Billboard UK to Launch 40 Under 40 at Beyond The Music 2026

Billboard UK is bringing its inaugural 40 Under 40 to Manchester this October, celebrating the next generation of music industry leaders at Beyond The Music 2026.

The new list will be unveiled during Beyond The Music’s Opening Lunch on Wednesday 7 October at MediaCity, Salford, marking the first UK edition of Billboard’s 40 Under 40 and bringing together some of the brightest young executives working across the music business.

The initiative arrives as Greater Manchester continues to strengthen its position as one of the UK’s most important creative hubs. With both The BRIT Awards and MOBO Awards moving to Manchester, the launch adds another major industry moment to the city’s increasingly influential music calendar.

Billboard UK says the 40 Under 40 will recognise rising executives and future leaders whose ideas, ambition and innovation are helping shape the direction of the UK music industry. Honourees will span the breadth of the business, with the event bringing together talent from record labels, independent companies, trade bodies, sync, film, gaming, media, broadcast and beyond.

The launch also fits neatly with Beyond The Music’s wider ambition to create a more collaborative and forward-looking creative economy. Following the Opening Lunch, the event will open into a wider networking session for Beyond The Music delegates, connecting the honourees with senior figures from across the festival’s programme.

Mo Ghoneim, President of Billboard UK, said: “The UK’s music industry remains a world-leading sector where ambition meets expertise. Billboard UK’s inaugural 40 Under 40 List will honour rising and established executives whose innovative thinking and limitless vision are shaping the future of the market.”

For Beyond The Music CEOs Oli Wilson and Sarah Pearson, the partnership comes at a particularly significant moment for Manchester.

“Greater Manchester has always been a home to innovators and change makers,” they said, adding that Billboard’s focus on the executives shaping the future of music closely aligns with Beyond The Music’s ambition to build a “more collaborative, ethical and sustainable industry.”

Nominations for Billboard UK’s 40 Under 40 are now open, with the final list to be compiled by Billboard UK’s editorial team and published alongside the October event.

The launch comes as Beyond The Music expands into MediaCity for its 2026 edition, which runs from 6–9 October, bringing together music, technology, media, gaming, brands and AI alongside a programme of live music and industry debate.

With Manchester increasingly becoming a destination for the UK’s biggest music institutions and events, Billboard UK’s first 40 Under 40 adds another marker of the city’s growing influence — this time putting the spotlight firmly on the people who will shape what comes next.

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