Board members

Nacho García Vega

Nacho García Vega

President

Nacho García Vega (Madrid, 1961) is a Spanish musician, songwriter, producer and founding member of Nacha Pop among other bands. Since 1980, Nacho has recorded and produced around twenty albums and participated in numerous musical projects, TV shows and tours.

In 2014 he co-founded CoArtis, a Spanish coalition of Featured Artists that promotes along with other European coalitions a review of the rules and the artists´ rights in the digital environment. In February 2017 Nacho was elected President of the International Artist Organisation (IAO) based in Paris.  Since 2019 he is Vice President of AIE, the Spanish Performers CMO.

Tore Engström Østby

Tore Engström Østby

Vice president

Tore Engström Østby, born 1972 in Norway, currently living in Stockholm, Sweden, is the founder, guitarist, songwriter and producer for Norwegian experimental hard rock band Conception and Norwegian-American progressive rock band ARK, and have composed and performed in several international music projects.

Alongside his musical career, Østby has since the late nineties been strongly involved in artists’ rights on both individual and collective basis. He is senior advisor in the Norwegian artists’ organization GramArt, where he has been employed since 1998, and is one of the founding members of IAO – International Artist Organisation in 2014, where he is currently Vice President and member of Bureau.

David Martin

David Martin

David Martin joined the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) in November 2019. The FAC is the UK trade body representing the rights and interests of a diverse, global membership of music artists at all stages of their careers. He also sits as a Director at umbrella trade bodies UK Music and LIVE, and at the International Artists Organisation, as well as the UK’s Council of Music Makers and Independent Venue Week.

David has more than twenty years of experience in the music industry with a background in many parts of the sector and in particular in talent booking, relationship development and event brand development. Most recently he was the lead booker and Director at Dimensions Festival, where he developed the globally recognised music programme from conception, developed the label, Dimensions Recordings and led the festival’s accompanying International Series. David has a particular passion for identifying and supporting talent and has always championed the role of artists within the industry.

Ahti Vänttinen

Ahti Vänttinen

Ahti Vänttinen (Lahti, 1961) is the President of the Finnish Musicians’ Union. He worked as a musician and music teacher before graduating from Helsinki University and starting his career in the union, first as a legal counsel and since 2001, as the president.

Ahti has been involved in the development performers’ rights both nationally and internationally, as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) and in the Nordic Musicians’ Union (NMU). He is also Vice President of Gramex Finland, the Finnish joint CMO of music performers and producers.

Suzanne Combo

Suzanne Combo

Singer songwriter, graduated from Sciences-Po Paris, Suzanne shares her
time between songwriting and the management of the Guild of Artists of
Music (la GAM) she co-founded in 2013. She is also co-founder and
Director of International Artist Organisation – IAO.

In 2019 she co-founds CURA collective dedicated to mental health issues
in the french music industry.

Since January 2020 she has been appointed by french Minister of culture
as board member of the National Agency for Music (CNM).

Clou

Clou

After a master’s degree in journalism and communications in the United
States, Clou became a bilingual English press officer in a fashion
agency.

In parallel with her profession, in 2013, she founded a folk group –
Folk’U – with which she recorded her first demos and performed gigs.

Clou plays guitar. Her songs combine both the influence of American folk
and a “slightly gavroche charm”.

In 2020 she released her first solo album, – Orages – produced by
producer Dan Levy.

In 2021, she was named in the female revelation category of the
Victoires de la Musique.

Clou also has a talent for poetry and drawing. She notably exhibits and
publishes the collection “doux mots dits” with Rageot editions in
2022.

Clou is also committed to defending the rights of artists by being an
active member of the Bureau of La GAM (The Guild of Music Artists),
the professional organization which brings together authors, composers
and performers.

Karin Inde

Karin Inde

Karin Inde is a Swedish pop and jazz singer and composer born 1974 in Karlstad. She studied music at the Music University of Gothenburg. She has released four albums in her own name and collaborated on numerous others.

As an advocate for musician and artist rights, she has held key positions such as the head of the Swedish Jazz Federation and national coordinator of Musikcentrum Sweden. Since 2023, she has served as the president of the Swedish Musicians Union.

Anneli Axelsson

Anneli Axelsson

Anneli Axelsson is a singer & songwriter born 1969 on the west-coast of Sweden. She’s a live performing and recording artist, producing, and releasing music on her own label as the artist Anneli Axon. As a session musician she’s heard on recordings with Sam Smith & Demi Lovato, Alan Walker, Michael Bolton and a lot of Swedish artists. Anneli is educated in music at the Music University of Gothenburg and Berklee College of Music, Boston, USA.

Since 2016 she’s been a board member of the Swedish Musician’s Union, and since 2022 an employee. She was the project manager for the ESF-project “React-EU: the Digital Music Empowerment”. Anneli is educated in music law and the rights of creators, and she’s dedicated to the work of a fair music industry.

Montserrat Pratdesaba

Montserrat Pratdesaba

Montserrat Pratdesaba was nicknamed Big Mama on 1988 at Barcelona’s “Cova del Drac” club where her career and love for the blues began. Montse is telecom engineer specialist in image and sound, who worked for 6 years at the Catalan Television (TV3). She finally decided to leave that job on 1992 to pursue music professionally, by consolidating herself as a blues singer. Since then she has been strongly committed to that music, singing in concerts and festivals around Europe, and also for children at hospitals. Big Mama has produced 20 albums and participated as a guest in many others.

Montse is currently Vice-President of AIE and Vice-President of Musicat (the Musicians’ Professional Association of Catalonia, Spain). She has been President of the Barcelona Blues Society (1-4-2016/20-1-2024), Board Member of the Union of Professional Musicians in Spain (since its foundation in 2020 until 20-1-2024, and Board Member of the European Blues Union (2013-2016).

On 2015 she was the recepient of the Jazzterrassaman Award by Terrassa International Jazz Festival. She also was awarded by Barcelona Blues Festival with the Capibola Blues Award 2010, Artist BluesCat Award 2007 by the corporation of Catalan Blues Festivals, Best Jazz Album 1994 by Radio4/RNE, and was nominated to the “Best Jazz Album” for the III Premios de la Música by the Academy of Spanish Music, etc.

Sara Indrio

Sara Indrio

Sara Indrio is working to improve and promote conditions and rights of artists and musicians. She is active in public debates on culture, Labour and arts in welfare. Sara is an artist in her own right with a significant curriculum. She has served as chair and president of the Danish Artists Union since August 2020 and as such represents the members in several boards including danish CMO Gramex, where she is vice chairman.

Ilona Vartiainen

Ilona Vartiainen

Ilona Vartiainen (Turku, 1996) is a lawyer at the Finnish Musicians’ Union. She has worked in this role since 2021, specializing in individual agreements and providing union members with copyright and general legal advice related to the music industry.

Ilona graduated from the University of Turku in 2020. Since joining the Musicians’ Union, she has played a key role in advocating for the rights of musicians and artists. Beyond her work at the union, she serves as the Head of Operations, Treasurer, and Board member of the International Artist Organization (IAO), and as a deputy member of the board of Gramex, the Finnish joint CMO of music performers and producers.