Lewis spoke of the need to “match our cutting edge creative ideas with an equally creative global business strategy which ensures we can benefit from the new jobs and growth of the future”, adding that “The Conservative-led government has so far failed to provide the strategic leadership which is urgently required, and in education and the arts, they are implementing policies which are damaging the foundations of our creative success.” Other demands made by Lewis included a call or more cross-department working within government and for the collation of rigourous data about the sector.

The creation of the network is to be welcomed we think; it’s too easy for us all to work in our own silos, and an opportunity for a real opportunity for sector leaders to come together – to share ideas, develop joint initiatives and present a coherent set of policy recommendations – can only be a good thing.

In response to Labour’s plans, a couple of ‘morning after the night before’ points that our experience here at the hub immediately called to mind are:

1. Firstly, in terms of learning the business skills required to generate private investment, not all businesses want to become global enterprises, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need help to develop their business skills.

We’d say that Labour’s review needs to listen hard to the multitude of small businesses which together form the backbone of the creative sector about their ambitions and development needs.

We’ve done a lot of work with small businesses like this, for the Arts Council, various former Regional Development Agencies and the Learning and Skills Council, and know a fair bit about their business development needs, and what works and what doesn’t. We’d hope to follow up on this with the network, and would be happy to share what we know and plans we’ve developed for a Joining the Dots programme that in part will do just this.

2. Looking at the fairness pledge, which aims to ensure those signed up to it offer internships and jobs on the basis of merit rather than social background, we of course support that proposition. Who wouldn’t? However, many small businesses still find the costs of offering creative apprenticeships prohibitively expensive and CC Skills appears unable to get its head around the idea of small businesses offering a ‘collective’ apprenticeship, potentially across SMEs sharing creative industries ‘hub’ spaces. This is something of a hobby horse issue for us – and has been in our discussions with CC Skills down the years.

For the time being, internships are often the only way for small businesses to provide the entry level experience that is so important to those entering the creative sector these days. And many -ourselves included – pride themselves on offering an incredibly valuable, carefully sructured opportunity. Public sector support to help the ‘common man’ small businesses in the sector to provide more financially rewarding entry level internships would surely be a good thing?

3. Next, arts organisations are businesses, regardless of whether they have charitable status or not. Their business aims may be charitable, or they may be ‘for profit’, but either way, they are still businesses. It’s semantics you might argue, but we’d say the semantics get in the way of a bigger, cultural issue for the cultural sector. We work a lot in the music sector, and here the economy is very mixed, with individual artists working as micro businesses, and a multitude of small businesses working tirelessly to survive. These guys have to operate as businesses – albeit with charitable or social entreprise models – if they are to survive. So, using common terminology, are these guys, are we, an arts organisation or a business? We tend to describe ourselves an ethical business working in the creative sector. 4. And finally, back to that point about rigourous data. Yes, absolutely that’s needed. And without giving too much away, we’d suggest that everyone keeps an eye on info coming out of the National Campaign for the Arts l ater this autumn. We’re working with the NCA at the moment, and can’t say too much, but there are some really interesting numbers being crunched at the moment. If you want to keep up to date with that then sign up to our hub email newsletter.

And so to today’s work…

First off, you can download the Gigzine app created by New Music Plus… participant, Steve Symons, to receive exciting content and information about this event. Already available on the app are features on two of our producers, Jon Hering and Glenn Boulter, and over the next few days we’ll be adding other video and audio content, and information on all panellists. Those of you attending the event you will be able to use the app for exclusive interaction throughout the day. Download it now and click here to meet Steve and find out more about the app and how it works.

We’re also planning on posting live updates on the discussion on Twitter. Take part with hash tag #NMPNW and follow @juliaatthehub and @PRSFoundation. We encourage you all, whether you are attending the event or not, to join in the discussion via our live Twitter feed. This is a great way to have you say – from inside the venue, or anywhere else in the world!

For further event information, and to book one of the last few remaining places, click here.

The event is aimed at at independent music producers, and programmers, curators and marketeers working in performing and visual arts organisations and museums across the country. Exploring how music-led collaborations between independent producers and larger, established arts organisations can catalyse and sustain innovation, and what the future holds for cross-scale and cross-artform collaboration, the event closes New Music Plus…North West, a leadership development programme developed in partnership by the hub and the PRS for Music Foundation. The programme will include: high level panels; networking opportunities; the opportunity to hear from key funders, and presentations about New Music Plus?

With the full programme to be announced next week, other confirmed panellists confirmed include Laura Ducceschi (De La Warr Pavilion), Lindsey Fryer (Tate Liverpool), John Kieffer (Sound and Music), Joana Seguro (Lumin) and independent producers, Ross Dalziel and Jon Hering, both of whom took part in the New Music Plus… North West programme.

New Music Plus? aims to strengthen leadership skills and cross art-form learning amongst organisations and independent producers that want to develop their approach to programming new music and build new audiences for new music. It responds to needs for work-based training and reflection identified within music and other sectors.

During 2010, New Music Plus?North West supported eight independent producers from the region to develop their creative and business skills and understanding, and work on a series of co-productions with 10 host organisations: Band on the Wall; the Biennial; Bluecoat Arts Centre; Contact Theatre; Cornerhouse; FACT; National Museums Liverpool; the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Tate Liverpool, and Whitworth Art Gallery. This programme built on learning from a 2009 pilot programme, which ran in London and had as host organisations: the BFI; Big Chill festival; Longplayer Trust; the Roundhouse; Tate Britain; the Serpentine Gallery; Sound and Music, and the South Bank Centre. New Music Plus… North West is supported by Arts Council England, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Sound and Music.

Places for Sustaining Innovation through Collaboration are limited, so early booking is essential. To secure your free place, email luke@prsformusicfoundation.com by 5pm Monday 28th February.

The event will explore how music-led collaborations between independent producers and larger, established arts organisations can catalyse and sustain innovation, and the challenges and considerations they present. Panellists will also explore what the future holds for cross-scale and cross-artform collaboration. The programme will include: high level panels; networking opportunities; the opportunity to hear from key funders, and presentations about New Music Plus?

With the full programme to be announced at the end of the month, panellists confirmed so far include Laura Ducceschi (De La Warr Pavilion), Lindsey Fryer (Tate Liverpool), John Kieffer (Sound and Music) and Joana Seguro (Lumin).

New Music Plus? aims to strengthen leadership skills and cross art-form learning amongst organisations and independent producers that want to develop their approach to programming new music and build new audiences for new music. It responds to needs for work-based training and reflection identified within music and other sectors.

During 2010, New Music Plus?North West supported eight independent producers from the region to develop their creative and business skills and understanding, and work on a series of co-productions with 10 host organisations: Band on the Wall; the Biennial; Bluecoat Arts Centre; Contact Theatre; Cornerhouse; FACT; National Museums Liverpool; the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Tate Liverpool, and Whitworth Art Gallery. This programme built on learning from a 2009 pilot programme, which ran in London and had as host organisations: the BFI; Big Chill festival; Longplayer Trust; the Roundhouse; Tate Britain; the Serpentine Gallery; Sound and Music, and the South Bank Centre. New Music Plus… North West is supported by Arts Council England, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Sound and Music.

Places for Sustaining Innovation through Collaboration are limited, so early booking is essential. To secure your free place, email luke@prsformusicfoundation.com by 5pm Monday 28th February.

Headlining the gig last night were top improvising outfit, The Bays, who the hub previously worked with in the early 2000s, producing a national tour that saw them kick off a now long-standing relationship with Richard Barbieri. Throughout their intensely aerobic 90 minute set, which saw them improvising to tunes by everyone from Dizzee Rascal to Shirley Bassey via Talking Heads and Stevie Wonder (plus some music from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!), audience members directed their set list, voting on the tunes they most wanted to hear given that very special Bays treatment and working their magic on the visuals too. Cue for endless ‘arms in the air’ action when people heard the opening bars of the tunes they’d voted for, and a real sense of excitement and involvement amongst everyone there. I returned to my hotel, chuffed that I’d got the Stevie Wonder and David Byrne fix I was looking for…

Steve developed Gigzine as part of his participation in New Music Plus…, a producer development programme managed by the hub, and developed in association with the PRS for Music Foundation. Our New Music Plus…North West programme ran throughout 2010 and continues in 2011, with a conference called Sustaining Innovation through Collaboration at Tate Liverpool on 15 March. For more details contact me or and keep an eye out for future blog posts as we firm up the programme and begin to confirm panellists.

Taking place at London’s City Hall on 10 June, the programme will include discussion panels, breakout sessions and presentations about New Music Plus? Panellists will include Stuart Brown (BFI Southbank), Laura Ducceschi (De La Warr Pavilion), Jude Kelly (South Bank Centre), John Kieffer (Sound and Music), Penny King (Arts Council England) and David Metcalfe (Forma). Watch this space for full programme details, or email us to make sure of your place at the event.

The event will draw from our learning from the pilot New Music Plus… producer development programme which ran in London during 2009. Click here to find out more about New Music Plus…

In arriving at our recommendations, we mapped the support currently available to those musicians and other music professionals in England working, or wishing to work, internationally, and identified where the needs of such individuals and organisations are currently unmet.

the hub?s findings have been welcomed by both organisations, and they have already informed the new Memorandum of Understanding between the Arts Council and British Council and the Arts Council?s consultation document Achieving great art for everyone. On a practical level, the two commissioning organisations have also begun work in response to some of our recommendations, for example the suggestion of a more ?joined up? approach to strategic planning, showcasing in the UK and overseas, online intelligence and clearer communication of our international priorities. Meanwhile, recommendations relating to touring, internal professional development, evaluation and lobbying and advocacy will inform future developments.

You can find a copy of the executive summary, our mapping and gapping analysis of the current infrastructure in England and contextual information about the commissioning partners, along with their joint response to our research, here.

With just a couple of days to go to the Mayor?s Music Education Summit at City Hall, which we?re producing, we wanted to draw your attention once more to the GLA?s No Strings Attached Musical Instrument Amnesty, delivered in partnership with Time Out. If you?ve got an old, once-loved, instrument which you no longer use, then you can pledge it to the amnesty. To find out more, just go to timeout.com/nostrings.