Where Music, Research and Innovation Meet

Building a world-leading, sustainable, and inclusive Research, Development & Innovation hub for music, creativity, and technology for the Liverpool City Region and beyond. MusicFutures is a transformative five-year research and innovation programme led by the University of Liverpool in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, with core sector partners ACC Liverpool (soon to be Liverpool Experience Campus), Adlib and LIPA. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through UKRI’s Creative Industries Clusters Programme, MusicFutures is positioning the Liverpool City Region as the UK’s leading hub for music research, development and innovation.

Based at ACC Liverpool’s waterfront campus and rooted in the city’s UNESCO City of Music status, MusicFutures brings together a powerful network of more than 1,600 regional music businesses, alongside Liverpool City Council, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and nearly 30 regional and national organisations — including UK Music, PRS Foundation, LIVE and the UK Intellectual Property Office — the programme connects academia, industry and government to tackle the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the music sector.

At its core, MusicFutures is driving inclusive, sustainable and world-leading innovation across music production, technology, policy and entrepreneurship. Through pioneering research and development, investment in skills and training, and collaborative approaches to intellectual property and data, MusicFutures is opening new pathways for diverse artists and businesses — shaping a stronger, fairer and more future-ready UK music industry.