UK Music, the collective voice of the UK music business, as we speak unveils new analysis into the worth of gigs, concert events and festivals to native economies.
A complete of 19.2 million music followers travelled from UK cities and cities and abroad in 2023 to see UK exhibits from the likes of Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Harry Kinds and Blur, and festivals like Glastonbury, Boomtown and TRNSMT.
UK Music analysis reveals:
Whole variety of music vacationers attending dwell music occasions throughout the UK in 2023 was 19.2 million – a rise of 33% on 2022 when the determine was 14.4 million.
Whole music tourism spending in 2023 was £8 billion – a rise of 21% on 2022 when the determine was £6.6 billion.
Whole employment sustained by music tourism in 2023 was 62,000, which is a rise of 17% on 2022 when the determine was 53,000.
Whole variety of overseas music vacationers in 2023 was 1.014 million, which is a slight drop from 1.053 million in 2022.
Whole variety of home music vacationers in 2023 was 18.2 million, which is a rise of 36% on 2022 when the overall was 13.3 million.
*See notes to editors for clarification of figures.
A overseas music vacationer is somebody who has travelled from exterior of the UK to attend an occasion within the UK. A home music vacationer is outlined as those that are travelling from throughout the UK to see dwell music occasions, supplied they travelled greater than 3 times a median commute for that area.
Music tourism is a rising a part of the music business. London noticed a 40% rise in music vacationers from 4.9 million in 2022, to six.9 million in 2023.
This progress is not only restricted to London, with an 86% enhance in music vacationers to the South West, rising from 1 million in 2022, to 2 million in 2023. There was a 29% enhance of music vacationers within the North East, from 352,000 in 2022 to 489,000 in 2023.
The high-profile Taylor Swift Eras Tour is probably going to offer an additional important enhance to figures for 2024, making the UK one of many international touring centres.
Whereas home music tourism is flourishing, overseas music tourism has dipped barely in 2023. This determine is susceptible to fluctuations as we have now highlighted in earlier years.
Music tourism spending is made up of £4.2 billion spent straight by music vacationers attending concert events and festivals within the UK, together with the price of a ticket, on-site spend, journey, lodging, and meals whereas travelling to occasions. An extra £3.8 billion was spent not directly by the worth chain, together with prices equivalent to fencing and safety or a restaurant paying for components.
Nonetheless, regardless of the expansion in music tourism, unbiased festivals and grassroots music venues are nonetheless battling rising prices and adjustments in ticket-buying habits.
The Affiliation of Unbiased Festivals (AIF) studies that fifty UK festivals have utterly closed or been postponed or cancelled for 2024. Whereas the Music Venue Belief (MVT) studies that 125 venues in 2023 both shut or stopped dwell music.
Artists are additionally dealing with a cost-of-touring disaster, which is regarding, because the artist-fan relationship is the bottom of the entire dwell music business.
In September 2023, UK Music printed its Manifesto for Music, which outlined measures that might be taken to supercharge music business progress and help the expertise pipeline and is now calling on the brand new Authorities to take motion.
Tradition Secretary Lisa Nandy stated:
“The UK’s thriving music business continues to be certainly one of our strongest international exports and an essential driver of financial progress.
“In cities and cities throughout the nation, the music business supplies leisure, employment and inspiration to hundreds of thousands.
“This Authorities will work exhausting to make sure our artistic industries get the help they should flourish, driving alternative and financial progress into each group and provoking the subsequent technology of performers.”
UK Music Chief Government Tom Kiehl stated:
“In 2023, music pulled greater than 19 million vacationers into native areas and supported £8 billion of spending in native economies throughout the UK. This demonstrates the constructive affect music tourism has on our cities and cities.
“However whereas music generates large advantages for our native areas, past a handful of very profitable musicians the alternatives for a lot of artists have gotten more and more squeezed.
“Grassroots music venues and festivals, studios and rehearsal areas are dealing with powerful financial pressures and it’s very important that the music ecosystem that allows musicians and artists to carry out is supported to make sure that everybody – irrespective of the place they dwell – can have entry to music.
“We’re wanting ahead to working with the brand new Authorities to make sure that all our cities and cities have thriving music ecosystems that help the expansion of the business – producing 1000’s extra jobs, boosting financial progress and making their areas much more enticing to guests.”
Final yr UK Music’ launched the Right here, There and In every single place report that featured a toolkit to native governments to assist them maximize the alternatives music can carry to their economies.
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