Sound City has agreed a two-year partnership with Virgin Music Artist & Label Services.
Sound City takes place in Liverpool this year from April 28-30 April. The festival is nominated at the Music Week Awards 2023.
The UK independent festival for new music will join forces with Virgin Music to support and drive opportunity for the next wave of young creatives. The partnership will roll out for the first time at this year’s Sound City festival and conference.
During Sound City Conference on Friday, April 28, Virgin Music will host a special ‘in conversation’ session between Virgin Music UK president Vanessa Bosåen and artist VV Brown. The line-up also includes Jamie Webster, Bob Vylan and Lady Leshurr.
As part of the agreement, Sound City will feature Virgin Music Presents, a showcase event at New Music Friday, the opening evening of music of Sound City. This showcase will see four emerging acts from Virgin Music’s roster perform intimate sets at a chosen venue in Liverpool city centre (line-up and location to be revealed).
Also at this year’s Sound City, Meet Virgin Music will take place as part of the Liverpool festival on Saturday, April 29 at Liverpool Arts Bar, one of the festival satellite venues.
The event will offer educational insights plus interviews and discussions, curated by the team at Virgin Music.
Meet Virgin Music will offer an introduction to the world of artist and label services, plus focused conversations that delve more deeply into a selection of the wide range of genres and artists that Virgin Music represents. Guest speakers and artists are set to be announced in the coming weeks.
Melissa Meadows, head of TV and Content, Virgin Music UK, and Richard Ashton, head of radio and label relations, Virgin Music UK, said: “We are delighted to announce this exciting partnership with Liverpool Sound City, and are proud to be a part of a festival that showcases the best musical talent, situated in such an important and historical musical hub. We can’t wait for the Liverpool Sound City audience to discover a sample of the Virgin Music roster and enjoy the discussions within our curated panels.”
Sound City’s Managing Director Becky Ayres added: “We’re delighted to be working with Virgin Music - a truly iconic brand in the world of music for fans and artists alike - at Sound City 2023. They have blown us away with their ideas which are completely in tune with their values - disruptive innovation, musical creativity and innovation, putting artists absolutely at the centre of everything they do - and ours.
“It’s so exciting that our audiences will be able to learn more about how they work and their diverse and innovative roster of artists. I’ve no doubt that it will be brilliant and look forward to developing this groundbreaking partnership over the next two years.”
Virgin Music is already supporting young creatives in the North West by contributing to Sound City’s new Pay It Forward scheme, which enables local young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend the conference and festival. Virgin Music have paid for five individuals to attend Sound City.
FOLLOW 
