The Scottish music industry generated £431m for the economy in 2018, according to a new study.
The data, compiled by umbrella organisation UK Music, showed that Scotland was responsible for the strongest growth in bringing music tourists to the UK with a rise of 38 per cent.
800,000 music fans visited the country in 2017, but this figure rose to 1.1 million in 2018, with only London, the South East and the North West of England attracting larger numbers.
The Scottish music industry was also responsible for 4300 full-time jobs in the country during that period – a significant contribution to the overall UK revenue figure of £5.2 billion, with 190,935 people working in the industry.
The £431 million is arrived at tourists purchasing tickets, merch, accommodation, and food and drink, at festivals such as Summer Sessions and TRNSMT, which have been cited as responsible for the growth in visitor spending.
A UK MUsic spokesperson said: “Although Glastonbury Festival did not take place in 2018 when the data for the report was collected, the rise in the number of other festivals across the UK, particularly in Scotland, such as TRNSMT and Sunday Sessions, boosted the numbers,” UK Music said.
However, the report has warned against complacency, saying that there is an “urgent need” for more investment: “The risks to the UK music market of not acting now include the economic risk of the UK losing its place as one of the world’s only net exporters of music, as well as vastly reducing the diversity of talent that benefits from investment.”
“The DCMS (Department for Culture Media and Sport) should commit to developing policy work in partnership with UK Music with a view to introducing a tax credit system to help encourage greater investment into UK music production.”
UK Music also warned that Brexit could impact the UK’s touring artists, calling for Government action to “back plans for a single EU-wide live music touring passport”.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.