Independent Venue Week 2022 27 Oct 2021
"We grew up in a place where we had no music venues at all and after living in Bristol and London, it's been incredible to experience what it's like to be a part of a scene; to feel that sense of community that you can pin point geographically to a place, to a venue, I think is quite important and quite special particularly for emerging bands and artists.
The Director of Music at Arts Council England, Dr Claire Mera-Nelson, said:
Independent Venue Week, again is gratefully funded by a longstanding partnership with Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council Wales, See Tickets,and loadin.com (plus more support to follow). See Tickets are the official ticketing partner for IVW 2022 championing independent venues across the UK.
"See tickets are once again proud to support IVW into 2022 and accordingly the acts, promoters, agents and managers that combine to place some fantastic emerging talent onto the stages of some incredible venues in the UK."
NEWS & PRESS
Ministry of Sound Undergoes Huge Renovation Ahead of 35th Anniversary Year
A new KV2 sound system, multi-dimensional light installation, and a fully redesigned dancefloor and DJ booth will be completed in January Ministry of Sound is set to undergo the most significant transformation since it opened in 1991. A complete reimagining of sound, space...more
Nightlife Bosses Push Back: ‘It’s Not Just Pubs Under Threat’ Says NTIA
Sector anger grows as government rhetoric suggests only pubs may receive business rates relief in today's media leak Nightlife operators and cultural venue owners have pushed back against government and media suggestions that only pubs will benefit from upcoming business rates reductions. Industry...more
Independent Venue Week 2026: January 26th - February 1st
IVW Artist Ambassadors’ Nova Twins, Brògeal and Eve Goodman announce exclusive live shows to celebrate the importance of independent venues Nova Twins play a hometown gig at London’s Amersham Arms on January 27th Brògeal perform two Scottish shows across the week at...more
Bank on it: FreshTunes Expands Payment Options for Artists
FreshTunes, the label services platform for artists everywhere, is rolling out a new option for royalty payments worldwide. Starting in Q1 2026, artists anywhere in the world will be able to receive their payouts directly to their Visa or Mastercard...more
The European Festival Report 2025: Festivals Still Thriving Despite Rising Production Costs and Boycott Pressure
The European Festival Report is the essential annual guide to the continent’s popular music festival industry, offering insights into current challenges, priorities for 2025, and developments in health, safety, and sustainability. Published by IQ Magazine in partnership with YOUROPE, the...more
Introducing Apple Music Integration for AlphaTheta’s CDJ-3000X
Apple Music has announced an update enabling Apple Music integration with AlphaTheta’s next-generation multi-player, the CDJ-3000X.With this update, the CDJ-3000X and its new StreamingDirectPlay feature give Apple Music subscribers access to over 100 million songs on Apple Music and the latest playlists on...more
ESNS The Key Exchange for Emerging New Music Is Gearing Up for Its 40th Edition
ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), the key exchange for emerging European music talent is gearing up for its 40th edition, which will take place from 14th to 17th January 2026. The event has proven essential in breaking new acts into live music...more
SourceAudio Announces Long-Term AI Dataset Licensing Partnership with Native Instruments
Fully cleared audio dataset will advance next-generation creative tools for musicians SourceAudio, the music industry's most widely adopted sync platform and leading music-rights platform for large-scale AI dataset licensing, today announced a new long-term partnership with Native Instruments, a global leader in...more
NTIA calls for transport investment alongside proposed drink drive limit changes
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, said: “Road safety has to come first, and the night-time economy absolutely supports efforts to reduce harm and save lives. No venue, operator or community wants to see people injured or killed...more
Streamed and retail entertainment sales grew four times faster than UK economy in 2025
Music, video and games revenues up 7.1% to £13.3bn Streaming services and retailers grew UK revenues from music, video and games by 7.1% in 2025 to a new all-time-record of £13,257.3m, according to interim annual figures published today (January 7) by...more
Save the date: Record Store Day - 18 April 2026
Celebrating 19 years of independent record shops and vinyl culture in the UK Record Store Day (RSD) returns on Saturday 18 April 2026 for its 19th edition, celebrating independent record shops and the people who support them. More than 280 UK...more
Soundstripe and PopArabia Launch First Sync Camp in Middle East
Soundstripe, the premier music licensing platform, is collaborating with Abu Dhabi-based independent music company PopArabia to create a series of songwriting camps for MENA based artists and songwriters. The first camp, Soundstripe’s first outside of the US, took place this October in...more
Universal Music Group to transform music experience for billions of fans with Nvidia AI
Leveraging NVIDIA AI infrastructure and drawing from the world’s leading music catalog comprising millions of culture-defining tracks, this collaboration aims to pioneer responsible AI for music discovery, creation, and engagement Universal Music Group (EURONEXT: UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, announced...more
Universal Music Group appoints James Steven as EVP & Chief Communications Officer
Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced the appointment of James Steven as its Executive Vice President & Chief Communications Officer. Steven will be responsible for leading the company’s internal and external communications, and oversee the communications...more
Warner Chappell Music strikes global publishing deal with Ziggy Alberts
Today, Warner Chappell Music expands its global roster with the signing of Australian singer-songwriter Ziggy Alberts to a worldwide publishing deal. Signed through Warner Chappell Music Australia, the agreement will encompass Alberts’ complete catalogue and future works, with a close collaborative partnership alongside Warner Chappell Music Nashville to support...more
IRMA announcement of Ireland’s recorded music consumption data for 2025: “Homegrown talent surges in popularity, propelling another year of solid growth for Ireland’s recorded music market”
Homegrown talent surges in popularity, propelling another year of solid growth for Ireland's recorded music market Releases from Fontaines DC, CMAT, Kingfishr, Amble, Hozier & Jazzy helped grow the Irish singles market by 7% and albums by 12% in 2025. Irish artists' market share...more
Italian annual official music charts 2025 celebrates Italian leadership
YOUNG ACT OLLY DOMINATES ALBUMS AND SINGLES, RAPPER CAPAREZZA TOPS THE PHYSICAL CHART Consumption, records and trends in the Italian music market in 2025 ALL THE CHARTS HERE The soundtrack of 2025 in Italy is strongly dominated by local music: it’s the result...more
Superstition is crowned ‘Your Ultimate Stevie Wonder Song’ by BBC Radio 2 listeners
BBC Radio 2 listeners have crowned Superstition as their ‘Ultimate Stevie Wonder Song’, following an audience vote from a long list of his 60 most played solo tracks on the station. The song, taken from Stevie’s 15th studio album Talking Book, was a hit...more
Christmas break 2025 - News
News from the break will appeared here from 20 December to 4 January.Most stories have now been moved to the 5 January daily email. ————————————————————NEWS Kylie Minogue scooped the festive No1 single, beating Wham! to the top spot. (Mail, Sun) The vibrant pulse...more
New wave of global British breakthrough talent helps UK recorded music grow for 11th consecutive year
UK recorded music consumption rises to 210 million albums, with over 200 billion audio streams generated for the first time and vinyl sales rising for an 18th consecutive year to keep physical formats in growth. British breakthrough artists including Olivia Dean, Lola...more
New Year's Honours list
OBEPhil Patterson, for services to Export and to the Music Industry. Karen Emanuel. Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Key Production Group, for services to Music. CBEComposer Max Richter, for services to Music. MBESinger Ellie Goulding, for services to biodiversity and the climate. Cynthia Erivo,...more
Karen Emanuel, Founder and CEO of Key Production Group, Awarded an OBE for Services to Music
Karen Emanuel named in The King’s 2025 New Year’s Honours List, announced today Karen set up Key Production in 1990 - now the biggest physical music manufacturing agency in Europe, servicing the music industry A significant figure in improving gender imbalances within...more
Universal Music Group and Roblox announce strategic agreement to expand creative and commercial music experiences on the platform for artists, labels and fans
Roblox will collaborate with UMG to introduce industry-leading integrations on the platform to music fans and Roblox users globally Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment and Roblox, an immersive gaming and creation platform, today announced a new strategic agreement...more
6 exceptional collaborative new music projects supported to tour across the UK and Republic of Ireland through PRS Foundation's Beyond Borders
PRS Foundation, together with Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Arts Council of Ireland announce the UK and Ireland-based organisations, music groups and composers that will receive funding through the co-commissioning and touring programme Beyond Borders. The...more
PRS for Music and IPRS announce groundbreaking new licensing model to launch Apple Fitness+ in India
PRS for Music and the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) have today announced a landmark new licensing model to support the launch of Apple Fitness+ in India. The new initiative marks a significant step forward in how digital music rights are...more
North East Music Leader Named On Influential Government Creative Council
Generator CEO will sit among leading figures from film, TV, design and other creative sectors to champion regional music industry The leader of a North East headquartered music development organisation has been named on an influential Government-led body charged with developing...more
‘The Numbers No Longer Add Up’: Half of Night Time Venues Face 50%+ Business Rate Rises as 2026 Operating Costs Become Unsustainable
Britain’s nightclubs, live music venues, and late-night entertainment spaces are warning that 2026 will bring unsustainable operating costs, with nearly half of venues expecting business rates to rise by 50% or more, according to a flash poll of 345 nightlife business operators. Rising rates...more
Universal Music Group and Splice to Collaborate on the Next Generation of AI-powered Music Creation Tools for Artists
Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, and Splice, the world's most popular music creation platform, have agreed to collaborate on joint exploration of the next generation of AI-powered music creation tools for musical artists. UMG and Splice are...more
Global Nightlife Leaders from Over 30 Countries Converge on Liverpool for Night Time Economy Summit 2026
Liverpool will take centre stage in the global nightlife conversation as night-time economy leaders from more than 30 countries converge on the city for the Night-Time Economy Summit 2026, taking place on 11th and 12th February 2026. Hosted at Blackstock Market, the two-day Summit...more
European Talent Exchange presents final results 2025
ESNS Alumni make international impact across festivals in 2025 European Talent Exchange proudly presents the final results of 2025, a year in which emerging European artists crossed borders at an exceptional pace. Throughout the year, the programme supported 352 shows by 150...more
THE HEADLINES
Lucian Grainge outlines UMG's 2026 plans in staff memo (see News)
Skye Newman wins Radio 1's Sound of 2026 (see News)
Spotify now lets you share what you’re streaming in real time with friends (see Digital)
Streamed and retail entertainment sales grew four times faster than UK economy in 2025 (see News)
UMG announces collaboration with NVIDIA to pioneer responsible AI for music discovery, creation, and engagement (see News)
2026 music industry predictions (see Features)
New wave of global British breakthrough talent helps UK recorded music grow for 11th consecutive year (see News)
What’s going to give you the marketing edge in 2026? (see Features)
The global value of music copyright hits an all-time high (see Reports)
The 'metamorphosis' of Atlantic Records (see Features)
Looking ahead to 2026 (see Opinion)
Boost for artists in AI copyright battle as only 3% back UK active opt-out plan (see News)
Music discovery: More channels, more problems (see Reports)