On Thursday, 25th September, the Cathedral Quarter becomes the nerve centre of Irish music once again as Output Belfast returns with its most expansive programme to date. Ireland’s largest one-day music conference and showcase, the annual event brings together a heavyweight lineup of artists, activists, producers, policymakers and disruptors, all under one civic banner: future-proofing music.
As the business continues to shapeshift at the pace of AI and cultural fatigue, Output is set to cut through the noise with the insights and provocations needed to meet the moment. The Opening Keynote sets the tone: PRS for Music Chair Crispin Hunt, Ivors Academy’s Tom Gray, and Naomi Pohl of the Musicians’ Union – three of the UK’s most vocal artist advocates – take the stage to dissect the realities of creative labour and survival in 2025.
What follows is an all-day charge of 28 sessions spanning streaming transparency, live industry resilience, screen composition, fashion and photography, DIY survival strategies and composing for video games. Higlights include ‘Get Played, Get Paid,’ a session on streaming economics; ‘Owning The Social Media Game’; and a panel on co-writing with publishers presented by MPAI. There’s also an important conversation on YouTube strategy and a deep dive into pitching new music to national radio.
This year also see us host The Shortcut Spiral: What Are We Giving Away?, an urgent, clear-sighted panel featuring Nialler9 and more TBA. The session explores how shortcut culture, platform servility, and AI-generated content are eroding soul and long-term thinking in music. Pretty timely, eh?
In an era of algorithm-chasing, Spotify sycophancy & the creeping normalisation of machine-made media, the panel will ask: what exactly are we sacrificing in the name of convenience? From the death of genuine music journalism (disclaimer: I may give off) to the erosion of artistic risk and long-haul creativity, we’re expecting a lively and searching conversation about reclaiming integrity in an increasingly artificial music landscape.
With showcases hosted by everyone from PRS and Girls With Guts to Scratch My Progress and Soul Trane, this year’s installment builds on an ever-growing grassroots infrastructure defining what Irish music can be and who it’s for.
Free and grounded in the actual pulse of the music community, Output is always a potent reminder of what’s possible when civic will and cultural vision line up.
Full programme details and registration (opening August 6th) here.
