The PPA Independent Publisher Conference and Awards 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 9:40 
In the oft repeated narrative of industry decline and economic hardship it is easy to forget that many niche, specialist and independent publishers are thriving, growing businesses.
Nowhere is this more apparent than the PPA independent publisher conference held last week, which saw hundreds of publishers, journalists, suppliers and industry experts descend on Central London last week to share innovation, ideas and expertise. Highlights for me were talks by Jim Bilton of Wessenden Marketing on top tips for publishers moving to the digital world and Sigaria CEO Alex Martinez who explained their transition from publishing house to membership led community.
This was also a time for recognising excellence and the PPA Independent Publisher Awards 2013 saw the publishers of The Drum, Wanderlust and Student Farmer amongst the winners. Publishers Carnyx (Media Brand of the Year and Editor of the Year, The Drum), Think and (Team of the Year, Publishing Company of the Year and Customer Magazine of the Year) were particularly successful.
Meanwhile I had a productive time explaining to publisher delegates how NLA media access could help them deliver efficiency and growth in copyright licensing revenue, following its recommendation as a supplier by the PPA.
All in all an excellent event - and one that makes us feel optimistic for the future of the industry and NLA’s expanding role in it.
If you are a publisher and want to find out more about how NLA media access can help you collect licensing revenues, you can email me on pangell@nla.co.uk
Patrick Angell