Avid Begins #WeR4Music Movement at NAMM 2018

Amid more than 100,000 music industry participants at the 2018 NAMM Show, Avid® (Nasdaq: AVID) today began the #WeR4Music movement to call attention to the unintended consequences digitization is causing across the entire creative ecosystem of the music industry. The digital era is causing challenges for many songwriters, performers, producers, engineers, promoters, labels, publishers and distributors alike—too often impeding proper recognition and reward for artists’ and creative professionals’ work. Avid believes that everybody who creates or enjoys music can lift their voice and help foster and encourage fair and equitable solutions for every participant in the ecosystem to ensure that music creation continues to flourish and that the industry prospers overall.

Now anyone can immediately demonstrate their support for the music industry by signing the online #WeR4Music petition and driving social media conversation and topic trending by using the #WeR4Music hashtag, amplifying the community’s collective voice to propel the movement forward. Avid has begun collecting petition signatures on the ground at the NAMM Show, which attracts tens of thousands of attendees from around the world, as well as promoting engagement across its own Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn social media channels. The company also launched an online resource at https://avid.com/WeR4Music to help inform, educate and guide anyone interested in participating. 

The impact and importance of music is undeniable, and it must be protected and enabled to flourish into the future. While digital technologies have improved many parts of daily life, digital has disrupted many industries, especially the music industry. Nobody in the industry can ignore the challenges of the digital era, but none so much as the many artists and creative professionals who are struggling harder and harder to make a decent living pursuing their craft, or getting their work seen or heard. The music industry’s economy needs to profit from top to bottom, ensuring every participant can realize their creative vision or economic goal.

In response, #WeR4Music encourages everyone who cares to raise their voice and collectively put a spotlight on the situation—helping to affect positive change for everyone in the industry.

“Avid cares deeply about the music industry and believes it’s important that we do our part. This is why Avid is using its position to focus attention on the issues that are exerting pressure on the music industry. We’re encouraging others to join us in lifting our collective voice and together find smart solutions to help address the music ecosystem challenges caused by digital disruption,” said Louis Hernandez, Jr., Chairman and CEO at Avid. “Avid will also continue to innovate and deliver unique solutions that help ensure that our customers’ business thrives, that anyone pursuing a career in music can make a good living doing what they love, and that aspiring artists can readily pursue their dreams.”

In addition to starting #WeR4Music, Avid is working to make it easier for everyone across the music industry to create, connect, collaborate and be heard in several unique ways:

• Empowering any artist or creative professional to elevate their work with the absolute best tools in the business for music creation, recording and video editing—Pro Tools® | First and Media Composer® | First—for free.
• Enabling individuals to connect for free with an extensive global network of artists, musicians, producers, and media professionals in the Avid Artist Community to share work, collaborate, and expand their professional potential.
• Join the Avid Customer Association for free, the industry’s most innovative and influential customer-led community, to network, collaborate and innovate with over 20,000 other like-minded creative professionals across music, TV and film.
• Participate in the Avid Customer Association Vote along with thousands of association members to influence Avid’s future direction and innovation roadmap, and uniquely capture valuable insights on important industry topics.

For more information about the #WeR4Music initiative, visit www.avid.com/WeR4Music.