Data gathered at the recent Lancashire Music and Management Forum indicates growing confidence, clarity and momentum across Preston and Lancashire’s music sector.
Held earlier this month at the University of Lancashire, the capacity Lancashire Music and Management Forum brought together music makers, students and industry professionals from across the county to explore how management, planning and collaboration can help turn creative activity into sustainable music careers.
While creativity and performance are often the most visible parts of the music industry, the forum focused on the roles and processes that sit around music-making – including management, promotion, rights, planning and collaboration – and how these functions help capture cultural and economic value locally.
The event was delivered through a collaboration between the Lancashire Music Association and Sound City, with support from Arts Council England, Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Music Hub, Arts Lancashire and the University of Lancashire. Organisers say the forum forms part of wider efforts to strengthen Lancashire’s music sector and retain more of the value generated by local talent and activity.
Management Forum on Friday 6 February
Alongside panel discussion and keynote contributions, the forum also functioned as a listening and intelligence-gathering space. Using live audience surveys and group discussion, organisers captured perspectives on confidence, understanding and perceived barriers to developing music careers in Lancashire.
The results pointed to encouraging signs. Participants showed strong agreement that understanding practical roles such as management, planning and promotion is essential to building a music career, with responses averaging 4.6 out of 5. This points to a growing recognition that sustainable music careers depend not only on talent, but on organisation, strategy and professional support.
Confidence also increased during the event. By the end of the afternoon, more than 96 per cent of respondents said they felt more confident that combining strong creative work with planning, management and effective execution could lead to a sustainable music career.
When asked what would most help strengthen Lancashire’s music ecosystem, responses highlighted the importance of joined-up support – including infrastructure, access to funding, industry knowledge and mentoring, and stronger collaboration across the county – rather than any single intervention.
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Tony Rigg, founder of the Lancashire Music Association, said the turnout reflected both the depth of creative activity in Lancashire and a growing appetite for music related careers.
“There is a huge amount of creativity here,” he said. “But sustainable music careers don’t typically happen by accident. They’re built through planning, management, collaboration and understanding how the industry works. Bringing people together to talk openly about that is an important step.”
Contributors to the forum included Will Wolstenholme (BBC Introducing Lancashire & Cumbria), music industry executive Ramin Bostan, music manager Megan Burns, Daniel Jones from PRS for Music, label manager Esme O’Keeffe and LMA Founder Tony Rigg.
Organisers say the forum revealed newly forming green shoots for Preston and Lancashire’s wider music sector. While challenges remain, the combination of strong engagement, increased confidence and clearer shared priorities suggests growing momentum and readiness for the next phase of development.
To be the first to hear about similar events join the Lancashire Music Association for free, visit the Lancashire Music Association website.
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