skip to main content

MU Partners with Manchester Festival Beyond The Music 2024

We are delighted to partner with Beyond The Music in Manchester. Our North of England Team will be on hand during the conference to discuss regional issues and are leading an industry panel on misogyny in music.

Published: 21 June 2024 | 10:33 AM
Fans in a music venue enjoying a concert.
By night, Beyond The Music takes over some of the grassroots venues in Manchester’s Northern Quarter for a celebration of new talent from across the world. Image credit: Shutterstock.


Beyond The Music 2024 has announced the first details of its four-day schedule, including its two-day conference lineup, showcase details, and the first wave of artists and stage partners playing across the northern quarter grassroots venues.

Bringing together leading music and content industry leaders, activists, politicians, and grassroots representatives, the second edition of Beyond The Music will take place from 9-12 October 2024.

The MU will be leading an industry panel on misogyny in music

Hosted at Aviva Studios, this year’s conference panels are organised into a series of summits on topics ranging from economics and emerging markets to the future of music and AI.

As part of these discussions, the MU will be leading an industry panel on misogyny in music in order to shine a light on one of the music industry’s biggest obstacles and identify meaningful solutions.

Regional Organiser for the North of England, Paul Reed, says “We’re excited to again be partnering with this year’s Beyond the Music conference, this time at Aviva Studios in Manchester.

"This year we’ll be exploring misogyny in music, a crucial topic for MU members and wider industry following the Government’s extremely dispiriting response to the Women and Equalities Committee Misogyny report earlier this year. We’ll be spotlighting this issue in Manchester as we continue to work with the industry to ensure safe and equitable workplaces for our members”.

The conference will also include keynote speeches, networking opportunities and ‘how-to’ sessions. Delegate passes are available to purchase on their website.

Supporting a diverse range of talent across all career levels

The festival will also include The Future of Music Village, a new showcase for music innovation and visionaries in the tech industry. With resources for people of all experience levels, the showcase will bring the best in the business together in a fully interactive convention style sharing of expertise.

By night, Beyond The Music takes over some of the grassroots venues in Manchester’s Northern Quarter for a celebration of new talent from across the world and across genres.

This year, the festival has announced its support of Chai Wallahs’ ‘Drop A Headliner’ campaign. By renouncing the traditional festival format, it instead turns its focus to supporting talent from across all levels and nurturing up and coming artists.

This year, Beyond The Music’s stage partners include the likes of BBC Introducing, NQ, Manchester Pride, Nice Swan, Clash, and The South Asian Music Summit. You can buy festival tickets on the festival website.

New artists can apply to perform at Beyond the Music 2024

The festival is also looking for emerging artists to perform at the 2024 edition, issuing an open call to artists breaking down more barriers and investing in accessibility.

Artists and bands of all genres are welcome to apply to play in front of new fans and global industry professionals alike.

Apply on Beyond the Music’s website to be in with a chance of performing. Submissions close on 30th June.

Apply now

Find a Fair Play Venue

Whether you’re planning a tour or looking for venues in your area, musicians can find places to play where you can be certain of getting a fair deal.

Browse Fair Play Venues

Fair Play Venues can be identified by the sticker displayed on the premises and can be found on our Fair Play Venue listing.

Find out more about the Fair Play Scheme and how to nominate a venue.

Find a Fair Play Venue

Continue reading

Craig Charles, Richard Kemp CBE, Chris Amoo and Dave Smith, along with their family, on stage at the Awards evening.  The audience are giving a standing ovation.

The Real Thing Honoured: A Celebration in Liverpool

Chris Amoo, longstanding MU Member and one of the founders of seminal Liverpool four piece The Real Thing, has received a major honour inside Black History Month. The MU would like to extend its congratulations to Chris, his bandmates and family on this long overdue accolade.

Published: 17 October 2024

Read more about The Real Thing Honoured: A Celebration in Liverpool