Lancashire Music Summit 2026
Overview
Lancashire Music Summit 2026 is a public-facing event bringing together artists, promoters, venue operators, educators, local authorities and other music stakeholders to explore how Lancashire can better support its music people, places and scenes.
Building on last year’s focus on the things the music industry needs to thrive, this year’s event places greater emphasis on activity, opportunity, interventions and what Lancashire can do in practice to strengthen its music ecology. The Summit aims to share insight, spark new ideas, strengthen connections and help shape practical next steps for the county’s music sector.
Key topics will include
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live and recorded music
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digital releasing and label development
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talent development and pathways to music careers
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audience development and sustainable activity
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new ideas, distinctive cultural activity and future opportunity
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funding, investment potential and practical next steps
Outline of the day
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networking / lunch
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welcome and framing
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growing successful, sustainable live / festival activity
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releasing music: self-release, access and opportunity
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building and running a modern digital label
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talent development and pathways to music careers
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new ideas / future opportunity
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consultation / audience input
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networking
Speakers include
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Ramin Bostan – Music industry executive and former COO, Ostereo
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Mike Murphy – Global Head of Events & Partnerships / Label Services Manager, Ditto Music
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Professor Alice O’Grady – University of Leeds
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Tony Rigg – Founder, Lancashire Music Association; Music Industry Advisor; Night-time Economy Ambassador for Lancashire (NTIA); Researcher, University of Lancashire
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Jennie Russell-Smith – Founder, Rebellion Festival
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Jamie Turner – Managing Director, Actual Music
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Jacki Willson – Associate Professor, University of Leeds
Tickets: bit.ly/MusicSummit2026
This is an inclusive event, if you have any accesability requirements please contact trigg@lancashire.ac.uk
Tuesday 19 May 12:30pm - 5:00pm
53 Degrees, Brook Street, Preston, PR1 7HN.
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Speakers
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Ramin Boston - Music Industry Executive
Ramin Bostan is a music industry executive with more than a decade of experience across areas including A&R and label operations. Most recently he was COO of Manchester label/publisher, Ostereo, which sold to Hollywood music industry giant, Create Music Group in October 2024. Having always been fascinated by the legal frameworks that underpin the music industry, Ramin is currently studying for the solicitors qualifying examination with a view to becoming a qualified solicitor specialising in music, media and entertainment.
Professor Alice O'Grady- University of Leeds
Alice is a Professor of Applied Performance in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds. Her research deals with different forms of participatory practice across a range of contexts including education, health and within sub-cultural communities particularly those associated with club and festival cultures. She is an internationally recognised scholar in the field of electronic music and dance culture and has been writing on this topic since the early 2000s. A significant strand of her research deals with the experiences of older women who participate in electronic dance music cultures and other sub-cultural contexts such as neo-burlesque, with an emphasis on health and wellbeing. Alice’s work is collaborative, interdisciplinary and seeks to make productive links between research and industry.
Jacki Wilson- Associate Professor, University of Leeds
Jacki is an Associate Professor at the University of Leeds in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries. Her research focuses on women and marginalized performance in cabaret, drag and burlesque. She has published four books on burlesque, women’s performance and fashion. She has led projects on burlesque and costume where she has worked with performers, producers, audiences and wider creative networks across the UK. Jacki has collaborated with these local communities to produce two films, Fabulous Femininities (2024) and Bold Bodies (2025), which explores grassroots approaches to creating safer spaces in the Night-time economy. Jacki is also interested in arts and health and has worked with charities, NHS professionals and women to produce creative solutions to wellbeing.
Jamie Turner - Managing Director Actual Music Ltd
Jamie Turner is Managing Director of Actual Music Ltd and a passionate advocate for the transformative power of music in education, business and community. With over a decade of experience spanning performance, education and the music industry, Jamie leads a trio of private and third sector organisations united by a single purpose: to support the artistic and commercial development of the next generation of young musicians, and to unlock the power of music for all.
Jamie co-founded SoMi, a Merseyside-based music education organisation delivering integrated curricular and co-curricular provision across primary settings throughout the North-West, with a flagship partnership at the LIPA School. Through Actual Music, he oversees Arts Council funded artist development projects with a focus on nurturing the grassroots music scene in Lancashire.
In 2020, Jamie launched Musique, now one of the North-West's leading providers of live music and entertainment for venues and events, delivering exceptional experiences and innovative AV solutions across the region and beyond.
A graduate of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (BA Hons, Music, 2012), Jamie is also a guest lecturer in Music Business and Artist Development at LIPA, RNCM and University of Lancashire
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.