More information was published this morning about this year’s TGE Conference, the programme for music industry delegates that sits at the heart of The Great Escape showcase festival in Brighton. This includes details about panels being presented by TGE’s industry partners this year, plus confirmation that professional development programme Elevate will return once again.

There are a number of strands to the TGE Conference, including the CMU+TGE Sessions, which put the spotlight on three key themes each year, this time education, deals and the creator economy. CMU curates and hosts a full day of presentations, interviews, case studies and discussions on each of those themes. The schedules for each day were published back in February, and another batch of speakers taking part have been confirmed today.

Other strands include the keynote conversations – which this year will see YolanDa Brown, Michelle Escoffery, Smade and Ticketmaster’s David Marcus, among others, take to the stage – plus the Elevate Programme and the Partner Programme.

The Partner Programme is a series of panels, parties and networking events presented by TGE’s industry partners – putting the focus on more industry topics and providing opportunities to meet other delegates. Partners presenting panels this year include BPI, Carousel, Horus Music, Music Declares Emergency, Music Support, PPL, PRS Foundation, PRS For Music, Sounds Australia and Unhurd.

Plus, on the Saturday morning, the Music Industry Therapist Collective will present a session exploring the unique challenges and stressors of working in the live music business. Building on Tamsin Embleton’s recently published book ‘Touring & Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual’, this session will “help contextualise how artists, agents, managers, promoters, venue and festival staff and other live music professionals can put the book’s advice into action”.

Commenting on this particular partner panel, Rory Bett, CEO of TGE promoter Mama Festivals, says: “The music business is placing an increasing emphasis on mental health, and the challenges for artists and their teams on the road can be really demanding. ‘Touring & Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual’ is a great resource for everyone in the live music business so I am proud to welcome the MITC team to The Great Escape to help highlight this important topic”.

Meanwhile, Radiohead’s Philip Selway, a longtime supporter of the Music Industry Therapist Collective, says: “Workshops like this equipped me with the tools and awareness to feel more confident in reaching out to those who may be struggling with their mental health in the industry, and can really help us all navigate the darker moments and the bumps in the road out on tour”.

The Elevate Programme is a professional development initiative for early-career music business executives and entrepreneurs, and aspiring music-makers, presented by The Great Escape and CMU, and supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

There are two components to Elevate – a Super Delegate programme and the Elevate Sessions on Saturday – both of which return for 2023.

This year’s Great Escape takes place from 10-13 May. To get access to all the strands of the conference – plus priority access to the festival – get yourself a delegate pass here.

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