Future Independents, the Association of Independent Music (AIM)’s digital conference empowering DIY artists, labels, managers and entrepreneurs, is set to return on Wednesday 8th June.

Launched last year, the event aims to provide attendees with the knowledge and connections they need to level up in the music industry, whether starting out or looking to progress to the next step in their career. It will be broadcast online from 10am to 6pm BST and is free to attend.

This year’s keynote speaker is Camille Purcell, known professionally as KAMILLE, the Grammy and BRIT-award winning singer, songwriter, economist and music entrepreneur, known for her work with the likes of Dua Lipa, Little Mix and Stormzy. She will be interviewed by Radio 1 presenter Jess Iszatt, who also presents and produces the BBC Music Introducing in London show.

Topics of the day include “#CreateSuccess - Set up your business and start making money,” “Breaking Beyond Borders – A look at why international showcasing is important and how you can get funded to do it,” and “Know your stitching from your duetting – The power of short form video content.” Details of speakers and additional topics will be revealed in due course.

There will be networking opportunities throughout the day, with attendees able to pre-book meetings with industry experts. There will also be practical workshops hosted by AIM’s Annual Platinum Partners on how best to optimise their services, including Spotify, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube Music, with more to be announced.

Esta Rae, AIM’s senior events manager, said: “With this year’s Future Independents we want to build on the success of last year, reaching an even wider audience of creators and entrepreneurs and helping them to learn the rules of the game. Improving access to industry knowledge and networking opportunities is essential to building a fairer, more diverse, and thriving independent music scene. We’re very excited to welcome Kamille for this year’s keynote, as a creative and entrepreneur who embodies AIM’s values, not only in her own career as an artist and songwriter but in her work fostering new and exciting talent.”

The conference builds on AIM’s mission to open access to industry knowledge and resources for early-stage artists and entrepreneurs across the UK, as well as businesses looking to scale up. The organisation launched its Associate Membership tier last year, open to all users of its independent distributor members, and providing free access to tools and resources.

Future Independents sits within AIM’s calendar of events, which includes the AIM Independent Music Awards, returning this year as a live ceremony at the Roundhouse on Wednesday 28th September. Submissions for the Awards are currently open, with the deadline recently extended to Tuesday 17th May.

AIM would like to thank its Annual Platinum Partners, Amazon Music, Meta, Merlin, PPL, Spotify and YouTube Music, whose ongoing support helps to make its calendar of events possible.

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