Manchester is to become the first host city for a unique social media studio facility, where creators can not only produce their content, but also run their businesses and operate social-commerce shops all under one roof.

Sammyjo Shahryar, creative director at the new Advance Media Studios, located near Manchester’s AO Arena, explains: “Social media is one of the world’s fastest-growing career aspirations, with an emerging generation seeking to make their living not only producing content but also running online shops selling merchandise to their followers and subscribers. This trend is becoming known as ’s-commerce’.

“As social media has become a professionalised industry, the commercial real estate sector has rapidly responded, with high quality studio facilities. However, we believe we are the first to offer a dedicated business fulfilment centre on the same premises – so our customers can operate s-commerce businesses such as TikTok Shops, Shopify or any of a multitude of online selling platforms with the ease of multiple daily Post Office pick-ups and stock storage right at our building.

“According to our market research, while social media is one of the most sought-after career choices for young people, the biggest reason so many of these fledgling entrepreneurs fail is that the realities of a sales operation are harder than they look. We have addressed this by enabling the highest quality creative production while making the movement of merchandise as easy as possible.”

Facilities at the new premises will include 24-hour access with security, purpose-configured lighting, acoustics and soundproofing in the studio spaces, plus hot-desking and communal creative and networking spaces that can be rented from as little as one hour.

For video and image producers, backdrops include not only green screen but also a catwalk for fashion shoots.

The new Advance Media Studios are the result of a seven-figure investment from Manchester’s EMT Group, a real estate and investment business that set its roots in the city nearly a century ago with clothing manufacturing, retail, and trade routes between the UK and South Asia.

EMT chief executive Kami Tahir is the third generation of his family to run the business. He adds: “My grandfather started his company with one foot in real estate and one foot in retail. He also funded Manchester’s first mosque, now known as Manchester Central Mosque. 

“My father, E.M.Tahir is our role model, he was a true visionary and business magnate who established the UK’s first Asian owned knitwear factory in the 1960s along with the first Bollywood cinema in the 1970s – my brothers and I wanted to carry on his legacy while reflecting the future of commerce and creativity.”

Advance Media is now taking bookings for short- and long-term leases, with spaces starting from a single studio space.