Creative Times

Factsheets

Music

Music has shaped the cultural life of Manchester. From the 1960s coffee houses and beat clubs through the Madchester scene in the 1990s to the current generation of cutting independent labels. These include Twisted Nerve, Grand Central, Faith and Hope, and Fat City. This impressive list continues to grow with alarming pace, as each generation throws up its own unique music agenda - thriving on the energy of the city's talent. What's more, Manchester is now officially the second city in the music industry with its own infrastructure – from rehearsal rooms, music lawyers, publishers through to export distributors.

According a report issued on 18/3/03 by the Northwest Development Agency's Regional Intelligence Unit, 3,783 people in Greater Manchester are employed in the music sector. There are 590 Music related Manchester businesses listed in the Manchester City Music Network directory, ranging from Accountants through Promoters and Pluggers to Vocal Coaches, including 101 record companies and 55 Record Producers. (Information taken from the MCMN online directory 10/04/02).

As one notorious local put it, "Manchester, so much to answer for..."

Fashion

Cotton might’ve made Manchester famous the first time around, but since being engulfed by a swathe of 24” flares, X-large T-shirts and basslines to match, music has bagged the limelight somewhat in Manchester’s creative identity. Times, they are a changing though and even if this city’s fashion fairytale is far from a “happily ever after” ending just yet, it seems that “fashion” – the real thing – has finally become fashionable in Manchester.

“The new breed of designers are showing that Manchester can sustain just as much design talent as anywhere else, and our retailers are showing likewise as Manchester consumers are eternally searching for that item you can’t get anywhere else.” Ian Smith – Push PR, taken from Hana Borrowman article, City Life.

Along with Manchester's wider creative community, fashion independents are among the driving forces that continue to attract interest and investment to Manchester. Economic reports suggest the future of fashion and textiles industries will see consumers driving the market, an increase in the power of the retailer, and a continuation of retailers' demands to produce quality fabrics and garments at very low prices. As textile firms develop strategies to survive in this economic environment, determining how best to respond to consumer wants. Manchester's independent fashion and textiles designers are realising that they are at the forefront of this shift, with their ability to move and respond quickly to changing market trends.