The joint initiative allows MPG producers who are looking for management to exclusively list their details on the MMF website so that they can be viewed by MMF members. The database also allows MMF members who manage producers to list information about their clients. This will assist other MMF members who are seeking a producer for a particular project to track the producer’s recent credits and current availability via the MMF database.
"More and more of our members are now actively managing producers as well as artists," says MMF general manager, James Sellar. "The sharing of news feeds and the provision of services to facilitate the matching of producers and managers, whether in terms of representation or for the purpose of commissioning, is of benefit to all concerned. I am looking forward to other initiatives where the two organizations can help each other and provide real tangible benefits for our memberships with a cooperative relationship such as this."
Andy East, chairman of the MPG, commented: "This initiative reflects our determination to provide continued support to our membership and to forge closer links with like-minded organizations."
The MMF has also instigated a number of general improvements to its website. These include the introduction of a new facility allowing artists looking for representation to post information about themselves on the website. Their details will only be accessibly to MMF members. The site also features an online membership database that incorporates details of key industry personnel including A&R lists and a Job Matching bureau where management firms can advertise positions and opportunities for work experience within their companies.
Sellar adds: "We have been working very hard over the last 18 months to really capitalize on the opportunities the web can offer in helping us provide membership services. These latest initiatives came out of asking the membership what they most wanted to see online and I¹m proud to say we have delivered. We are now consistently getting over 100,000 hits a month and last month had over 1500 downloads of our 20 page industry magazine."
Over the next 12 months, the MMF plans to further its web initiative by tying in the information offered between all of the MMFs around the world, enabling manager to research new territories for their acts with ease.
(Ruth Rossington)
