Un-Convention

Un-Convention The next Un-Convention Manchester music conference and showcase takes place on the 22nd and 23rd October 2026.

We are delighted to announce more speakers for next month’s Un-Convention music conference in Manchester.Bella Union co-...
10/09/2026

We are delighted to announce more speakers for next month’s Un-Convention music conference in Manchester.

Bella Union co-founder and Managing Director Simon Raymonde will be joining this year’s record label panel, along with Dirty Hit ‘s Cherish Kaya; Rhian Emanuel, Managing Director of Because Music UK and Ollie Hodge, ex-Columbia and Polydor A&R, who now runs independent label Some Action

Sugababes co-manager Matt Johnson joins our management panel led by the Music Managers Forum ‘s Annabella Coldrick, which also features Ali Raymond, who has overseen the career of Arlo Parks as well as Getdown Services manager Alice Boeglin.

Goc O’Callaghan, co-founder and director of ArcTanGent alongside Kevin Moore, festival director of Y Not Festival ⚡ and Dougie Brown, festival producer of Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival will be joining the The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) ‘s John Rostron to look at best practice in the UK festival sector, whilst Music Ally ‘s Joe Sparrow and Complete Music Update ‘s Chris Cooke will be leading us through the latest developments in AI.

We’ll once again be looking at the development of regional music scenes, with insight from Leicester’s Dr Yasin El Ashrafi BEM, founder of HQ Familia; Jamell Ackford, director of culture at Trinity Bristol; Rachael McEntee, who runs the Snug in Atherton, the first venue purchase by Music Venue Properties; and Jez Collins, founder and director of the Birmingham Music Archive.

They join our already announced speakers including Blur’s Dave Rowntree, Tom Kiehl, CEO of UK Music, Bev Whitrick, COO of Music Venue Trust, Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE, David Martin, CEO of the Featured Artist Coalition, and many more.

We look forward to announcing the full programme, including sessions on everything from songwriting to touring, in the coming weeks.

We already have hundreds of people who create and champion music in towns and cities across the UK coming together for this year’s event. If you would like to join us in Manchester on the 22nd and 23rd of October, then full passes are currently available for £50 from the link in our bio.

We are delighted to announce more speakers for next month's Un-Convention music conference in Manchester.Bella Union's c...
10/09/2026

We are delighted to announce more speakers for next month's Un-Convention music conference in Manchester.

Bella Union's co-founder and Managing Director Simon Raymonde will be joining this year's record label panel, along with Dirty Hit's Cherish Kaya; Rhian Emanuel, Managing Director of Because Music UK; and Ollie Hodge, ex-Columbia and Polydor A&R, who now runs independent label Some Action.

Sugababes' co-manager Matt Johnson joins our management panel led by the MMF (Music Managers Forum UK) Annabella Coldrick, which also features Ali Raymond, who has overseen the career of Arlo Parks, as well as Getdown Services manager Alice Boeglin.

Goc O'Callaghan, co-founder and director of ArcTanGent, alongside Kevin Moore, festival director of Y Not Festival, and Dougie Brown, festival producer of Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, will be joining the AIF's John Rostron to look at best practice in the UK festival sector, whilst Music Ally's Joe Sparrow and CMU's Chris Cooke will be leading us through the latest developments in AI.

We'll once again be looking at the development of regional music scenes, with insight from Leicester's Dr Yasin El Ashrafi BEM, founder of HQ Familia; Jamell Ackford, director of culture at Trinity Bristol; Rachael McEntee, who runs the Snug in Atherton, the first venue purchase by Music Venue Properties; and Jez Collins, founder and director of the Birmingham Music Archive.

They join our already announced speakers including Blur's Dave Rowntree, Tom Kiehl, CEO of UK Music, Bev Whitrick, COO of Music Venue Trust, Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE, David Martin, CEO of the Featured Artist Coalition, and many more.

We look forward to announcing the full programme, including sessions on everything from songwriting to touring, in the coming weeks.

We already have hundreds of people who create and champion music in towns and cities across the UK coming together for this year's event. If you would like to join us in Manchester on the 22nd and 23rd of October, then full passes are currently available for £50 from our website.

SHOWCASE ANNOUNCEMENTWe are delighted to announce the line-up for our Thursday evening showcase at the Night and Day Caf...
08/09/2026

SHOWCASE ANNOUNCEMENT

We are delighted to announce the line-up for our Thursday evening showcase at the Night and Day Cafe as part of this year’s Un-Convention.

Over the last eighteen years we’ve been proud to provide a platform for some of the most exciting, innovative, and boundary-pushing artists from across the UK, and this year it is a real pleasure to bring together Cooper T, congratulations and Voka Gentle for what promises to be a stunning evening of live music.

Manchester’s mesmerising Cooper T are joining us off the back of the release of their brilliant new single ‘DISCO’, whilst Bella Union’s Congratulations, who’ve been turning heads at prestigious events including The Great Escape and SXSW, will be making the trip up from Brighton. Voka Gentle complete the line-up, returning to the city following a busy year which has seen the release of their third album ‘Domestic Bliss’ as well as festival performances and shows alongside the likes of FEET and GANS.

Un-Convention full pass holders have access to the show, and standalone tickets are available at £14 from the link in the comments.

Two weeks today we’ll be at The Blues Kitchen for the September edition of the Manchester Music Scene Social. We already...
02/09/2026

Two weeks today we’ll be at The Blues Kitchen for the September edition of the Manchester Music Scene Social. We already have hundreds of people from across the local scene signed up to join us, so if you’re involved in music in Manchester, or the surrounding areas, then we hope you can join us from 7pm on Wednesday the 16th of September. It’s just a case of registering for free via the link in our bio.

A community, not just a conference.Two months from now we’ll once again bring together hundreds of artists, managers, la...
21/08/2026

A community, not just a conference.

Two months from now we’ll once again bring together hundreds of artists, managers, labels, festivals, promoters, and venue operators from across the UK for our 116th Un-Convention.

Over the last 18 years we’ve been fortunate enough to build a vibrant community of creatives and industry pioneers, people helping to shape the sector and make it more prosperous, accessible, and equitable. We’re proud to have created a space that’s been a catalyst for so many new ideas and networks. As much as the conversations on the stage matter, the real value lies in the ones that happen in between.

If you create or champion independent music, we hope you can join us in Manchester on the 22nd and 23rd of October.

A community, not just a conference.Two months from now we'll once again bring together hundreds of artists, managers, la...
21/08/2026

A community, not just a conference.

Two months from now we'll once again bring together hundreds of artists, managers, labels, festivals, promoters, and venue operators from across the UK for our 116th Un-Convention.

Over the last 18 years we've been fortunate enough to build a vibrant community of creatives and industry pioneers, people helping to shape the sector and make it more prosperous, accessible, and equitable. We're proud to have created a space that's been a catalyst for so many new ideas and networks. As much as the conversations on the stage matter, the real value lies in the ones that happen in between.

If you create or champion independent music, we hope you can join us in Manchester on the 22nd and 23rd of October.

We are delighted to announce that the next edition of the Manchester Music Scene Social will be held at The Blues Kitche...
12/08/2026

We are delighted to announce that the next edition of the Manchester Music Scene Social will be held at The Blues Kitchen Manchester on Quay Street from 7pm on Wednesday 16th September.
 
As always, the event is free to attend and looks to bring together artists, managers, labels, promoters, venues, festivals, journalists, PRs, crew, photographers, bloggers, DJs, studios, graphic designers, publishers, sound engineers, tour managers and anyone involved with the scene in Manchester and surrounding areas.
 
If you’re involved in music in the city or surrounding areas, then we hope you can make it along. You can register for your free place via the link in the Manchester Music Scene Social bio.

Three months to go until this year’s Un-Convention in Manchester, and we’re delighted to announce more fantastic speaker...
30/07/2026

Three months to go until this year’s Un-Convention in Manchester, and we’re delighted to announce more fantastic speakers who will be taking part in October’s event.

Blur’s Dave Rowntree and Alice Boeglin who has overseen the meteoric rise of Getdown Services, will be joining the Music Venue Trust ‘s Chief Operating Officer Bev Whitrick, Paul Reed and Kelly Wood from Musicians' Union and more - alongside already announced speakers from the likes of UK MUSIC Music Managers Forum The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and LIVE

Half of the places have already gone for this year’s conference, with artists, managers, labels, promoters, venue operators and festival organisers coming together from across the UK.

For the last 18 years, Un-Convention has been convening key voices and innovators from across the music sector to look at current challenges and opportunities, and to explore new ways of making a fairer, more accessible and equitable industry. This year’s programme will cover current management and release strategies, developing regional scenes, live promotion and touring, the festival market, music as a tool for social change, the artists’ view and more.

We look forward to announcing another wave of brilliant speakers soon, along with the artists showcasing at this year’s event.

We also recognise that it continues to be a challenging time for many people creating and working in music, so for the moment we’ve kept full event passes at the Early Bird price of £50.00 including booking fee, available from the link in our bio.

This year’s conference takes place at Band on the Wall in Manchester on the 22nd and 23rd of October.

Three months to go until this year's Un-Convention in Manchester, and we're delighted to announce more fantastic speaker...
30/07/2026

Three months to go until this year's Un-Convention in Manchester, and we're delighted to announce more fantastic speakers who will be taking part in October's event.

Blur's Dave Rowntree and Alice Boeglin, who has overseen the meteoric rise of Getdown Services, will be joining the Music Venue Trust's Chief Operating Officer Bev Whitrick, Paul Reed and Kelly Wood from the Musicians' Union, and more - alongside already announced speakers from the likes of UK Music, the MMF (Music Managers Forum UK), Association of Independent Festivals, Featured Artist Coalition and Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment.

Half of the places have already gone for this year's conference, with artists, managers, labels, promoters, venue operators and festival organisers coming together from across the UK.

For the last 18 years, Un-Convention has been convening key voices and innovators from across the music sector to look at current challenges and opportunities, and to explore new ways of making a fairer, more accessible and equitable industry. This year's programme will cover current management and release strategies, developing regional scenes, live promotion and touring, the festival market, music as a tool for social change, the artists' view and more.

We look forward to announcing another wave of brilliant speakers soon, along with the artists showcasing at this year's event.

We also recognise that it continues to be a challenging time for many people creating and working in music, so for the moment we've kept full event passes at the Early Bird price of £50.00 including booking fee, available from the link in the comments.

This year's conference takes place at Band on the Wall in Manchester on the 22nd and 23rd of October.

We are delighted to have a host of key industry organisations joining us for this October’s Un-Convention in Manchester....
06/07/2026

We are delighted to have a host of key industry organisations joining us for this October’s Un-Convention in Manchester.

Working at the cutting edge of shaping and supporting the future of music, UK MUSIC  Music Venue Trust The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) Musicians' Union Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Music Managers Forum will be sharing their insights into where things currently stand, and looking at how we can work together to ensure a fairer, more equitable and prosperous music industry going forward.

We also have a fantastic array of artists, labels, festivals, managers, promoters and more lined up to join them, and will be announcing details of those soon.

As always, if you make, champion, release, support or promote music then it would be wonderful if you could join us at this year’s Un-Convention, taking place in Manchester’s Northern Quarter on the 22nd and 23rd October. A limited number of early bird tickets are available via the link in our bio.

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