decline of social mobility in the creative sector entitled ‘Breaking the Class Ceiling in the Arts.’
Variety is the Spice
I began an interesting working day at the MU’s HQ in Clapham Road, alongside my colleague Maddy Radcliff, presenting to the Union’s Executive Committee video snapshots of the PR coverage we had secured in partnership with our agency Kindred in the last 24 hours.
Music in education
In partnership with the team at PR agency Kindred, the MU launched a campaign today to bring attention to the decline in music tuition in recent years, especially for those families on lower incomes who cannot afford private tuition.
Young driver
Following a morning training with The Warren football club in West Wickham Common, and a fry-up at T’s Cafe in Eden Park, my son Ben was on his way with Julie, Lisa and I to Bluewater Shopping Centre near Dartford for a late birthday treat.
The Musician (Sept)
The autumn 2018 issue of The Musician, featuring a wraparound cover photograph of percussionist and West End stalwart Matthew West, is being dispatched solely to MU members this week.
Music Council
I attended the launch of the Council of Music Makers (CMM) at the Strongroom, Shoreditch this afternoon alongside my colleague Naomi Pohl, Assistant General Secretary of the MU.
Night on the town
Following a few productive hours at MU HQ in Clapham Road, including a catch-up with former industry manager Pete Jenner (Pink Floyd, The Clash, Billy Bragg), I drove into the West End in the early evening and secured a table outside Bar Italia in Frith Street, Soho.
Langley Park GC
As I am looking to join a local golf club, I arranged to spent the morning playing a trial round with the weekly ‘newbie’ group at Langley Park Golf Club in Beckenham.
The Warren JFC
Ben was kindly recommended to The Warren Junior Football Club by Alan Duncan, a coach at Beckenham Town JFC, and after a first turnout at training last Saturday, today he signed up for the season with the Club and is looking forward to the upcoming competitive matches.
Parliamentary Jazz
I caught the tube from the MU offices in the Oval and travelled on the Northern Line into the West End at lunchtime today to attend the voting panel for this year’s Parliamentary Jazz Awards at Pizza Express in Dean Street, Soho.
In Ziggy’s footsteps
At lunchtime today, Julie, Lisa, Ben and I could be found at Beckenham Junction Station making up a group of 12 led by Kat Webb on her regular walk around the town, ‘In Ziggy’s footsteps.’
The Journalist
Following a feature entitled ‘Get even and get paid’ by Mick Sinclair in the July/August issue of The Journalist, the NUJ members’ magazine, on the subject of copyright protection, it was heartening to see an edited version of my letter published in the latest issue: “Joseph Williams was the founder of the Musicians’ Union and its General Secretary from its inception in 1893 until he retired in 1924.
BBC and Sky News
A busy media-related day in the company of Naomi Pohl, MU Assistant General Secretary, as we visited both the BBC and the Sky News offices in central London.
The Musician (June)
The latest issue of The Musician magazine is being distributed in hard copy format this week, solely to MU members, and this 52 page edition leads with details of the Union’s orchestral campaign.
Whitehall comms
Following a productive morning in the MU offices, with the Union’s Executive Committee in our main conference room for its monthly meeting, I drove into town for UK Music’s latest gathering of communications representatives of its member bodies.
Day in Dulwich
The MU Communications and Government Relations team had an ‘away day’ event this morning, courtesy of Department Head Isabelle Gutierrez, at her riding school in Dulwich.
Robert Vincent
An unexpected pleasure this afternoon as I travelled through Waterloo main line station to find a stage set up on the main concourse and Robert Vincent and his trio performing a set of prime country and rock’n’roll.
