Popular Manchester convention ‘Beyond the Music’ has announced its return in a new venue for this autumn, running from 7-9 October. This time, the festival will be hosted at MediaCity in Salford.
The conference’s ambition, alongside music and art, will be making room for artists and musicians in the changing global culture economy, particularly significant at the current moment given the widespread boom in AI technology. Perhaps the foremost figure in the event is Greater Manchester Mayor and former Labour MP Andy Burnham. He has been announced to be hosting a special session on the uses and impacts of AI on the music world. Burnham said that the festival “is a vital opportunity for the sector to come together and address the challenges and opportunities facing music and content creation.”
The event has announced that it aims to “convene leading voices from music, media, technology and the wider creative industries for a programme designed to connect ideas, unlock collaboration and accelerate sector growth”.
Picking Manchester was no accident. Given the region’s uniquely growing economy, much of which is concentrated around the cultural sector, the festival seems to think that the North West could have certain lessons for the musical world. “Beyond The Music”, they say, “seeks to expand Manchester’s resoundingly successful year of musical development into the wider region; bringing Salford and its centenary year celebrations together with central Manchester to solidify the region’s identity as a central destination for music, creativity and content; no longer a local market but the core of a major, global shift in the digital industries.” This also exists as a means to move the cultural conversation away from London, seeing how the capital usually dominates the music industry in Britain.
However, the festival is not just high-minded discussion of policies or strategy. The festival will feature musical acts across the grassroots music venues of Salford. The lineup is yet to be confirmed publicly, but no doubt it will feature a plethora of young, up-and-coming artists.
This is the third incarnation of the festival. In the past, it was held at Aviva Studios and was attended by several corporate, political and musical leaders. Manchester Council’s leader Bev Craig, Warner Music’s Tony Harlow and rapper Aitch, originally from the area, all attended the last conference in 2024.
The festival’s co-founder, Sarah Pearson, says that “the ethical and economic foundations of the music and content industries demand urgent attention and bold reform. We have some of the most pioneering and innovative minds in the world, so when we gather – united, in one place, at one time – we have the power to venture beyond the music and help redefine the future of the creative economy. It is our responsibility to protect creativity in order to ensure it doesn’t just survive but thrives. Things may feel difficult, but they are still possible.”
