Lancashire Music Summit 2025
Join the Lancashire Music Association for the 2025 Lancashire Music Summit: an event for any, and all music stakeholders.The summit considers the things that we need for our music people, scenes, places and industry to thrive.
It features future facing talks from experts on the live music industries, technology, funding opportunities, inclusivity and accessibility, opportunities to access music skills and knowledge/ music education in Lancashire, how to develop a career as an artist or band, and more.
12:30 - Arrive, refreshments & networking
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12:55 -Introduction - Tony Rigg, Music Industry Advisor/ LMA Founder
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13:00 Keynote - Jon Collins, CEO LIVE - (LIVE represents the UK's £4.5bn Live Music industry, venues and entertainment) Jon will share his perspective on the Live Music Industries and reflect on how Lancashire's live music scenes may develop. Plus Q&A
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13:30 - Rufy Ghazi, Music Tech and Research Consultant - The Tech Toolkit - Essential Digital Innovations for Lancashire's Music Scenes. Plus Q&A
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14:00 - Tom Salmon, Grass Roots Music Relationship Manager North, Arts Council England - Subject: Arts Council's Supporting Grass Roots Music Programme; Funding for Lancashire's Grass Roots Music Sector. Plus Q&A
14:30 - Jay Hall, Progression and Inclusion Manager, Lancashire Music Service - Subject: Accessing music related knowledge and skills in Lancashire. Plus Q&A
15:00 - Maia Barker, Music Industry Accessibility Expert, Attitude is Everything - Subject - Accessibility and Inclusivity in Lancashire's Music Industry: Context, Benefits and Opportunities for Progress. Plus Q&A
15:30 - Stephen Holl, Guitarist in accomplished Lancashire Band, Massive Wagons - Interview Subject: How to develop a Successful Band in Lancashire: Success Metrics and Methods. Plus Q&A
16:00 - Introductions to, and discussions with the LMA Advisory Board Members - have your say.
17:00 - Summit Ends
19:30 - Lancashire Live featuring the Lovely Eggs plus British Birds @ the Ferret SEPERATE TICKET REQUIRED (Over 18s)
Meet other music stake holders including members of the LMA advisory board, build networks, and most importantly, have your say.
The summit will welcome a diverse group of attendees, including industry experts, trade association and local authority representatives, music makers, producers, venue operators, promoters, managers, DJs, record labels, publishers, tech, supply chain, retail, educators, investors/ funders, and other music stakeholders. If you have any interest in connecting to the music industry professionally, this is a chance to interact with accomplished professionals and to get involved in actively shaping the music landscape in the region.
The venue 53 Degree is part of UCLan's Student Union. Accessibility information for the area can be found online at AccessAble
Pictures of the venue set up for 53 Degrees can be seen at lancashiremusic.org on the first summit page
The venue benefits from good accessibility but if you have any specific requirements, please message trigg@uclan.ac.uk so arrangements can be made to accommodate. Free Personal Assistant/ Companion tickets are available free of charge
Programme
Jon Collins - CEO, LIVE
Jon Collins is the Chief Executive Officer of LIVE, the UK’s umbrella organisation representing the live music industry. With decades of experience at the highest levels of the night-time economy and entertainment sectors, Jon plays a vital role in championing the interests of venues, promoters, artists, and live music professionals across the country. His leadership brings together key players across the sector to present a united voice to government, media, and the public.
Rufy Ghazi - Music Tech & Research Consultant
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The Tech Toolkit: Essential Digital Innovations for Lancashire's Music Scene
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Rufy Anam Ghazi is a Music Tech & Research Consultant with a dynamic background spanning product management, digital operations, and music research. Based in London, a Tech Nation alumna and a recently appointed mentor for Abbey Road REDD, Rufy has worked with major players like ByteDance (TikTok) and Amra (Kobalt Music Group), as well as supporting a range of innovative music tech startups in fractional product roles.
Rufy co-authored PROMPT for Musicians, an essential guide for artists and industry professionals exploring the power of AI tools like ChatGPT. As the Music Research Lead at Audience Strategies, she led research for the "Third UK Electronic Music Industry Report" for the Night Time Industries Association, offering vital insights into the resilience, innovation, and economic impact of the UK’s electronic music scene. Her thought leadership has been featured in outlets like Billboard, where she has written on the transformative potential of AI in music production, marketing and operations.
Tom Salmon - Supporting Grassroots Music Relationship Manager, Arts Council England
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Arts Council’s Supporting Grassroots Music programme - funding for Lancashire's grassroots music sector
​Tom Salmon (he/him) is the Supporting Grassroots Music (SGM) Relationship Manager for the North at Arts Council England. The SGM programme is available to venues, promoters, festivals, recording studios and rehearsal studios in the grassroots music sector, and offers funding of up to £40,000.
Tom is an events producer, musician, and promoter from Cumbria, with a decade in broadcasting. He spent much of that time presenting and producing the weekly BBC Music Introducing in Cumbria programme, championing new music locally and nationally, featuring on BBC Radio Cumbria, Radio 1, Radio 2, and 6 Music. Tom is passionate about developing networks and using his experience and knowledge to support the Grassroots Music sector.
Jay Hall - Progression and Inclusion Manager, Lancashire Music Service
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Accessing music related knowledge and skills in Lancashire.
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Jay Hall is the Progression and Inclusion Manager at Lancashire Music Service, where he plays a central role in ensuring that all children and young people—regardless of background or circumstance—have access to high-quality music education and opportunities to thrive through music.
Maia Barker - Accessibility Expert, Attitude Is Everything
Accessibility and Inclusivity in Lancashire's Music Industry: Context, Benefits and Opportunities for Progress
Maia Barker is an accessibility expert, with a Master’s degree in Music Industry Management and Promotion from UCLan. Their academic research focused on improving sensory access at live events, which they have presented at conferences across the country.Their commitment to breaking down barriers in the music industry continues in their work at Attitude is Everything, where they began as a Skills Development Intern and now holds two pivotal roles: Charter Systems Coordinator and Artist Engagement Coordinator.
Maia has helped to develop the charter for accessibility at live events. They bring both lived experience and professional insight to their advocacy, helping to shape a more equitable future for artists and audiences alike. Maia has also worked with Lancashire-based charity Blaze Arts on the Access All Areas project—an initiative designed to create meaningful creative opportunities for young disabled people in Preston.
Stephen Holl - Guitarist, Massive Wagons
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How to develop a Successful Band in Lancashire: Success Metrics and Methods.
Stevie Holl is the guitarist for the hard rock band Massive Wagons, one of the North West’s most electrifying success stories in recent years. Hailing from Lancaster, Stevie is part of a band that rose from local pub gigs to national recognition, with multiple albums breaking into the UK Top 10 and earning a loyal fanbase across the country.
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He has had 8 years experience of touring within the UK and Europe through supports, headline gigs and festivals far and wide. From playing down at your local to performing at some of the biggest named festivals in Rock.
Supported by
Tony Rigg- Music Industry Advisor & Educator/ Founder, Lancashire Music Association
Tony Rigg is a Music Industry Advisor, Practitioner, and Educator at the University of Central Lancashire, where he leads the Master’s Programme in Music Industry Management, which he co-founded in 2012 with Peter Hook and co-chairs the university's Music Research Group and supervises PhD candidates. He also collaborated with Hebei University (HBU) in China to set up the Music Industry Management MA programme launched in 2023.With senior management experience at leading music and entertainment organisations, including the role of Operations Director at Ministry of Sound, Tony has overseen over 100 music venues and delivered thousands of events. He is the Director of the Preston Jazz and Improvisation Festival and has a chart pedigree as an artist and producer featured on chart-topping and gold-selling albums.
Ewa Mazierska - Professor of Film Studies, University of Central Lancashire
Dr Ewa Mazierska is a Professor at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and Research Coordinator for REF Unit 33. Ewa has published over 20 monographs and edited collections on music and culture, including the collaborations with Rigg plus Sounds Northern: Popular Culture, Music and Place in England’s North (Equinox 2018). She is also the principal editor of Studies of Eastern European Cinema.
John Robb- Bassist & Singer for The Membranes, Author, Journalist & Broadcaster
John Robb is a many-faceted creature. Bassist and singer for post-punk mainstays The Membranes, author, journalist, DJ, publisher, vegan behemoth and talking head, he’s all these things and more.He grew up in Blackpool before punk rock came along and saved his life.He was one of the leading post punk fanzine writers in the UK with ‘Rox’ before he went on to write for the rock press with Sounds and was the first person to interview Nirvana and coined the expression Britpop and was instrumental in kick starting and documenting the Madchester scene with his writing. His music and culture website louderthanwar.com is currently one of the biggest music and culture sites in the UK.He also currently writes books and articles, runs a music and books festival called Louderthanwar. He’s also a political campaigner who chairs committees in Parliament and is an in demand speaker with his spoken word show spawned by the success of his talks of TEDx on punk, zen and the universe and also for his talks of veganism and punk rock.
Harry Westall - Community Development Manager/Researcher /Educator
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Harry Westall is the Community Development Manager for the Lancashire Music Association and a PhD Researcher. He is responsible for connecting with and developing relationships with the counties musical stakeholders. Whilst his research with the LMA covers a wide range of the music industry, Harry's PhD research focuses specifically on branding, marketing and community development strategies for grassroots music artists. and has advised on a number of projects in their early stages. Harry has presented research at the Night Time Industries Association Summit in Birmingham and will be presenting at the Association for Popular Music's European Conference in July.