Manchester Music Conference: Beyond The Music
Beyond The Music, the multi-venue music festival and conference, will return to Manchester in the autumn. Following last year’s debut event, it’ll be back at grassroots venues all across the city, as well as bringing in Aviva Studios as a new addition to the festival program. It kicks off on October 9 for three days of events, taking in the likes of Night and Day Cafe, Band On The Wall, The Castle Hotel, Gullivers, 33 Oldham Street, Disorder, Off The Square, AATMA, Soup Kitchen, Matt & Phreds and the Peer Hat.
Beyond The Music is also putting out an open call for artists to perform, and is taking applications now. https://beyondthemusic.co.uk/new-artists/
Meanwhile, the conference events will all happen at Aviva Studios, home of Factory, taking in a breadth of issues facing the music industry. Panels will be held on International AI and Ethics, misogyny and mental health, environment and community, through to grassroots and the future of music. Aviva Studios and Factory will also host the inaugural Beyond The Music Artist Village, as well as pop-ups and launch events.
Early bird delegate passes, covering entry to both the conference and music festival, have gone on sale today at a discounted price of £160, reduced to £140 for Manchester independent businesses/residents. Tickets for the music festival only are available now too for an early bird discount of £45 for the full three days, £20 for a single day or £10 for a single venue per day.
Beyond the Music, a new musical festival and conference in Manchester. The showcase event is describing itself as the world’s first “change-making” festival, with a strong social and ethical focus. It looks set to be a spiritual successor to the In the City event that ran around the same time of year up until 2010, and was set up by legendary music mogul Tony Wilson; his son, Oli, is behind Beyond the Music. Oli says… “It’s a pivotal time in the history of the music industry and for Manchester, so it’s only right the two are coming together again to decide what the future is going to look like.Building on our civic traditions of innovation and cooperation we are creating a forum for the music industry to shape its future in the new cultural economy, and delivering a new music festival that will realign Manchester as the global capital of music.I am so excited to let you know that an international music conference and new music festival will be launching in Manchester… BEYOND THE MUSIC…Three days when international artists, industry leaders, innovators and pioneers will converge to debate the key issues our industry (and our City) now face. This is a chance for Manchester to say how it really is – and forge new ways forward – ahead of the global conference. I hope you can join us x“
The festival announced 60 names as part of its 1st artist drop, with the likes of Walt Disco, July Jones, [K S R], Tokky Horror, Human Interest, L’Objectif and Tayo Sound all set to play Manchester as part of the event. Additionally, the festival have revealed that industry heavyweights like SXSW, NQ Legacy, Nice Swan Records and School Night will host their own showcases around the Northern Quarter, at iconic Manchester venues including Night & Day Café, Band on the Wall, Gullivers and The Castle Hotel.
The festival has a Discovered programme, which places emphasis on new acts, particularly those who may find traditional routes into the music industry closed off to them. As part of this strand, punk upstarts Loose Articles play as part of ‘Kick Like a Girl’, a lineup of all-female musicians that they’ll curate themselves. “As a band we aim to showcase female identifying and non-binary talent as much as possible,” the group said in a statement. “Recent news articles have stated that women are seen as too much of a “risk” for headline festival slots, with statistics showing if you count the total number of performers on stage during headline slots, only one in 10 (11%) are women and even less (2% are non-binary people),” they went on. “We need to change the attitudes towards female identifying and non-binary musicians and this starts with support from conferences such as Beyond the Music who have given us a platform to do this. We aim to showcase as many talented musicians as we can to highlight this issue in the hope that this will start to effect change in the way festivals are booked.”
Beyond The Music launched at SXSW, with the team hosting a special concert at The Moody Theatre in Austin, Texas on March 13th. The Orielles and Loose Articles were on the bill, topped by Factory Records icons New Order. “Whether it has been with technology or creating new business models within the industry, from the very beginning of their career as Joy Division, New Order have always led the curve. Now in 2023 we are proud to have New Order as our first artists ambassadors, as they embody the spirit of Manchester and share the same commitment to innovation as Beyond The Music”.
New Order comment… “We’re supporting Beyond The Music to help change and innovation in the music industry, particularly in mental health which is something close to our hearts. Manchester is a place where this can happen, our home and the city of revolution, and we’re looking forward to the launch of Beyond The Music with a live show at SXSW and being a part of this positive movement for the music industry.”
“We are going West to SXSW! It feels surreal, and being asked to support the best band of our lifetime, Manchester legends New Order, is a pinch me moment for all of us. Plus, we get to share this experience with the amazing Orielles, making this experience even more special.” – Loose Articles
“We’re delighted and honoured to be supporting such an acclaimed and influential band as New Order at SXSW. We will be proudly representing Manchester’s new generation of music makers, with the same pioneering and Avant Garde spirit. See you in Austin!” – The Orielles