(CelebrityAccess) — The United Kingdom’s Musician’s Union announced the election of Naomi Pohl who will serve as the organization’s first female General Secretary.
In a statement about the election, Pohl, said:
“I am delighted and humbled to have been elected to the role of MU General Secretary. It means a great deal that musicians across genres and disciplines have put their faith in me and I want nothing more than to deliver for them all. To musicians who have been under-represented by the Union in the past and saw this election as an opportunity for positive change, I am here to listen and make sure your voices are heard. I will make myself available and ensure I am present in the spaces where you work.
“Thank you to all members who engaged with the election process, took the time to vote and who reached out to me directly with feedback about the Union. I also want to acknowledge our fantastic activists, staff and Officials; I couldn’t hope to work with a more dedicated and passionate team of people.
“To all those who didn’t vote for me, I hear that you want change. The Union is here for every musician, and I hope it can be a unifying force as we take on many challenges collectively – please reach out.
“After the toughest imaginable two years for musicians, there is plenty of work to do. We can improve pay for our employed and freelance members post-pandemic, tackle the impact of Brexit and fix streaming. We will also ensure we meet the objectives set out in the MU Equality Action Plan, in the UK Music Diversity Ten Point Plan, and we will continue our vital work to eliminate discrimination and harassment from the industry. In order to secure the future of the profession, we will also launch a new music education campaign and move arts funding back up the Union’s lobbying agenda during my term. I know these are issues that really matter to musicians.”
Pohl was selected from a slate of three candidates that also included Stephen Brown and Morris Stemp with Pohl winning a split decision through alternate votes after all three candidates failed to gain more than 50% of the available votes.
In all, 12% of the organization’s membership cast ballots in the election.
