Manchester festival Beyond The Music opens artist applications for 2026

You can apply to perform at Salford’s Media City festival, which goes down in October, now.

Date published: 4th Jun 2026

Music conference and festival Beyond The Music is accepting artist applications for this year’s event.

Returning to Media City in Salford on Wednesday 7th - Friday 9th October 2026 for its third edition, the festival aims to help build a fairer future for artists and delegates. 

Even if you have no manager, agent, or label, the open call for artists is now live, with the fest seeking acts from Greater Manchester and beyond to perform this year. 

Across three days, BTM will see performances from over 100 artists from across the world, spanning post-punk, electronic, indie, hip-hop, and so much more, spotlighting tomorrow’s headliners. 

Among the names confirmed in the festival’s first wave announcement event are Kofi Stone, Bawo, Che3kz, Cutscene, Ewan Sim, Getner, Hana Lili, Holly Head (read our feature on them!), and Jayahadadream. 

Outside the music, there'll be talks on topics including AI & innovation, film, gaming, IP & rights, live music, streaming ethics, sustainability, plus workshops, wellbeing, and more. Also a networking event, you’ll be among labels, tech innovators, and other artists. 

You can apply to perform at Beyond The Music as an artist now via the festival’s website.

​Fancy attending? Grab tickets for Beyond The Music 2026 now towards the bottom of this page, including student tickets with incredible discounts. 

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Header image credit: Beyond The Music