Tony Rigg

Tony Rigg is a Music Industry Advisor and Educator affiliated with the University of Lancashire, UK. He is Founder of the Lancashire Music Association and works across music-sector development, cultural policy, nightlife, music education and regional cultural strategy. His current culture and community roles include Night Time Economy Ambassador for Lancashire with the Night Time Industries Association, Chair of the Strategic Stakeholder Group for the Lancashire Music Hub, Chair of Preston Local Cultural Education Partnership, and Director of Preston Jazz and Improvisation Festival.
He has occupied senior management roles in market-leading music organisations, including Operations Director for Ministry of Sound. He has overseen the management of more than one hundred music venues and delivered thousands of music events. As an artist and producer, he has a chart pedigree, with tracks featured on chart-topping and gold-selling albums.
His research interests include music industry practice, electronic dance music, live music, nightlife, music law, cultural and economic value, and the relationship between academia and the music sector.
His notable publications include Popular Music in the Post-digital Age: Politics, Economy, Culture and Technology (Bloomsbury, 2018), The Future of Live Music (Bloomsbury, 2020), and The Evolution of Electronic Dance Music (Bloomsbury, 2021), co-edited with Ewa Mazierska and Les Gillon; The Present and Future of Music Law (Bloomsbury, 2021), co-edited with Ann Harrison; The Artistry and Legacy of Queen (Bloomsbury, 2025; first published digitally in 2024), co-edited with Ewa Mazierska; and “Challenges to British Nightclubs During and After the Covid-19 Pandemic” (Dancecult, 2021), co-authored with Ewa Mazierska.