‘We’re Not Waiting For Permission Anymore’

A music development agency in the North has used an event in the heart of London to call for more devolved powers to help grow the creative industries outside the capital.

Generator, who give talent, creative entrepreneurs and industry professionals the tools, connections and platforms they need to grow and thrive, held an event at the prestigious Abbey Road Institute studios in Islington to urge a packed audience of music and creative executives to call for a balancing of funding streams into the music industry.

The call was supported by North East Combined Authority Mayor, Kim McGuinness, who has been instrumental with her support of Generator’s work, and in attracting high profile musical events to the region.

CEO at Generator, Mick Ross, told the audience: “We need to address regional imbalances in music funding and empower the regions, through a commitment to devolved funding and regional cultural decision-making.

“This isn’t just about the North East. For too long, the music industry was built on the belief that success starts and stays in London. However, what’s now changed is the North is no longer waiting to be noticed, or waiting for help or permission. We’re now leading the way.”

A collection of more than a dozen developmental organisations have already joined forces to create the Northern Music Network in order to build a stronger collective voice, share best industry practices and provide opportunities to promote a sustainable music industry.

Mick Ross used the platform to urge the industry to use the North as ‘the centre of gravity’ and not the satellite in a bid to democratise music. He also backed growing calls for a national £1 ticket levy to support grassroots venues and called for reform in creative skills development and apprenticeships.

As well as supporting budding artists, producers, technicians and other music industry hopefuls into successful careers, Generator has played an influential role in several high profile music-related announcements happening across the North East and Tees Valley.

Along with its partners, it has been heavily involved in bringing the MOBO Awards and the Mercury Prize to Newcastle, encouraging the latter to move from London for the first time in its history. Generator has also been instrumental in supporting Warner Music UK’s plans to open a major new studio facility in the heart of the city, which is due for completion by the end of the year.

Interval Records, Generator’s partnership with EMI North, has also supported the rise of hotly-tipped Tees Valley artist, Finn Forster, who has just been named as support for Stereophonics’ recent tour dates.

Supporting the regional call for more devolved power at the event was North East Combined Authority Mayor, Kim McGuinness, who also took to the stage at the event to underline how Northern mayors were already looking at the might of music and its benefits to the economy.

She said: “I want to see a new generation of home grown North East talent follow in the footsteps of people like Sam Fender, Sting and Jade Thirlwall and take their place on the global stage. That’s why we’re supporting new musicians and building the region’s first major label recording studio to help local artists thrive.

“We have worked closely with Generator to support the whole sector to train up young people so they can excel in careers in the music industry while identifying how we can better support local arts.

“Our region is absolutely bursting with talent and we’re encouraging that by creating opportunities for people who want to succeed in the creative industry. We’re telling young people making music, you can do it here are at the heart of our ambition for economic growth as a region.”

Cllr Karen Kilgour, Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “Newcastle is the epicentre of a Northern revival when it comes to the creative industries. There is a real magic in the city, a pride in calling the North East home and we have a wealth of untapped talent ready to cement Newcastle on the global stage.
 
“The MOBO Awards and Mercury Prize aren’t just one-off events. They are already creating a legacy that will produce more heavyweights in the music industry and we stand side-by-side with Generator and Mayor McGuinness in ensuring our creative industries are at the heart of our ambition for economic growth as a region.”

Tees Valley Combined Authority Head of Creative Place Charlie Kemp said: "We have incredible talent across Tees Valley and we are dedicated in developing our local music industry as a place where musicians, producers and engineers can develop their careers right here.

"The success of the projects we have already launched across Tees Valley highlight how we can deliver major benefits locally by providing the right support and collaborations to back our talented creatives, which gives us a fantastic opportunity to build on this unstoppable momentum with further powers."

In its Hometown Glory Report 2025, British umbrella organisation, UK Music suggests that while the region lags behind all others aside from Northern Ireland, the industry is growing at a rapid rate in the North East. Its report into the state of the UK Music industry shows the North East’s music-related visitors have risen sharply between 2023 and 2024, from 500,000 visitors to 714,000.

Equally, the report outlines a rise in industry jobs created over the same period, from 1,700 to more than 3,000 and estimated Gross Value Added (GVA) revenues have grown sharply in that 12 months from £186m to £364m.

Mick Ross added: “This proves that music, culture and the creative sector aren’t just nice, fluffy things. They are now core components to a successful economy. There are now more than very nearly a quarter of a million people employed in the UK music industry. That’s more than the pharmaceutical, steel and aerospace sectors combined.”

The head of Generator also spoke passionately about how his own background, coming from a working class background remained too rare, a comment supported by top-selling North East artist, Sam Fender, who said in a recent Sunday Times interview that the industry feels ‘rigged’ against people from working class backgrounds.

Those comments are supported by further UK Music statistics that suggest 17% of those working in the music industry were educated at fee-paying schools, compared to 7% of the population as a whole.

Read the UK Music “Hometown Glory: How Supporting Local Music Can Drive Economic Growth” report here