Alison Wenham joins Funnel Music board

Alison Wenham has resurfaced at Funnel Music, where the legendary independents’ advocate takes the role of non-executive director.

Wenham, who co-founded the Association of independent Music (AIM) and Worldwide independent Network (WIN) and served as CEO at both trade bodies, abruptly departed WIN late last year.

The British executive will have strategic duties at Funnel Music, an incubator for new and upcoming music talent which pitches an artist-friendly approach at doing business, and she joins its main board which already includes CEO Tim Delaney, director of artist management David Steele, COO Joss Yerbury and others.

Tim Delaney

At Funnel, Wenham will have a fiduciary and governance remit and will be responsible for building relationships with the global independent music community.

“Since stepping down from my full-time role at WIN last December I have had an opportunity to properly reflect on what the music industry is evolving into,” comments Alison Wenham in a statement announcing her appointment.

The old models that, in a lot of cases, have traditionally seen artists treated like second class citizens are becoming obsolete, particularly in the independent music community which has always led the way in innovation, and there is a definite shift towards more equitable, partnership-based agreements.”

Founded by music industry veterans Ric Yerbury and Alex Pilkington, Funnel Music offers artists a “Shared Outcome Agreement” which helps reduce costs and, ultimately, addresses the need for longer-term artist development and sustainable careers.

Alison Wenham and Ric Yerbury

Its business model integrates elements of rights holding music companies and artist services into a one-stop which is active in live, recording, digital market and most other aspects of an artist’s career.

“I was intrigued and inspired by Funnel Music’s ‘Shared Outcome Agreement’ approach,” notes Wenham, “which seemed to me a very pragmatic and, importantly, fair way of working with artists. I am excited about joining a company and a board that already has expertise & experience in abundance and looking forward to helping further develop their global strategy.”

A hero of the independent music community, Wenham left WIN, the global forum for the professional independent music industry, after twelve years in charge and two years as its full time CEO.

Before that, Wenham led the Association of Independent Music (AIM) for 17 years, where her intellect and fighting spirit made her loved or feared.

Funnel Music executive chairman Ric Yerbury comments, “To have such a universally respected music industry figure as Alison join our board is a major coup for Funnel Music. As well as her experience of running high profile organisations such as AIM and WIN her unique understanding of and relationships with the global independent music community will give us an amazing insight into this sector.”

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.