North West-based ticketing platform Skiddle has launched a new partnership with not-for-profit global trade body, the Association For Electronic Music (AFEM).
AFEM connects and represents companies and individuals in the electronic music industry, with over 270 member organisations spanning 29 countries. Its mission is to reflect, promote, and preserve electronic music culture while addressing industry challenges and ensuring a vibrant future for the genre and its ecosystem.
Fostering a community of emerging artists, seasoned DJs and industry professionals, AFEM’s diverse membership shares a collective passion for music and is committed to advancing the industry’s development.
In recent years, Skiddle has diversified its business to cater to a wide range of event types, but its roots lie in live music, particularly electronic music, which remains at the heart of the company’s foundation.
Embedded in UK club culture, the platform currently provides its services to several of the UK’s most prominent electronic music event brands and businesses, from festivals such as Creammfields North and South and Edinburgh’s Terminal V to seasonal club events such as The Warehouse Project and award-winning Bristol-based night club, Motion.
Delivering intuitive tools and enterprise features like RapidScan, and with dedicated marketing, customer and account support, Skiddle continues to understand the needs of its partners, supporting their events with innovative and personable ticketing solutions, ultimately bolstering the electronic scene.
The objective of the newly launched partnership is to provide value and insight to customers and members of both organisations, with Skiddle and AFEM set to collaborate to deliver workshops and run research and data projects over the coming year.
Giving further details, Skiddle’s head of festivals and partnerships, Duncan King, said: “We’re extremely proud and excited to be linking up with Finlay and the rest of the dedicated team at AFEM. As a business with deep roots in the UK’s Electronic Music scene, it was a natural fit for us to become partners.
“Our aim is to assist AFEM members, providing resources and information about live events and ticketing, whilst continuing to support our existing client base and AFEM in their mission to promote electronic music culture worldwide.”
Finlay Johnson, chief operating officer at AFEM, added: “I’m excited to start work with Duncan and the Skiddle team. We exist to support the entire electronic music ecosystem and for many artists, the live industry is their first or primary source of income. We’re incredibly supportive of anyone who wants to empower artists to build an audience.
He went on: “With increasing pressure on grassroots venues, we want to contribute towards education and best practice for promoters, especially independent promoters at the forefront of their communities and subgenres. If these promoters win, the next generation of artists will grow, so anything we can do to support local promoter communities is a net positive for our scene.”
