Welcome to the MU's London Region

An introduction to the London Regional Committee from its Chair, Richard Watson, for all London based members of the Musicians' Union.

A key feature of the Musicians' Union is that it is greater than the sum of its parts. The strength we gain from working together as musicians brings with it strong influence and valuable protection within the music industry.

This page details the work of the London Regional Committee (LRC) and how it operates. Our aim here is to achieve clearer dialogue between the membership of the London Region and their elected representatives.

The MU is a membership organisation that we - the members - own through paying our subscriptions; and that we - the members - control through democratic process, chiefly by electing members to serve on Committees, and through the Delegate Conference.

The London Regional Committee is comprised of 20 members, each elected to serve a two-year term, all of which is explained in the Handbook, under "How the Union works". This Committee oversees the work of the officials, debating and implementing resolutions concerning the MU's work in the London Region. We encourage all of you, as MU members, to get involved by voting in LRC elections, coming to meetings as observers, and representing other members like you by standing for election to the Committee.

Executive Committee (EC) members are elected from the various UK Regions; currently six members come from the London Region. They govern the Union and the final responsibility and decision making rests with them. They are guided by decisions taken every two years at the MU Conference and report their work back to Conference. Those London EC members who are not also members of the Regional Committee, attend the Regional Committee meetings in a non-voting capacity.

London comprises roughly one third of the Union's total membership, and is one of the main international centres of the music industry.

We also have several sub-committees which undertake in-depth work for the Regional Committee. Members bring their relevant expertise to these sub-committees. Currently, our sub-committees are:

• General Administrative Purposes Committee, which amongst other things processes the Benevolent Fund applications to help members in times of need
• West End Sub-Committee
• Live Performance Sub-Committee
• Teaching Sub-Committee
• London Orchestral Sub-Committee
• Stewards Support Committee, which oversees the work of MU Stewards in orchestras and theatres across London
• Young Members Sub-Committee

The expertise amongst our current LRC members covers everything from theatres and orchestras, recording and broadcasting, producing and promoting - to singer songwriters, teaching & coaching, jazz, busking, rock & folk and much, much more. Most began performing live gigs; many still do. The list of instruments played by members of the Committee is huge - suffice it to say that most of the mainstream instruments, and one or two not so mainstream, are represented.

We have explored new ways of encouraging activism within the Region and have made good progress using the methods outlined above:-  integration, co-opting and organisation. Twice a year we run new-members meetings to explain first-hand the value of MU membership and ways to become more involved. We also look towards those who attend the excellent seminars we run in London and around the country. What is important is that any member can be an activist. Looking to the future, 2017 is a Conference year, an excellent way of learning more about how the MU works and playing a part in how it will work in the future.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the work of the Regional Committee and the activists in the MU or would like information on how to take an active role yourself, please get in touch via london@theMU.org or call the London Office on 020 7840 5504.

The Committee, consisting of musicians just like you, very much intends to expand these pages into a better view of the work being done and the issues we are dealing with, together with more details of those you elect. Please do let us have any ideas you may have of what you would like to see on these pages in the future.