Main Image: Suki10C Live Music Venue, Digbeth. Courtesy of West Midlands Combined Authority

The Birmingham Local Plan will shape how the city will develop over the next 20 years and will set out a vision, spatial strategy and planning framework that will be used to guide decisions on development proposals and planning applications. 

It will also impact how planning is approached (e.g. noise, agent for change, licencing, workspace, venues, meanwhile use) and will replace all the current area plans.

The six-week period of consultation closes on 5 December

UK Music has today revealed the findings of its 2022 Workforce Diversity Survey, as part of its UK Music Diversity Report and the Diversity Taskforce’s mission to boost inclusion and diversity across the industry.

The survey tracks progress to boost diversity and inclusion in the UK’s music industry, that supports 145,000 jobs and it also provides an action plan with 15 key recommendations to improve diversity across the music industry.

Main image: From left to right: Meenal Odedra, Cam Blackwood, Frank Hamilton, Jennifer Geddes (Secretariat), Sandie Shaw (Advisor), and Amanda Maxwell (Chair)

UK Music, the collective voice of the UK’s music industry, is looking for new members from across the UK, with an enthusiasm for campaigning, to join its Futures Group. 

Established in 2016, the UK Music Futures Group includes young people from across the sector, including labels, publishers, live, managers, lawyers, producers, artists and songwriters.  

UK Music wants to ensure it is representing the breadth of the UK and is looking for six new members to represent Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the Midlands, the North of England and the South of England. 

• Main image from left to right: Robin, Damo and Tomlin Mystic from Friendly Fire Band, Sanity, Bambi Bains and Dapz on the Map

As part of the Commonwealth Games’ Birmingham 2022 Festival, Jez Collins, founder of Birmingham Music Archive orchestrated the creation of a unique multi-artist, multi-genre concept album along with 22 conversations and performances with artists.

The On Record album is described as ‘a sonic love letter to the city of Birmingham’ and features 11 original songs (with 1,000 cut on vinyl and also available to stream) that celebrate and document the city with personal insights from the artists.

The West Midlands Music Board (WMMB) launch event took place this summer at the Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Write the Future: Music Creator Conference saw Punch Record’s Senior Creative Producer, Nikki Riggon compere a series of thought-provoking discussions with experts from Meta and Birmingham hip-hop and garage musician, Malik and a powerful live performance by Pheleba.

Nick Reed CEO of B:Music and chair of the WMMB introduced the event and told the audience how the fledgling board was formed during the pandemic with the impetus to represent the region’s music creators and the music industry, and how he hoped the event would be the start of many more conversations in the future.

The West Midlands Music Board’s Write the Future: Music Creator Conference will take place on Tuesday 28 June from 2pm-6pm at the Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space, Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

WMMB has partnered with Punch Records, B:Music and Meta (parent company of Facebook/Instagram/Quest) to deliver the conference.