Beyond The Music, a Manchester-based festival and conference, is hosting its October 2026 edition in Salford with prominent speakers from politics, music and culture. Andy Burnham, the Labour MP set to become the UK's next prime minister, will convene the Global All Content AI Summit to bring policy-level discussion to artificial intelligence's impact on the creative industries.

The four-day event features a celebratory screening of the 24 Hour Party People film alongside an exclusive conversation between Steve Coogan and director Michael Winterbottom, complemented by industry panels examining ethical content models, the wave of music catalogue acquisitions by major entities, and strategies for maintaining a viable live entertainment ecosystem. Confirmed speakers also include Ivors Academy chair Tom Gray, DJ Mike Pickering, and the conference co-founders.