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.

Mark is in his third year as Chief Executive of the APRS. He now works from home in East Sussex, which was a natural progression after the closure of the Reading office.

His background is within the music industry - primarily in creative and production services to music publishers - but he came to the APRS without previous trade association experience.

On first taking his position, Mark gathered his own 'view' of the industry and APRS role as a trade association, and concluded that each sector of the industry had their own representation, promoting and protecting the interests of its membership, and putting important issues to the fore. Mark also noticed that most other trade associations had been or were going through transitional periods to meet the needs of their members - even outside the music industry. A sign that they were responding to changes, listening to their members and acting.

The British Music Centre is still in development, and it is hoped that the APRS will have a physical presence at its building in London, as and when the project comes to fruition - along with other music industry organizations.

Mark has tried to ensure that APRS has a presence alongside other industry associations. This can be time consuming, but does sometimes bear fruit. For instance the APRS has a seat on the National Music Council and the PRS requires advice on access to studio time and possibly some help in help processing its Award entries. This could involve many Accord studios around the country and bring extra opportunities for PR and publicity.

The APRS is a point of reference for public enquiries as well, e.g. those seeking advice on studios, on courses and careers, general industry sign-posting.

There are always 'associated' services e.g. publications, event organization, etc. that can be done commercially - by anyone, really - but the unique role of the APRS is its representative  role.

All Accord members have been sent a two-page synopsis outlining the representative work done over the last year.

Next: David Ward - The Education and training initiative >