By Matt Cartmell, Chief Executive, Music Technology UK
2024 was the year that MTUK took its first steps from vision to reality.
We are building a thriving ecosystem, and have already drawn together 110 Members, alongside 15 Academic Members and 24 Associate Members, including our most recent addition Microsoft. Our aim is for this ecosystem to be global recognised for its innovation, collaboration, and growth.
Way back in January, we set out this vision for MTUK. While this is just the beginning, let’s see how aligned we have been with those goals in 2024…
Fostering Industry Leadership
Positioning the UK music tech sector as a global leader in innovation and development is a long term goal, but we’ve started by building a valuable bank of thought leadership insights – on the MTUK Blog and via our panel events and roundtables. Featuring first-hand analysis from Members and others, some highlights of the year include:
- AI and Music Licensing – Sean Keenan (Founder, Soundboard Consulting)
- How To Meet and Treat Investors – Hazel Savage (Board Member; Co-founder, Musiio; VP Music Intelligence, SoundCloud)
- Fan Data is the New Oil for the Music Industry – Simon Scott (Founder & CXO, Push Entertainment; MTUK Advisory Board Member)
We also embarked a major project focused on mapping music industry data flows with Associate Member and leading law firm Wiggin, which we’ll be exploring further in 2025.
Cultivating Growth and Investment
In 2024, we have stimulated the growth of music tech startups and scaleups by facilitating access to capital, mentorship, and strategic partnerships.
Notably, we were proud to partner with Digital Catapult on their High Growth AI Accelerator for the UK’s creative sector, supporting three amazing startups: Halo and Echo, Feedback, and Flossy AI.
Providing our community with direct insight into the evolving dynamics of music tech investment, we hosted the ‘In Tune With Innovation’ fireside chat with Cliff Fluet (Joint Head of Media & Entertainment, Lewis Silkin) and Helen Sartory (Chief Revenue Officer, Beatport).
Members also had the opportunity to gain investment insider tips at an ‘Ask The Investor’ event with Ketan Makwana (Chairman, Seventy7 Ventures).
And the outcomes have already started to materialise. A discussion about investment in female founders on MTUK’s thriving WhatsApp community led Ellevate CEO Charlotte Caleb to connect with a female angel investor. The member is now the first investor in the Ellevate artist management platform. The investment will enable Ellevate to develop a new product pilot programme with two major distributors. Congratulations Charlotte!
Creating Productive Partnerships
We have forged some strong connections to create an environment where music tech pioneers and the wider industry can explore innovative new ways of working together.
This included hosting a joint speed networking event with the Music Managers Forum to bring the tech and artist management communities together. The event featured demos from members Streamline Media, The Pack, and Vollou, as well as music manager panellists from Prime Element and Frame Artists.
MTUK also brought the tech and live music sectors together with its ‘Innovations in Live’ event at Beyond the Music in Manchester, chaired by Drowned in Sound’s Sean Adams and featuring speakers from MTUK Associate Members d&b group, plus LIVE, Liverpool Sound City, DICE and KP Communications. Demos from MTUK startups Amplead, Setmixer, and GIXON showed live innovation in action.
Member introductions from within the MTUK network led Kevin Da Costa of sustainable vinyl producer Evolution Music, to partner with Tom Norwood of Loop.Fans, the NFT & Web3 experts. The outcome is SmartVinyl, a sustainable vinyl embedded with Web3 technology. Vinyl pressing will begin at a new net zero vinyl manufacturing plant in Iceland.
Nurturing Talent and Innovation
MTUK has forged promising partnerships with 15 academic institutions under its free-to-join Academic Membership programme, including Queen Mary University of London, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and University of Salford.
Our regular online workshops and educational opportunities also created clear pathways for emerging talent, with topics include ‘Winning Strategies for Go-To-Market Success’ and ‘Generative AI Licensing’. We collaborated with external organisations to provide workshops on diverse industry subjects, such as a ‘Sonic Strategy for Brands in the AI Era’ with SoundOut.
Most recently, we partnered with leading entertainment industry law firm and MTUK Associate Member Russells to provide a three-part series of music tech legal insights, ‘From Garage Band to Global Brand’.
Expanding Global Reach
In an unprecedented move to unite music and technology across Europe, Music Technology UK joined other leading national music technology associations and music industry bodies to form Music Tech Europe in March.
As a founding member of the largest and most representative body for the European music tech ecosystem, this provides an opportunity for us to empower our UK members to extend their influence and operations internationally, amplifying their presence on the world stage. More to come on this next year.
Integrating Across Media
To leverage the convergence of music with other creative industries and foster interdisciplinary innovation, we hosted our ‘FuturePlay: The Evolution of Entertainment’ event in association with TLA Createch and H.O.M.E. during London Tech Week. The event brought together communities from music, tech, and entertainment to learn about emerging trends and new technologies.
On the night, MTUK members TwoShot, DAACI, and Condense provided demos, while representatives from Microsoft, Creative UK and London & Partners evaluated the impact of tech on entertainment in a panel discussion.
Strengthening Community Networks
To help build a robust network within the music tech community and facilitate knowledge exchange, support, and collective advancement, we hosted regular roundtables at the House of Music and Entertainment (H.O.M.E.)., with topics such as investment readiness for startups, music data flows, and AI. These sessions were often led by MTUK’s Associate Members such as Microsoft and Wiggin.
We also organised two Music Tech Innovators Huddles at The Halley, focusing on fan engagement and music production/collaboration tools.
Championing Economic Advantages
One of our key partners in 2024 has been H.O.M.E., providing MTUK members with the chance to work, network, and learn at their shared working space in Shoreditch, London, entirely for free. As announced in Music Week, this co-working initiative has created many collaborative opportunities for our members.
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Ultimately, we want to create a dynamic and sustainable environment where the UK music tech sector can flourish, contributing to the cultural and economic fabric of the nation. We’re ambitious about driving recognition of the UK as a global leader in music tech innovation in 2025. Join us and help us to achieve this goal!