The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-11 · by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent
Manchester mayor Bev Craig announced a £2 million investment aimed at nurturing local artists beyond the traditional guitar band image, emphasizing diversity in the city’s music scene. At a conference for creative industries hosted by MediaCity in Salford, Craig highlighted Manchester’s recent hosting of major events like the Brit Awards and Mobos, celebrating black music culture. She stressed the importance of supporting the next generation of musicians amid an industry becoming more middle-class and London-centric.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The Manchester mayor, Bev Craig, has said the city’s music scene is about more than just Oasis, as she announced funding to nurture a diverse range of local artists, be they “guitar bands or not”.
asserted
they → say → artists
Craig pledged the £2m investment funding in Greater Manchester, as the city region hosted a conference for the creative industries at MediaCity in Salford.
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region → pledge → Salford
She said there was a “real intentionality” to what Manchester was doing, in terms of growing its own music industry and attracting international events.
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Manchester → say → events
Earlier this year, Manchester’s Co-op Live arena hosted the Brit awards and the Mobos, Europe’s biggest and most influential celebration of Black music and culture.
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arena → host → music
“I wanted to have a major event that celebrated black music, culture and creativity,” Craig said, “and so that’s why we said, just after the Brits, we’d host their 30th anniversary, because we knew it would be the last one that the Mobos founder Kanya would be able to come to.”
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founder → want → that
“I think there’s a real intentionality around what we’re doing with our music scene,” she added.
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she → think → scene
“We’re known, I think, over the world for the influence that some of our indie guitar bands have had on Greater Manchester music, but there’s more to Greater Manchester’s music scene than just Oasis.”
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some → know → Oasis
“I’m struck by the diversity, the creativity, the talent that we see,” Craig said.
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Craig → strike → that
“And the job, as I see it, is making sure that that next generation of talent in an industry that’s becoming more and more middle-class, more and more London-centric, and a world where it’s more and more expensive to be able to break through, that we’re giving our local artists the hand up that they need to be able to be the next big thing, guitar band or not.”
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they → see → that
Addressing Beyond the Music’s creative industries AI summit on Friday, Craig set out her plan for diversifying opportunities in the music industry.
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Craig → address → industry
She also outlined commitments to support AI literacy for music professionals, and to monitor the impact of new technologies on employment, income and diversity in Greater Manchester’s music sector.
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She → outline → sector
The festival that accompanied the summit featured performances from up-and-coming black and minority ethnic artists including Bawo, JayaHadADream and Alt Blk Era.
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that → accompany → Bawo
The final day of the conference was convened by the prime minister, Andy Burnham, whose love of Manchester guitar bands is well known.
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love → convene → bands
The culture minister Ian Murray told the conference: “With a prime minister who picks up his guitar to murder Smiths tracks, we have a passion from the very top.
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we → tell → top
He added, joking: “That’s probably a career-limiting sentence for me.”
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That → add → me
“We’re living and working at a time of considerable change, particularly with technology,” Murray said, “but the future of creativity will not be shaped by technology alone.
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future → live → technology
It will be shaped by the choices we make today, and how we support talent, how we reward creativity and how we embrace that innovation.”
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we → shape → innovation
The £2m of funding Craig has set out is in addition to the £4m Culture Fund investment announced earlier this month, which will fund music projects from grassroots venues to world-renowned institutions.
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which → set → institutions
The additional funding is aimed at improving access to rehearsal and production space across the city region, providing practical support and ensuring there are jobs for musicians in their communities.
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funding → aim → communities
Although the Manchester music scene may be about more than Oasis, the newly elected Manchester mayor did say she would be going to see the band on their sellout tour next year, which includes 11 nights at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.
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which → elect → Stadium
“I will, and thankfully the price of pints are much too expensive and the clientele have aged [which] means that you’re not as cautious as to what’s travelling through the air as historically you once would [be],” she said.
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she → age → air
But she added that “as somebody who loves all forms of music” she was “as excited about seeing [Merseyside band] the Ks at Beyond the Music as I am about seeing Oasis”.
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I → add → Oasis
“I’m a little bit more into my dance music than the previous mayor as well,” Craig added.
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Craig → ’m → mayor
“So maybe a bit more varied in my tastes, shall we say.”
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we → say → tastes
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