Un-Convention(al) Success!

StreamGM broadcasted the UK’s first in-person music conference since Un-Convention the beginning of the pandemic, with guest speakers Frank Turner, Mr Scruff and The Mayor of Greater Manchester and band members from Radiohead, Happy Mondays and Mogwai.

 Over 150 professionals from the independent music sector convened in Manchester last week at O2 The Ritz for the first in-person music conference in the UK since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, with a further 5500 people from across 5 continents joining our live stream of the event.

 In a poignant moment, hoardings covering the entrance to the city’s O2 Ritz were removed for the first time in 16 months as artists, managers, labels, promoters, festival and venue owners from across the country gathered to discuss the current state of the industry.

 The mood of the conference was overwhelmingly positive as speakers and delegates reconnected face-to-face to discuss how the industry can begin to rebuild, however there was also significant reflection on how various sectors have fared during the current crisis.

 The two-day conference began with insights from Paul Reed (Association of Independent Festivals), Beverley Whitrick (Music Venue Trust), Annabella Coldrick (Music Managers Forum) and Lucie Caswell (Music Publishers Association) on the impact of the pandemic and the current challenges faced by organisations and industry professionals.

 A theme here, and indeed throughout was the frustration of many that music and culture was deemed to be a low priority for the government. Despite the economic prosperity of the sector, and the fact that the UK is one of only three net exporters of music in the world, a lack of progress on agreements with the EU in relation to the movement of artists and crew was highlighted as a particular issue. Although it was acknowledged that Covid Recovery Funding has been of huge significance to some areas of the industry, as the AIF’s Paul Reed summed up, there is a feeling that the government have been doing something of a ‘victory lap’ ever since its announcement, and that in reality many critical issues are nowhere near to being resolved. Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite expanded on this by giving insight to some of the current confusion and uncertainty many artists and their teams face as live shows in Europe start to appear on the horizon.

 Insurance for festivals was another key talking point in relation to a lack of government intervention. In fact. slow progress in many areas prompted the Music Publishers Association’s Lucie Caswell to call for the industry to have more direct conversations with a broader range of government departments, including the Treasury and Department of Education to try and make a better case for industry support during this critical time.

 Greater Manchester’s Mayor, Andy Burnham, echoed criticism of the government’s handling of Brexit in regard to the movement of artists. He also acknowledged the unique challenges the sector has faced over lockdowns and went on to pledge support for the local industry as venues and other organisations start to rebuild. The mayor also received a rousing response from delegates when admitting that he had been missing live music more than going to football matches over the last year.

 Another symbolic moment at the event saw Frank Turner perform on the O2 Ritz stage, the first live music in the venue for nearly 16 months. He went on to discuss his own experience during lockdown, and in particular the mental health challenges faced by artists and their crew. This was a theme explored by a number of the musicians speaking during the event, perhaps none more candidly than the Happy Monday’s Rowetta who spoke frankly about the financial challenges she and many artists have faced.

 Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien shared his perspective on the subject and also went on to articulate the current discussion around the Broken Record campaign, and the need to redress the balance of how recorded music income is distributed between artists and labels. David Martin, CEO of the Featured Artists Coalition reinforced this point, and was optimistic that this was an area where progress was being made.

 Elsewhere in the programme representatives from organisations such as Driift and Red Light Management discussed topics ranging from the future of streaming to NFTs, whilst Andy Carthy, better known by his stage name Mr Scruff, highlighted the huge discrepancies in fees between artists at the upper end and the lower end of live bills, and suggested that more transparency and positive action by established artists on this issue could help move things toward a more equitable industry.

 Strategic Director of the Music Venue Trust, Beverley Whitrick laid bare the financial challenges grassroots venues continue to face, as the sector prepares for full reopening, whilst Annabella Coldrick from the Music Managers Forum explored the struggles artist managers have been dealing with over the last year and half, where again the wellbeing of artists and those working with them was a key talking point.

 Looking forward, SJM’s Conrad Murray encapsulated the mood of the whole event, explaining that he and his artists were now moving forward with ‘cautious optimism’, booking tours both domestically and international with the intention that they will go ahead.

It was apparent throughout the conference that the current crisis has had a fundamental impact on every corner of the industry, and yet there was a prevailing sense of positivity across the two days. Speakers were also unified in the view that the pandemic had generated a greater sense of camaraderie in the industry, and that communication and co-operation across various sectors, and at all levels, was much improved.

Co-founder of Un-Convention, Jeff Thompson added “We’re delighted that we were able to go ahead with the conference and bring so many people together in Manchester, at what we consider to be such a pivotal point for the sector.

“Working with StreamGM we had 29 partners across 15 countries helping us to reach people all around the world. During the event we were receiving messages from people in Norwich and Stoke-on-Trent through to Amsterdam and Monrovia in Liberia. I think that’s a perfect example of how the industry has adapted in the last year and it’s exciting to see how we can take these lessons forward as things open up further.”

To watch day one back please click here, and for day two please click here!