Wenham Taxed By Royal Award

It took a little time before Association of Independent Music chairman and chief exec Alison Wenham realised she’d been awarded an OBE because she first thought the letter informing her of the honour had come from the tax authority.

“I suppose because it had OHMS [On Her Majesty’s Service] written on the front I just thought ‘Oh, what have I done this time,’” she told Pollstar, confessing that filling in official forms isn’t among her favourite pastimes.

“It didn’t compute for such a long time. I must have stood there for ages before I suddenly thought ‘OK.’ I don’t know how long it had taken to sink in, partly because the of the language used in these sorts of letters and partly because I was expecting to read about something else – like a form that I’d filled in incorrectly.”

Wenham, who heads AIM, was awarded the OBE in The Queen’s birthday honours list.

Later this year The Queen will present her with the award, which is for services to the creative industries, at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.