HOW BRITAIN MAKES MONEY ON MUSIC

The United Kingdom is the long-standing leader in world music development. Naturally, music tourism has become a super profitable business, harmoniously integrated into the national economy.

Music concerts and festivals have been adding charm to Britain’s life for decades. The best part is that music tourism has contributed to the economic rehabilitation of every UK district. Over the last four years, the number of foreign tourists coming to Britain to participate in various music events has grown by 39%. Each of the “music pilgrims” contributed approximately 751 pounds sterling to British businesses. This rapid growth led to an increase in employment: in 2014, 38,238 people around the country were employed full-time in music tourism.

UK Culture Secretary John Whittingdale believes the music tourism boom is totally logical: “British music is legendary, and its influence is constantly growing. Today, every seventh album sold in the world is made by a British performer. Our music festivals such as Glastonbury are a cult in the global music arena and promote international tourism in the UK, attracting tourists to all regions of the country. We know that our creative industry contributes 76.9 billion pounds sterling to the British economy annually and is a major promoter of the UK.”

In 2014, Oxford Economics carried out economic research requested by UK Music, which demonstrated a fabulous scale of music tourism in Britain and its great influence on the economy of the whole country. The research includes detailed evidence on the direct impact of music events and the torrent of fans in every British region. The research report also provides examples of festivals and campaigns supporting the continuous growth of music tourism, including Glastonbury in England, The Isle of Wight Festival and Green Man in Wales, T-in The Park in Scotland, the legendary Koko music venues in London, The Leadmill in Sheffield, and The Sage Gateshead.

The complete research report may be found here.

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