APRS NEWS
STUDIO ACCORD OPEN EVENING
The APRS held an Open Evening for Studio Accord members on 17-Jan-2000 at CTS Studios, Wembley. The event was well attended and generally held to be a success. It is anticipated that similar events will become a regular feature.
The evening opened with an introduction by Malcolm Atkin, Chairman, Studio Accord:
Over forty Accord members were welcomed to the first Accord meeting in 2000, thanks were extended to CTS for the food and Dreamhire for the AV facilities and a series of six brief overviews were given on the following topics:
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Malcolm
Atkin: |
The APRS is one of the oldest trade associations - established in 1947 - and has been used as a model for many others. It is a not for profit organisation, limited by guarantee. It has only ONE full-time employee, Mark Broad, Chief Executive, and two part-time officers - Francesca Smith and Anita Broad. Mark works from home since the Association moved out of offices in Reading, last year, so, other than wages overheads mostly comprise of communications and transport.
Accord - ten years ago Studios were going through the recession. The sixteen or so members of the Guild amalgamated with APRS. Studio Accord was later created within the APRS to address all studio needs, with APRS representation and funding. In order to represent the breadth of its membership, the 'S' in APRS was changed from the word 'Studios' to 'Services'. A Suppliers division, Pressers & Duplicators, Record Producers, Audio Post Production studios, and Educational members were recognised, as well as Associate members. The need to act together on issues of common concern was paramount allowing the industry's voice to be heard, by Government and other industry organizations.
Today, the APRS Studio Accord needs the active support and involvement of its members - your help, if possible. To make more happen this year Accord needs volunteers. A set of attainable objectives can be set for the year ahead, and they ideally should come from the membership.
Proposals so far include:
Equally, many manufacturers would be happy to show and talk about their products, but any event has to be organised (which takes time - which costs money).
The APRS is a structure which can put together the things you want as members, as well as acting to represent your concerns. But, as usual, time and money are not in limitless supply, so the association looks for input and help from its members. Once any particular project is under way, we have an established trade association which may be able to help attract sponsorship.
The APRS's cash reserves were built up through surpluses from the exhibition over many years and have had to be drawn upon in recent times as the exhibition went through changes and required re-launching. Even though Recording Technology '99 was a successful event, it needed investment in its first year. The APRS cannot expect to underwrite all proposed activities and, on the basis of subscription income and some sponsorship, has to budget carefully.
As a concern Limited by guarantee, the APRS is legally obliged to hold an AGM by the end of March. A new Board is then voted in. Ballots will be going out shortly. New blood is always welcome and members are encouraged to put their names forward for consideration. Malcolm Atkin (Chairman) and Peter Fielder (Vice-Chairman) have worked hard to make Accord survive over the past year - as volunteers. Any additional help would be greatly appreciated in the year ahead.
Everyone understands that companies have less and less time to devote to trade associations, but it can be of immense value, to companies and individuals and some would say it is essential, that the professional recording sector has its own representation in forums where record companies, managers, producers, composers and other music industry sectors are represented.
As the saying goes, "You only get out what you put in" and there is a lot to be gained along the way in terms of contacts, industry insights etc. A trade association for our part of the industry needs to exist in some shape or form and as things stand we do have a voice. Let's not lose it.
Next: Mark Broad - The Representative role >