Billboard U.K. honours first 40 Under 40 class in Salford as Kojey Radical takes Trailblazer Award
Billboard U.K. has handed its first 40 Under 40 honours to rising music executives based in Britain. Details were published on Oct. 8.
The invite-only lunch took place on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the MediaCity complex in Salford, Greater Manchester. It formed part of Beyond The Music, Manchester's conference and festival, which hosted the debut British edition of the event Billboard. Invite-only means entry by guest list.
The 40 Under 40 is a business list, not a chart. The first 40 stands for the number of people named. The second 40 stands for age.
Everyone named is under 40. Rising points to an early or mid-career stage. It points to people moving up through the business.
Billboard U.K. published its 2026 list in the days before the lunch Billboard. The date had been circled for weeks. In August, Billboard said the inaugural U.K. list would arrive in autumn 2026.
Beyond The Music was named at that point as the host for a celebration at MediaCity on Oct. 7. That plan held. Autumn in this context includes October, and Salford sits within Greater Manchester.
The artist honour of the afternoon went to Kojey Radical. He received the Trailblazer Award at the ceremony Billboard. The presentation took place during the lunch. Think of it as a separate artist honour inside a business list.
Three people addressed the room during the lunch. Thomas Smith, the editor of Billboard U.K., spoke. Bev Craig, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, also made remarks.
Oli Wilson, co-chief executive of Beyond The Music, made remarks as well. An editor leads a publication's coverage. A mayor speaks for a city region, while a co-chief executive helps run an organisation.
For new readers, a conference and festival combines talks with live shows. Music closed the afternoon here. Manchester group Bank Holiday played two songs to end the lunch. A lunch event runs in the middle of the day.
The set closed the formal programme. What makes this stand out is the first-time factor.
Both the list and the lunch were inaugural editions for Billboard U.K. The group honoured on Oct. 7 is the first to hold the title.
