Production Futures launches Make Noise to open live events careers to young people

Backed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, funded through LIVE Trust and powered by Audiotonix, the campaign puts real pro audio kit in the hands of 12 to 18 year olds through a national competition.

Production Futures has launched Make Noise, a national campaign to raise awareness of the production and live events careers that sit behind every gig, festival and broadcast. The programme targets 12 to 18 year olds and arrives at a moment when the UK industry continues to wrestle with a thinning pipeline of technical talent.

The initiative is funded through LIVE Trust, the grant-making body fed by the £1 ticket levy on UK arena and stadium shows, with equipment and expertise provided by Audiotonix, the British pro audio group whose portfolio includes DiGiCo, Allen & Heath, Solid State Logic and Calrec. Make Noise sits inside the Trust’s grassroots-music remit, which covers venues, touring, festivals and workforce development.

At the centre of the campaign is a nationwide competition offering twenty Audiotonix STEAM DJ Mixer kits to schools, colleges, youth theatres, charities, home-education groups and community organisations. The STEAM kit is a two-channel, build-it-yourself mixer that introduces participants to signal flow, component assembly and the fundamentals of live mixing. Winning groups keep the kit outright, giving ongoing access to professional-grade hardware rather than a one-off workshop.

The competition launches today, Monday 20 April 2026, at the Production Futures ON TOUR event at Manchester’s AO Arena, with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham publicly backing the programme. “Greater Manchester is home to a world-class live events and creative sector, and it’s really important that we support pathways into good jobs in these parts of our economy,” Burnham said. “Programmes like Make Noise are a great way to introduce young people to technical skills in live production and open doors to opportunities across the industry.”

Hannah Eakins, CEO of Production Futures, framed the campaign as a visibility exercise first and foremost. “There are thousands of rewarding careers behind the scenes in live events, but many young people simply don’t know that they exist,” she said. “With the support of LIVE Trust and Audiotonix, we’re putting real kit into the hands of young people and groups, giving them a practical, creative way to explore careers in audio and production.”

Helen Culleton, COO at Audiotonix, positioned the STEAM DJ Mixer as a way of making creative technology accessible, with participants getting hands-on exposure to the tools and thinking that power live events and audio engineering. Jon Collins, CEO at LIVE Trust, added that many roles in the live music sector go unnoticed, and that giving young people visibility of those roles alongside the chance to build skills and networks is central to a sustainable industry.

For the electronic music community, Make Noise sits upstream of everything the scene depends on. Today’s front-of-house engineers, monitor techs, systems engineers, lighting designers and stage managers largely arrived through apprenticeships, self-teaching, venue work and chance introductions. A structured route for 12 to 18 year olds, with kit that stays in the classroom or community space and a recognised industry pathway, answers the practical question that has lingered for years. How does a young person who has never set foot in a production environment find out the work is even there?

Entries for the Make Noise competition and further information are at productionfutures.com. Details on the Audiotonix STEAM programme are at audiotonix.com/steam.

by Damion Pell

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