Member Article

Music Futures Conference to benefit North East music industry

Newcastle-based music development agency Generator is set to present its fourth Music Futures conference next month, providing insights into how the modern music industry is changing, as it continues to expand its influence on the music sector around the UK.

The conference will benefit the region’s attendees who will discuss recent developments in the music industry as well as gaining exposure to forward thinking ideas of how to progress in today’s current climate.

Record labels, publishers, management, live music promoters, digital platform providers, digital retailers, digital marketing and promotion companies are set to benefit from the conference.

Funded through the European Regional Development Fund, North East clients will also have the opportunity to speak to and learn from music strategists, enhancing understanding of the changes found in the music industry today.

Generator themselves currently produce robust programmes in the areas of Music Business Development, Commercial Creative Sector Development (interactive Digital Media, Film, Design), Artist development, Live Music (most significantly in supporting promoters) and in supporting and representing the music development sector.

They have been the driving force in putting the region’s music talents on the map whilst establishing themselves as one of the UK’s leading music development agencies.

Generator has been able to achieve all of this through an extensive and still expanding partnership base.

Enjoying solid and consistent national support from Arts Council England, PRS Foundation, Youth Music and Big Lottery Funds Generator has enjoyed the confidence of One North East and now Department of Communities and Local Government in being awarded finance to grow the North’s business infrastructure and economic wealth.

While Generator assists in the development of other regional organisations such as Music East, Higher Rhythm (Yorkshire), Music South West, Liverpool Sound City, The Scottish Music Industry Association and Fast Forward Northern Ireland it would not be able to do this without the assistance and indeed confidence it receives from national and international partners.

Such partners include UK Music, British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Association of Independent Music, Music Managers Forum, Music Publishers Association, National Music Council and the Musicians Union.

However, it is the partnerships with the commercial sector that underpin the agency’s credibility within the UK’s Music Industry and without the recognition and support of record labels it would not be able to exert, with confidence, the strong work it does around the UK.

The Beggars Group, Rough Trade, EMI and Universal are a few, of many, labels associated with Generator.

Chief executive of Generator, Jim Mawdsley, told Bdaily: “The music industry has changed from what we know traditionally to being more of a digitised industry.

“What we are now seeing is music driving technology, you only have to look at the influences of YouTube and the growth of the iPod to see this.

“We started out by raising awareness to people in the region of how to succeed in the industry and we were the only conference in the country to do so.

“We’re now advertising nationally and pursuing more attention. We’re responding to the changing landscape of music, growing and developing the sector’s talents and businesses across the UK as we go.”

This year’s conference will take place on Thursday 6th November, between 10am and 6pm, at the Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art, Gateshead.