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Join our new Advisory Group or Company Board

You work in music because you are passionate about it. You probably take an interest in what the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) is doing because you care about music business development and have something to say. If this sounds like you, we invite you to help shape our future.

The SMIA welcomes applications for its Company Board and a new Advisory Group. So far our company board has strived to provide strategic direction for the SMIA as a company and advise on industry issues. We want to separate these functions to be more effective, include new thinking and provide more opportunities.

We want both our company board and advisory group to represent the creative industries we want to work in, which is diverse, equal, inclusive, fair, friendly and supportive. We welcome applications from people who share these values. We are especially interested in hearing from people that we do not already know or who have not worked directly with us yet. We will select applicants in line with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan.

Company Board

The SMIA’s company board meets four times per year, provides strategic direction for the company and shares legal responsibility and obligation for its compliance and governance. It oversees the work of the executive team and appoints the chair, who leads the board and represents the company. We welcome applications from people with experience of running a company and have learned about how to provide strategic direction from a mixture of successes and failures throughout their careers. Knowledge of the music industry is a bonus. Knowledge of the creative industries is vital. Experience of business is necessary although we are interested in considering at least one young person for a place on our Company Board. Passion for music is a must.

Company Board members will be registered as directors on Companies House. Directors will usually serve for three years although sometimes their tenure may be extended. While directors often come from specific sectors of the music industry and individual organisations, they are not part of the board to represent those interests but rather as directors of the company first and foremost.

Board meetings in 2019 and 2020 are scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness. We may consider meeting in other locations too. Board meetings last from two-to-three hours. An agenda and any supporting documentation to read prior to each meeting will be circulated in advance. Most meetings will have an update on company activity and two strategic discussion points. Company Board directors vote on strategic decisions.

Participation on the Company Board is unremunerated but we can cover reasonable travel expenses and sometimes accommodation and other sundry expenses approved in advance. There are opportunities for in kind benefits too including attending Scottish Album of the Year Award and other events and training and development sessions.

Advisory Group

Our new Advisory Group will be made up of representatives from different sectors of the music industry, including artists, agents, events, festivals, media, managers, publicists, publishers, promoters, record labels, studios and venues. The advisors will give the SMIA perspectives from their experience and the organisations and the sectors in which they are active.

The Advisory Group will be chaired by a member of the SMIA Company Board. It will meet twice a year in two different locations (which are likely to be from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Inverness). Meetings will last for two hours with an opportunity for networking afterwards. Advisory Group members may be asked to vote on motions and to indicate the consensus of opinion of various matters but they will not vote on strategic decisions affecting the company.

Participation in the Advisory Group is unremunerated but we can cover reasonable travel expenses and sometimes accommodation and other sundry expenses approved in advance. There are opportunities for in kind benefits too including attending Scottish Album of the Year Award and other events.

Application Process

If you would like to apply for either the company board or the advisory group, please send us an email cover letter and a copy of your CV, specify whether you are applying for the company board or advisory group and explain why the SMIA needs you and tell us what you will bring to the company.

Please also provide us with suggestions for discussion topics for both the company board (in respect to the strategic direction of the company) and the state of the industry (in regard to current challenges and opportunities affecting your sector of the music industry in Scotland). Tell us also what you value most in business and share a piece of advice you would offer to other people working in music.

To apply to join either the Advisory Group or Company Board (you must pick one and cannot apply to both), please email info@smia.org.uk and put “My Application for the Advisory Board” or “My Application for the Company Board” in the subject line.

The deadline for applications is Friday 28 June. Selections will be made by the current SMIA Company Board and Executive Team with input from key stakeholders in mid July. We may contact applicants for further information or to request interviews (in person or via online video conferencing, like Skype or Zoom). The next Company Board meeting is in late September. The first Advisory Group meeting will take place in October.