BPI in association with Music Ally launches the Music & Tech Springboard Programme

The programme includes access to an eight-episode video series and free BPI membership

The BPI in association with Music Ally is launching The Music & Tech Springboard Programme – a new initiative designed to bring the music community and tech startups closer together.

Consisting of a free eight-episode video series available on YouTube here, alongside free BPI membership and a six-month free subscription to Music Ally, the programme aims to demystify the industry for anyone passionate about innovating in music – from existing startups and people within larger tech companies, through to new founders who believe they may have a great idea but aren't quite sure where to start.

The video series acts as a learning resource for those interested in the world of music/tech startups, and features an impressive array of high-level executives drawn from record labels and distributors (Universal Music UK, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music UK, PIAS), PROs (PPL, PRS for Music), accelerators/incubators (Abbey Road Red, Marathon Artists Labs), law firms (Reed Smith), advisors (Lewis Silkin/ Eleven Advisory, Becky Brook Consulting) and successful tech start-ups  (Melody VR, Landmrk, JAAK, Click’n’Clear).

The Springboard membership offers startups access to all of the BPI’s resources – from market intelligence, to free training courses and access to networking events – for free until the end 2020, with a discounted rate offered from 2021. In order to qualify, companies must operate in the music & tech space and meet either an age (not older than 5 years) or size (no larger than 20 employees) criterion. Both UK and overseas applications are welcome. For more details, click here or email springboard@bpi.co.uk.

Additionally, Music Ally is offering a six-month free subscription to its industry-leading business information service, including a daily news bulletin and regular in-depth reports. The same qualification criteria apply. To take advantage of the offer, all employees of qualifying startups should sign up.

Born out of the need to make the music industry more accessible to talented people who at times feel unable to navigate its complexities, the series focuses on the expertise and personal experiences of the contributors, as they share their thoughts on how tech innovators can best approach and work with the music industry. The videos also include plenty of practical advice on the do’s (and don’ts!) of these relationships.

This resource was put together before the COVID-19 outbreak, and both the BPI and Music Ally acknowledge there may be some areas that startups may feel have not been addressed.  The BPI therefore welcomes any questions for contributors that aren’t covered in the video series, and a FAQ document to accompany the series will be published later in the year. Questions should be emailed to springboard@bpi.co.uk.

We genuinely hope this initiative goes a long way in further democratising access to information and our industry. We are thrilled to be joined in our mission by Music Ally as our partner, as well as the best and brightest names in our field, who have contributed their valuable time and expertise towards pushing the boundaries forward in this space and showing once again that the recorded music industry is at the forefront of innovation. We couldn’t be more grateful to them – and I’m sure we’re all excited to see the new crop of start-ups joining our community.

So many startups face problems when dealing with the music industry because of a lack of knowledge or lack of experience in knowing how the industry works and how best to deal with the various parts of the business. This programme convened by the BPI provides invaluable insight from some of the most experienced and knowledgeable practitioners. We urge anyone who is seriously looking to engage with the music industry to look at this series of videos first to pick up some great tips to help them on their journey and to give them the best chance of success.

It can be easy to overlook certain parts of an industry when carrying out your work, especially when you are starting out. The BPI’s Music & Tech Springboard Programme not only illustrates who the key stakeholders are and what they do, but gives crucial insight into what they actually want and need. I wish we had had this resource when we were starting out.

Springboard Learning Programme – full list of videos & contributors

1. Introduction & Overview

• Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive, BPI & BRIT Awards Ltd
• Paul Brindley, CEO, Music Ally

2. Labels

• Adrian Pope, Chief Digital Officer – [PIAS]
• Glenn Cooper – Senior Director of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Universal Music UK
• Scott Cohen – Chief Innovation Officer, Recorded Music, Warner Music UK
• Victoria Cruz – Global Business Development & Partnerships, Sony Music Entertainment

3. Legal

• Gregor Pryor, Partner &  Co-chair of the Entertainment and Media Industry Group, Reed Smith
• Sophie Goossens, Partner, Reed Smith 

4. Licensing

• Jez Bell, Chief Licensing Officer, PPL
• Nick Edwards, Head of Online, PRS for Music

5. Advisors

• Becky Brook, Founder, Becky Brook Consulting
• Cliff Fluet, Partner, Lewis Silkin/ Eleven Advisory

6. Accelerators & Incubators

• Isabel Garvey, Managing Director, Abbey Road Studios/ Abbey Road Red
• Paul Rene Albertini, Chairman & Founder, Marathon Artists

7. Media 

• Stuart Dredge, Editor-in-chief, Music Ally

8. Startups

• Chantal Epp – Founder, Click’n’Clear
• Joanna McNally – SVP Licensing, Melody VR
• Tom Nield – Co-founder, Landmrk
• Vaughn McKenzie-Landell – Founder & CEO, JAAK

About the BPI (British Phonographic Industry)

The BPI champions the UK’s recorded music industry, safeguarding the rights of its members and of the artists, performers and label members of collecting body PPL. The BPI’s membership consists of well over 400 independent labels and the UK’s three ‘majors’, which together account for 85 per cent of legitimate domestic music consumption and 1 in 8 albums sold around the world.

The BPI promotes British music overseas through its trade missions and the Music Exports Growth Scheme. It provides insights, training and networking with its free masterclasses, Innovation Hub, Insight Sessions, WidsomWednesdays events, and reports. The BPI administers The BRIT Certified Awards, co-owns The Official Charts, organises The BRIT Awards and BRITs Week, and is also home to The Mercury Prize. 

About Music Ally

Music Ally has been covering the music industry’s fast-moving digital developments since 2002. Known as a digital thought leader in the global music business, our clients span the music and technology sectors, including all of the major labels and indies, music publishers and collecting societies, music platforms like Spotify and Deezer, and tech giants like Google and Facebook.

We are the leading subscription  periodical on the new music business, enabling companies to understand the landscape and effectively operate through marketing, training, research and advisory services. As a leader in industry training Music Ally recently launched an online learning hub for the global music business at learn.musically.com. Music Ally also collaborates with global events and we produce our own conferences including  NY:LON Connect with Music Biz and Sandbox Summit as well as networking events. Sandbox Summit Global is a new free to access event which takes place in September 2020.