AIF Membership Grows For 2011 Festival Season

• 7 More Festivals Join Association of Independent Festivals

• 31 Festivals Now Building Collective Strength Of Sector

London, 4^th January 2011:- As the UK looks forward to the 2011 festival season, seven new festival members are welcomed into the fold at the Association of Independent Festivals.  These latest additions take membership of the two-year-old organisation up to 31.Joining the likes of Bestival, Green Man, Glade and Creamfields are:

• North Dorset's End of the Road Festival
• Festival Awards' Best Small Festival 2010 Winner, Kendal Calling
• Jersey's Grassroots Eco Music Festival
• Lancashire's Beat-Herder Festival
• Deer Stalker Festival
• Reading's three weekend long Outside:Inside Festival
• Derbyshire's family music festival Bearded Theory

Working with some of the UK and Ireland's most innovative and successful festivals, these new members will benefit from the organisation's collective power in promoting their interests to the wider music business and government.AIF was set up in 2008 to establish best practice for independent festivals in a variety of areas such as security, the environment and beyond. Successes include its 'twinning' initiative, which sees members linking up with like-minded festivals across the world for mutual promotion and exchange of information, the Security Task Force, created to tackle festival related crime, as well as a groundbreaking marketing deal with Visit Britain.Said Claire O'Neill, AIF General Manager, "We are happy to see the continued growth of the AIF membership. It's a positive reinforcement of the Association's value, providing a voice that will be heard for the independents. 2010 has seen a host of industry wide issues come to light that will directly affect independent festivals. The need to join together for collective action has never been more apparent."

-ENDS-

Notes for Editors

About AIF

The Association of Independent Festivals is a not for profit body set up in 2008 to represent independent music festivals in the UK and Ireland.Conceived by Bestival promoter Rob da Bank and Graphite's Ben Turner, the association's founder members included Bestival, Cornbury Festival, Creamfields, Evolution Festival, Field Day/Underage, Secret Garden Party, Summer Sundae Weekender and WOMAD.With 31 members ranging from Bromley's Leefest to the 55,000 capacity Bestival in the Isle of Wight, AIF enables the promoters of some of the UK & Ireland's most innovative and successful festivals to speak with one voice when addressing the wider music business and government.AIF aims to establish best practice for festivals in a variety of areas such as security, the environment and beyond, providing a knowledge base for festival promoters, as well as creating collective purchasing and marketing opportunities for its members.AIF operates as an autonomous division of the Association of Independent Music.www.aiforg.com

Press Contact

Kayleigh Watson, Name PRKayleigh@namemusic.net+44 (0) 20 8357 7305