The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) is the UK's professional body for musicians, a subject association for music education and is an independent non profit-making organisation. The ISM was set up in 1882 to promote the importance of music and protect the rights of those working within music. It is an independent, not-for-profit membership organisation which has almost 11,000 individual members and over 180 corporate members. It protects and supports its members by providing them with expert advice, insurance and specialist services as well as access to a community of like-minded professionals and the status that comes with being a member of a professional body.