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Beyond The Music 2026 announces first speakers, featuring Andy Burnham and Steve Coogan
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Culture/The Apex Times/Jul 3, 10:00 AM EDT

Beyond The Music 2026 announces first speakers, featuring Andy Burnham and Steve Coogan

The Salford conference and music festival, running October 6-9, has released an initial lineup that blends political leadership with film and creative-industry programming.

2 min readEditor-approved Apex article

Beyond The Music, the Manchester-area music festival and conference, has named its first wave of speakers for its 2026 edition, bringing together figures from politics, entertainment, and the creative sector. Billboard reported on July 3 that Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Manchester and a member of parliament-elect, and actor and screenwriter Steve Coogan will appear among the earliest announced participants at the event taking place at Salford’s MediaCityUK complex in October.

Billboard said Burnham will host a Global All Content AI Summit during the festival, framing the session as a day of policymaking discussion for the music and creative industries. The outlet also reported that Burnham had been elected as a member of parliament for Makerfield and that he is running unopposed for Labour leadership, with Billboard writing that confirmation is expected on July 17, following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer.

The announcement also highlighted a film-based opening tied to Manchester’s music history. Billboard said Beyond The Music will begin with a special 24th anniversary screening of “24 Hour Party People,” a 2002 film about Factory Records that stars Coogan as label boss Tony Wilson. The program, Billboard reported, will include an exclusive keynote conversation with Coogan and the film’s director, Michael Winterbottom.

In addition to those marquee appearances, Billboard said the festival will run multiple summits and panels, with at least one session already confirmed in the initial lineup. The outlet referenced a discussion titled “The Art of Resistance: Creator Industry Activists Assemble,” described as addressing ethical new right-holder models and broader structural change within the entertainment industry’s system.

Beyond The Music’s mix of public-facing speakers and industry programming places political and policy leaders alongside major creative figures, reflecting the conference component that has grown alongside the festival. The event’s emphasis on content policy, including the use of artificial intelligence and its implications for music and creative work, is also consistent with the conference framing described by Billboard for this year’s installment.

The October dates also position the announcements ahead of additional lineup releases that the organizers have not yet detailed in the initial coverage. Billboard’s report did not list the full schedule for all panels and summits at the time of publication, but it provided early confirmation of the Global All Content AI Summit, the anniversary film screening, and the Coogan-Winterbottom keynote conversation as central elements of the 2026 program.

Why It Matters

  • The lineup’s focus on content policy and AI-related discussion points to how music and creative-industry issues are being brought into formal, scheduled policymaking formats during major public festivals.
  • By placing political leadership and entertainment figures in the same conference program, the event could shape how audiences and industry participants understand regulatory and rights questions tied to modern content production.
  • The “24 Hour Party People” anniversary screening and related keynote underscore the festival’s effort to connect current creative debates to Manchester’s recorded-music and media legacy.
  • Early schedule commitments, including the film opening and the AI summit, affect how attendees plan around major sessions ahead of subsequent lineup and panel announcements.

Sources

Key Facts

  • Beyond The Music will take place at Salford’s MediaCityUK complex in October, with dates reported as October 6-9.
  • Billboard reported that Andy Burnham will host a Global All Content AI Summit as part of the conference programming.
  • Billboard reported that the festival will open with a special 24th anniversary screening of “24 Hour Party People.”
  • Billboard said Steve Coogan will participate in an exclusive keynote conversation tied to the film, alongside director Michael Winterbottom.
  • Billboard said Beyond The Music has already confirmed a panel titled “The Art of Resistance: Creator Industry Activists Assemble,” focused on ethical right-holder models and industry-system change.