Have your say on Greater Manchester’s music scene

Musicians who live, work or play in Greater Manchester and people working within the music industry can submit their recommendations to help shape and enhance music in the city-region. The consultation, launched today (August 22), will run for four weeks and will feed into the wider review led by UK Music.

UK Music will be supported by three chairs: Karen Boardman, Ged Doherty and Martyn Walsh and together they will explore how we can best support the sector, ensuring that artists are supported to develop sustainable careers, focusing on three key areas;

• Education and talent development: Seeing what opportunities are available for musicians of all ages, to learn and develop in Greater Manchester, and where the gaps in support are.
• Industry: Looking at how feasible is it to sustain a career as a musician in Greater Manchester and how developments in the industry have affected musicians. The review will also look at what can be done to strengthen the links between industry partners nationally and internationally.
• Live: A focus on what the main challenges are facing music venues in Greater Manchester and what experiences musicians and those involved with the industry have of playing in venues and festivals in the city-region. The review will also look at how we might improve both audience and musician experiences at venues and festivals in Greater Manchester.

Responses from this survey, and others that are set to launch in the coming months, will form part of a report which will make a number of recommendations on how best to strengthen the Greater Manchester music scene.

UK Music CEO, Michael Dugher said: “The review will help identify ideas to widen opportunities and develop the talent pipeline across the city-region, building on its formidable music heritage and to lure even more visitors to live music events in and around Manchester.

“It’s not just about the city centre, it’s about every corner of the greater city-region.”

The report, set to launch early next year, will also look at how we can build on city-region’s incredible music heritage and how we can best support musicians of all cultures and backgrounds to help grow the city’s economy.

Councillor Linda Thomas, Leader of Bolton Council and Greater Manchester Portfolio lead for Culture said: “Music is such a big part of people’s lives in Greater Manchester, from learning and performing in our schools, to enjoying our rich and diverse music scene.

“Properly understanding the experiences of musicians living and playing in Greater Manchester will help us understand what we need to do to make Greater Manchester one of the best places in the world to learn, create and enjoy music.” 

Have your say and for more information on the review read our news article.