With several of our writers having been part of our city’s previous music industry festival, In The City, which ran from 1992 – 2010, we were overjoyed when Beyond The Music picked up the baton and created what the music industry, and Manchester’s music scene has been missing – a festival devoted to honest discussions, educational talks about the music industry and music scene in general, matched with three nights of mind meltingly brilliant gigs from over 200 bands across the city (curated by some of the music industry’s most respected names, including SXSW, MTV, Clash, South Asian Music Network, BBC Introducing, Classical Unlocked and Manchester Pride).
Now in its second year, founded by promoter and social enterprise founder Oli Wilson, Sarah Pearson (Founder of Wasted Youth Music) and Rose Marley (CEO, Co-operatives UK), Beyond The Music 2024 was host to Lisa Nandy MP (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) delivering the Tony Wilson Keynote Speech on the music industry and its place in UK culture with her stating “From pop, dance, acid, house, Madchester and Cool Britannia, Greater Manchester’s music scene is beyond definition. The city of Joy Division, New Order, The Happy Mondays, Oasis and my personal favourite Take That. We want to create an ecosystem that can nurture talent from quality music education, to the grassroots venues where people like The Verve from Wigan were able to hone their skills. We will be a government that walks alongside you to create an environment that opens up those opportunities, that grows audiences and allows you all to share British music with the world.”
Let’s hope that rings true, as elsewhere in the Beyond The Music panels, there was an essential discussion on grassroots venues, and the sad fact that too many of them are closing their doors for good, leaving fewer and fewer places for up and coming bans to hone their skills as a live act. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham added his weight to the grassroots debate, as he stated in his speech at the event “This industry is at the heart of our cultural heritage, but also our future. We need to do all we can do to support the next generation of talent and create more opportunities for young people, and I will be backing Beyond the Music in that cause.”
Elsewhere there were discussions on Emerging Markets for music, with key innovators Laurence Oxenbury, Sarah Williams, Nazlı Yırtar, Spek, Takuya Yamazaki, Carina Grace, David Pichilingi and moderator Murray Stassen revealing how emerging markets across Asia, Africa and Latin America are revolutionising the industry. Manchester’s own Aitch joined Apple Music’s Dotty in conversation, dealing with his experiences of getting into the music industry from a Northern perspective and the unique challenges and opportunities that Northern artists encounter. “No one is having label meetings here, when you come from here the goal is to get to London,” Aitch stated. “If you grew up in London your goal is to smash America, but if you grew up here you want to smash London and show that lot what’s what.”
Other panels across the festival focused on the harsh realities which some have encountered with ‘Misogyny In Music: The Truth’ giving the stage to those who want to share their experiences, gathering experts to discuss and shape the brand new voluntary regulation. The indies vs majors record label debate never goes away, and this year NQ’s Michael Adex went head to head with Warner Music UK’s Tony Harlow, discussing the differences between an independent label versus a major, the role of labels in an artist’s career, and the ever evolving landscape of music discovery.
Oli Wilson revealed that over 3,000 bands had applied to play at the event this year, and with over 200 bands playing across various venues over three nights, in was hard to keep up. Silent Radio’s Bryn Evans did his best and has highlighted his personal favourite (see separate live review here (Beyond The Music Live Review: Off The Square)
Beyond The Music 2024 was a much needed event, for not only showcasing some of the best up and coming artists around, but also opening up the much needed channels of discussion around the current state of the music industry, what we can do to make it better, and how we all need to play our part in keeping grassroots venues and the music it nurtures alive. Whether you’re a musician, already involved in the music industry, someone involved in the music industry as a hobby or on a voluntary basis, or merely a music fan, Beyond The Music is an essential event to attend. Can’t wait to see how much progress is made in between now and next year, and also what the Beyond The Music team invite us all to debate and enjoy at Beyond The Music 2025!
Photo Credit: Gracie Hall
