Tony Wilson's In The City music convention called off
The In The City music conference, set up by the late music impresario Tony Wilson in Manchester almost two decades ago, will not go ahead this year.
The event was founded by the Factory Records supremo and partner Yvette Livesey as a music industry symposium and a platform for the best new bands.
Oasis and Coldplay are among the acts that got exposure there while unsigned.
Ms Livesey said she was taking a year off to get married and start a family, but pledged it would return in 2012.
From its inception in 1992, the event attracted the music industry to Manchester every autumn to chew over the future of the business by day and seek new talent in the city's bars and clubs by night.
Oasis, Radiohead and Suede played at the first In The City. Muse and Coldplay appeared in 1998, Snow Patrol performed in 2000 and The Arctic Monkeys put in an appearance in 2005.
Wilson, known for signing bands like Joy Division and the Happy Mondays and starting the Hacienda nightclub, was the event's figurehead.
But since his death in 2007, In The City has been challenged by rivals such as The Great Escape in Brighton and Liverpool Sound City.
It moved to a smaller venue last year and is believed to have had trouble securing funding for this year's event.
A statement said Ms Livesey's plan for a year off was "one of the key factors" in the decision.
She said: "I have been suffering from a serious, long-term illness for some years now and thankfully I am now fully recovered.
"I am also getting married and having a baby this year so I have made the decision to take a year-long sabbatical. Although there will not be an In The City this year, we are going to have the opportunity to plan an amazing event to celebrate our 20th anniversary in 2012."