Alison Wenham is stepping down as CEO of WIN
Alison Wenham, one of the most powerful figures in the indie music world, is stepping down as chief executive of the Worldwide Independent Network.
A tireless advocate for the independent music community and one of the leading female executives in the global music industry, Wenham leaves WIN after twelve years at its helm and two years as its full time CEO.
Prior to taking the top job at WIN, the global forum for the professional independent music industry, Wenham guided the CEO of The Association of Independent Music (AIM) for 17 years. She wasn’t just the boss at AIM, Wenham was the face of the U.K. indie music community, universally respected for her great intellect and fighting spirit.
“It has been a pleasure and a privilege to devote two decades of my life and career to helping ensure the stability and continued growth of the independent music sector,” Wenham says in a statement announcing her departure.
“Since launching AIM in 1999 I have stood shoulder to shoulder with amazing friends and colleagues as, together, we set out and then delivered a new era of respect for the role and importance of the sector. We changed attitudes towards the sector across the world, and ensured that independent music copyrights are now recognised and valued.
“I am immensely proud of all we have achieved in that time and independent music will remain a passion of mine. I have decided, however, that the time is now right, with the organisation in good health, to step down from my position at WIN. I want to thank everybody I have worked with over the years for their incredible support.”
Source: WIN Facebook
The British exec founded AIM in 1999; is a founding board member of IMPALA; she helped set up AIM’s U.S.-focused sister organisation, the American Assn. of Independent Music, served as board member of Merlin and as the inaugural president of WIN, which was created in response to business, creative and market access issues faced globally by the independent music business.
In 2006, she was inducted into the MMF Roll of Honour; in 2010, she was honoured with an OBE and she has featured in Billboard’s Top Women in Music every year since publication.
Wenham has visited Australia in recent years as a guest speaker at Bigsound and in 2017 delivered a keynote address at the Going Global conference at Auckland’s Roundhead Studios.
WIN chairman and Beggars Group founder Martin Mills says the independent music world is in a stronger place, thanks in no small part to the work of Wenham.
Indeed, the recently-published WINTEL 2018 paper found the independents generated worldwide revenue of $6.9 billion in 2017, up 10.9% from the previous year. The research study, produced for WIN, also reported the indies’ global market share grew slightly to almost 40% in 2017.
“Alison has been a force of nature for all of us, and a central factor in indies being able to compete worldwide with companies many times their size,” Mills says.
“As she moves on, she leaves us strong and thriving, and looking forward to many fruitful seasons. For that we are eternally grateful to her.”
Read Wenham’s Going Global keynote here.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.