Output Belfast 2026: Founder Mark Gordon previews its biggest edition yet

Who’s appearing at Output Belfast 2026?

The conference will welcome around 100 speakers from across music, technology, media and the live sector.

UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl, former Irish Minister for Culture Catherine Martin and Featured Artists Coalition Chief Executive David Martin will open the event. Other highlights include The Orchard co-founder Scott Cohen, Blur drummer and screen composer Dave Rowntree, singer-songwriter Janet Devlin and Eurovision winner Dana, alongside figures from Beatport, the BBC, Sky, Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music and PRS for Music.

Following the conference, 33 artists will perform across the Cathedral Quarter, including Banshee, Nerves, Reevah, Róise, SILK and YIN YANG, before Chalk closes the night with a DJ set.

Bringing the wider music industry to Belfast

Output developed from Belfast Music Week, a now-defunct annual music festival, and is now entering its second decade. While the event has grown, its central purpose remains clear: connecting Northern Ireland’s creative community with an industry that can often feel geographically distant.

“I think the conference has definitely evolved to try and connect all tiers of the music landscape here, between creators and music-adjacent businesses, with national music partners,” explains Output Belfast founder and director Mark Gordon.

Northern Ireland’s separation from much of the UK music industry can create practical barriers for artists and businesses. Opportunities to showcase in London, meet labels and publishers, secure mainland festival slots or simply join informal industry gatherings involve considerably more time and travel.

Output’s answer is to bring those contacts into Belfast.

“Output brings this cohort of 100 national speakers and parachutes them into rooms and panels in Belfast with amazing emerging music talent, in the hope that local talent finds a way to fuse with the wider industry.”

Creating connections with lasting results

Output’s impact isn’t always visible from the moment the doors close. A conversation started during a panel, workshop or a drink between one of the live shows may take months or even years to bear fruit.

Understandably reluctant to single out individual success stories, Mark said:

“We’ve had management deals, six-figure publishing deals, festival slots, including Glastonbury, and syncs in large-scale TV shows. So many connections have started with a meeting at the conference.”

Some of the clearest evidence of Output’s long-term value can be found within this year’s programme. Former delegates are returning as panellists, sharing the experience they’ve gained since first attending.

“It’s thrilling to see, in the 2026 Output edition, speakers from Northern Ireland who came as delegates and are now on management, live, creative and business panels.

“People who came eight years ago aged 19 are now running a music business in Ireland.”

Output’s biggest programme yet

The 2026 conference features around 30 sessions spanning artist development, songwriting, production, touring, publishing, sync, journalism, radio, branding and live events.

New additions include a music and technology expo featuring Audient, Lowden and a Dolby Atmos listening experience, alongside Output’s first Eurovision-focused panel.

The latter brings together Dana, Luke Black and Dominika Hašková to examine the particular challenge of writing and performing a song capable of connecting with millions of viewers in three minutes.

However, variety, rather than scale alone, is central to the programme.

“I’m always keen that we have churn in terms of panels and sessions, and that we focus across as wide a variety of genres as possible,” Mark says.

“A panel about writing pop songs for Eurovision should, at a music conference, be able to sit next to a person who runs a metal podcast chatting about that genre, or someone who’s just scored the trailer for the new Marvel film.

“That’s all happening this year at Output and a lot more besides, including a landmark chat about traditional music.”

Moving people’s ideas forward

For Mark, the goal isn’t to fill the schedule for the sake of it. Each session needs to offer something useful to the people attending.

“What I hope this year, and every year, is that we don’t do a one-size-fits-all set of panels that don’t actively move people’s music ideas forward,” he explains.

“Instead, we have 30 panels across all genres and skill levels.”

That approach is particularly relevant when audiences arrive with different levels of experience. An emerging artist considering their first release will need something very different from a manager seeking international opportunities or an established professional exploring music technology.

The challenge is to create multiple routes through the event while leaving space for unexpected encounters.

“If an attendee at Output 2026 can connect with that one key firehose individual who can amplify them to a wider demographic that values their music, then we’ve made a difference in terms of sectoral growth here.”

Output Belfast takes place on Thursday 24th September 2026 at The MAC, Oh Yeah Music Centre and venues across Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.

Attendance is free, but places are limited. View the full programme and register for the conference sessions now at the link below.