Supporting you through

Supporting you through a pandemic

Ruth McPherson, ISM's Senior Partnerships & Marketing Manager, explains how the whole of the ISM has swung into action to support you, our members, as you face the challenges caused by the COVID-19 crisis, and shares some of your responses

Above: Ruth McPherson, ISM Senior Partnerships & Marketing Manager

Photo: Emile Holba 2020 has been a year like no other. Coronavirus has been the biggest challenge faced by the music sector for generations. At the ISM, we’ve been all hands on deck, supporting and guiding you through the crisis, to keep you informed and, where possible, still working and making music. Our staff team have constantly adapted our services in response to the changing situation, and we’re grateful that so many of you have been in touch to let us know how we’ve helped you. In this feature we take a look at some of your key membership benefits, together with some of the feedback we’ve received from you. ‘I would like to state my enormous gratitude to all staff f for their professional support, kindness, friendliness, knowledge and continuous efficiency.’ – ISM member Regular updates One of the first things we did when the virus hit was to send you a daily members’ e-newsletter, which we used to keep you up to date with all the various changes and new guidelines that were continuously coming from the government, and we offered you advice on how to transition to working online and on staying healthy during lockdown. More recently, we have moved to weekly updates, with additional announcements when necessary. ‘Thank you for your continued advice and updates. I always find them helpful and supportive.’ – Glynis Williams, ISM member since 2019 Useful advice We’ve built up an extensive library of resources in our COVID-19 advice hub. Whether you’re looking for information on returning to work, guidance on accessing financial support, or ways to obtain funding to boost your career, we’ve covered a wide range of topics. You can read our latest advice at ism.org/covid-19 ‘The ISM is my “go to”place whenever I need advice and guidance relating to the professional aspects of my life.

Thank you, ISM!’ – ISM member

Bespoke legal assistance The number of legal enquiries from members has doubled during the pandemic. Our legal team has been on hand to support members, answering queries relating to understanding furlough agreements, adapting contracts to facilitate online teaching, issues around employment, and much more.

Right: Mariachiara Valsecchi, Senior ISM Representative – Legal Services Manager, and Jeremy Dunn, Legal Adviser (Photo taken prior to the COVID-19 lockdown) Photo: Emile Holba Members can contact our expert legal team by emailing legal@ism.org. There’s no limit on how much time our team will spend on your case or how often you can use the service. They will take the time to understand your case and offer you the support you need to take the next steps. ‘Every time I’ve used the legal support, I’ve had exceptional service. Thank you for your continued support.’ – ISM member Unpaid fees recovery Many musicians had work cancelled due to COVID-19. Our team have helped members to recover performance and tuition fees, from contracts and engagements of every kind. If we are ever unable to achieve a resolution ourselves, we refer the matter to our legal expenses insurers who can seek compensation on the member’s behalf. Email legal@ism.org to request our help. ‘The support I received from your legal team with regard to recovering a fee was absolutely brilliant. Never did I feel like I was taking too much of the adviser’s time and he followed up on the situation a few days later.’ – ISM member Professional development As we all found ourselves with more time at home under lockdown, it was the perfect opportunity to develop new skills or brush up on existing skills. ISM members had the chance to engage with our wide range of professional development, which includes publications, teaching resources and online resources. As many of them are accessible to all, do let your friends and family know: ism.org/professional-development ‘Thank you so much for the wonderful Rag and Tal resource on your website. As a KS2 teacher, we only touch on Indian Tal for a couple of lessons, but nevertheless these resources have been so valuable to me!’ – Katie Miner, KS2 teacher at OAK Academy

Campaigning and lobbying Throughout COVID-19, our external affairs team has continued to campaign for music and music education to be protected and musicians to be supported, working closely with our members and other music sector organisations. The ISM has engaged extensively with the government and with parliamentarians, fighting for long-term financial support for music professionals and for a clear and conditional timeline for the reopening of the music sector. We have called on religious leaders and institutions to protect the jobs of musicians working in churches and synagogues across the country, and on school leaders to ensure that music education is central to the catch-up curriculum. You can find out more about our campaigning work at ism.org/campaigns ‘Thank you for the campaign work that you do for us all

Right: Deborah Annetts ISM, Chief Executive Officer Photo: Emile Holba

and future generations.’ – ISM member

Webinars, blogs and podcasts As the coronavirus situation developed, we adapted our ISM Trust webinars to help you navigate the ‘new normal’. Recent webinars have covered topics from understanding the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and writing a risk assessment, to looking after your mental health and learning how to lobby your MP. Previous webinars are available to watch back for free at ism.org/webinars We’ve also produced empowering blogs and podcasts on issues affecting members, including transitioning to online working and adapting to life during lockdown. Read our blog at ism.org/news/blog and listen to the ISM podcast at ism.org/podcast ‘Thank you so much for all your fantastic work. I really appreciate it and it really does make a huge difference to us all to know you are co-ordinating such a well-thought-out approach to help us in so many different ways.’ – James Turnbull, ISM member since 2015

Staying connected Keeping in touch with colleagues has never been more important than during this unprecedented time, and digital methods of communication have been vital. ISM members have been able to discuss issues and ask questions on our Facebook group (facebook.com/ISMusicians), which has doubled in size since March. We also offer networking opportunities via our new service Member Connect (ism.org/member-connect), which allows you to connect with other ISM members and promote yourself. ‘ISM membership provides a sense of family. Knowing a support network is always there is a great comfort.’ – ISM member Health and wellbeing services Through the online and telephone services provided by the ISM Members Fund, we have continued offering our members free access to physiotherapy intervention and a 24-hour personal support and advice helpline, staffed by professionally qualified counsellors who offer structured appointments. These services have been invaluable at what has been a stressful and challenging time for many musicians. Find out more about our health and wellbeing services at ism.org/membership/members_fund ‘I’ve recently had counselling sessions through the ISM and it’s been life-changing. Just wanted to say a big thank you.’ – ISM member and singer

Discounts As we all spent increasing amounts of time indoors during lockdown, we added a new ‘Staying at home’ section to our discount scheme. Members can enjoy savings on online courses, experiences and shopping, as well as offers on software, web design, promotional tools, magazines, sheet music, instruments and accessories. Discover the full range of member discounts at ism.org/my-ism/your-discounts ‘ISM membership is great value for money. The fact that they make it affordable is great because being a musician can be pretty challenging money-wise.’ – ISM member Listening to your needs We are constantly adapting and learning from member feedback in order to provide you with gold-standard service. If you have any ideas or suggestions for us, please get in touch at membership@ism.org ‘The ISM gets better and better. Next year I shall have been a proud ISM for 50 years. Thank you.’ – ISM member Want to receive our member e-newsletters? If you haven’t been receiving our regular COVID-19 updates by email and would like to, please let our membership team know by calling 020 7221 3499 or emailing

Below: ISM’s membership team includes (from left to right): Megan Hand, Personal Assistant to the CEO & Communications Officer, Raisa Pankalainen, Office & Member Administrator, Sam Flower, Membership & Marketing Officer, and Maria Vizitiu, Member Engagement & Events Officer (Photo taken prior to the COVID-19 lockdown) Photo: Emile Holba

membership@ism.org

Indian Takeaway: Ra¯g and Ta¯l basics

Take away a lesson in Indian classical music. Our innovative, free online resource brought to you by the ISM Trust and Indian music expert Yogesh Dattani enables you to take away our lesson plans and successfully play or teach a piece of Indian classical music on any instrument. This lesson explores the basics of the melodic (ra¯g) and rhythmic (ta¯l) al) structures of North Indian classical music: sargam, as you gradually learn to play a short composition, Sargam Gi¯t. ism.org/indian-takeaway