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Job of the month #22: Membership Director

by IDOL

New episode of our Job of the Month series to discover the many facets of the music industry. This month, Chirag Patel, membership director at A2IM.

Each month, IDOL presents a job in the music industry. Or more than a job, a person! Because behind the same job title, there are significant differences from one structure to another. Each person can define the scope of his or her job according to his or her career path, qualities and skills! Meet Chirag Patel who tells us how he assists members of A2IM on a day-to-day basis and how he participates in creating the panel program for the Indie Week music conference.

First and foremost, can you present A2IM?

A2IM is a non-for-profit association. We are the trade organization that represents US independent labels. Currently we represent more than 550 copyright owners and we make sure that their interests are correctly represented in the marketplace in the media but also on Capitol Hill. We have three full-time lobbyists working on behalf of A2M ensuring that any music related bill or law has either an A2IM stamp of approval or rejection. Our mission is to promote growth, awareness and business opportunity for the independent sector through advocacy, education and community.

Our members are our priority, and our goal is to support them by giving them every opportunity to succeed. We aim to help them gain media attention and ensure that their businesses thrive. Additionally, we strive to promote their excellent work throughout the industry.

What does a Membership Director do?

As the membership director, my role involves nurturing strategic connections between our label members and associate members. Our associate members consist of service companies working within the indie sector, including distributors, tech platforms, lawyers, and any other relevant company. Independent copyright owners, or label members, must own and operate at least 51% of a US copyright to qualify for representation in Congress. Additionally, I assist associate members with go to market strategies, B2B marketing initiatives, and collaborative opportunities to drive growth and innovation.

On the label side, alongside Emmaline McCourt, I collaborate closely with independent music companies to identify alternative revenue sources and address operational challenges within the A2IM community. Additionally, we recommend potential partners to facilitate business expansion and offer what we call trade mission opportunities, where we accompany companies to major conferences in specific markets. These missions enable them to establish connections with relevant counterparts in those regions and typically include a visit to the US embassy or consulate to engage with a US commercial specialist and receive information on available trade opportunities for US companies in that particular market.

The US streaming market is on the verge of reaching saturation in terms of streaming numbers. Therefore, it is essential for our members to explore emerging markets, such as those in Latin America, MENA and the Southeast Asian Pacific region. We are part of the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), an association of 34 local trade associations. We collaborate closely with them to provide opportunities for all our members.

What are the qualities required for your position?

A deep understanding of the music industry ecosystem is essential, especially regarding independent labels and their distinct business models compared to major labels. Staying informed about new music technology, and new platforms in distribution, licensing, and copyright… With the recent AI influx, the music industry must adapt and avoid past mistakes (like with MP3s). AI presents both challenges and opportunities, we want to make sure that our members are aware of the opportunities and provide them with educational resources.

Additionally, expertise in identifying growth opportunities within specific markets, technologies and understanding and advocating for member needs, and communicating them internally but also championing in front of the world. Those would be some of the big qualities required.

What motivated you to work in the music industry supporting independent artists, and what led you to A2IM?

I’m originally from India, I grew up in Nagpur, the geographical center of India. I graduated as an electrical engineer there as most Indians do. It’s either like engineering, law, or medicine. While I was studying, I was always interested in the live music market. While in college, I headed talent management for music-related activities on campus. So I brought a couple of bands and DJs to our college for a few different festivals. Afterward, when I moved out of my hometown for a job, one of my friends asked for help with a show. Eventually I started working with him and created my own label there called the Orange Octopus Records which we ran for a couple of years before moving to the United States.

When I came to the US I had no idea how the music industry worked, nor had any connections. After graduating from a music business program, they found a job opening at A2M through their job board, which is a major resource for indie music jobs. I was lucky enough to find an opening and I joined A2IM in 2021.

I want to say that I am just really grateful for the journey. I’ve come from a place where I was building my own label, and now I’m in a position to support and assist 550 labels, and be really helpful, this is incredible.

How is your daily work organized?

Pretty much every day is different. Meeting a lot of people is one of the most important jobs of any given day for me. With current members as well as with new entrepreneurs. Internally, I work with a lot of international groups like other trade associations and festivals and conferences such as Reeperbahn festival, AIM UK and all of the other organizations.

I make sure that they are aware of our Indie Week conference, the Libera Awards, and the events we organize to create more collaboration between our members, for instance our South by Southwest matchmaking sessions. Additionally, I lead the Indie Week curation, which I’m really excited about, but that involves reviewing and discussing around 250 panel suggestions to guarantee we present fresh and relevant topics to our members each year. We also guarantee diversity among our panelists in all respects. This means ensuring that diversity is addressed and not neglected. There are many different factors to consider. The day it ends we start planning for next year. That’s how crazy it is to organize such an important event.

Overall, my work is a balance of managing internal projects while making sure our members feel supported and heard. And attending a lot of shows of course.

What do you like about your job?

The best part of my job is collaborating with a diverse group of people, trying to come up with solutions for our members, and helping them navigate their unique journeys to achieve their goals. Having experienced the challenges of running a label in a small, emerging market, I’m grateful for the opportunity A2IM has given me to work with so many different independent music companies in a meaningful way.

For example, our lobbyists have been working for years on the HITS Act, which provides critical tax relief for independent artists, songwriters and labels and it has been reintroduced in Congress. Getting those small wins is crucial and motivates us to continue our work.

What is your connection with IDOL?

IDOL is one of the associate members of A2IM and over the past three years I’ve been in this role, it’s been incredible to work with Thomas Maxwell, General manager for IDOL US, and his team. I really appreciate the support that they have provided us, even before I was working for A2IM.

I’m also impressed by the number of great labels that IDOL distributes. I really love what you guys are doing, providing niche communities with a carefully chosen selection of services. And it’s incredible to see what you have achieved with Labelcamp, it’s a fantastic tool that offers white labeling solutions to many distributors and labels.

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