Beyonce and Blur Attract 19.2 Million Music Tourists To UK Events
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UK Music, the collective voice of the UK music industry, today
unveils new research into the value of gigs, concerts and festivals
to local economies. A total of 19.2 million music fans travelled
from UK towns and cities and overseas in 2023 to see UK shows from
the likes of Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Harry Styles and Blur, and
festivals like Glastonbury, Boomtown and TRNSMT. UK Music research
reveals: Total number of music tourists attending live music events
across...Request free trial
UK Music, the collective voice of the UK music industry, today unveils new research into the value of gigs, concerts and festivals to local economies. A total of 19.2 million music fans travelled from UK towns and cities and overseas in 2023 to see UK shows from the likes of Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Harry Styles and Blur, and festivals like Glastonbury, Boomtown and TRNSMT. UK Music research reveals:
*See notes to editors for explanation of figures. A foreign music tourist is someone who has travelled from outside of the UK to attend an event in the UK. A domestic music tourist is defined as those who are travelling from within the UK to see live music events, provided they travelled more than three times an average commute for that region. Music tourism is a growing part of the music industry. London saw a 40% rise in music tourists from 4.9 million in 2022, to 6.9 million in 2023. This growth is not just limited to London, with an 86% increase in music tourists to the South West, rising from 1 million in 2022, to 2 million in 2023. There was a 29% increase of music tourists in the North East, from 352,000 in 2022 to 489,000 in 2023. The high-profile Taylor Swift Eras Tour is likely to give a further significant boost to figures for 2024, making the UK one of the global touring centres. While domestic music tourism is thriving, foreign music tourism has dipped slightly in 2023. This figure is prone to fluctuations as we have highlighted in previous years. Music tourism spending is made up of £4.2 billion spent directly by music tourists attending concerts and festivals in the UK, including the cost of a ticket, on-site spend, travel, accommodation, and meals while travelling to events. A further £3.8 billion was spent indirectly through the value chain, including costs such as fencing and security or a restaurant paying for ingredients. However, despite the growth in music tourism, independent festivals and grassroots music venues are still struggling with rising costs and changes in ticket-buying habits. The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) reports that 50 UK festivals have completely closed or been postponed or cancelled for 2024. While the Music Venue Trust (MVT) reports that 125 venues in 2023 either shut or stopped live music. Artists are also facing a cost-of-touring crisis, which is concerning, as the artist-fan relationship is the base of the whole live music industry. In September 2023, UK Music published its Manifesto for Music, which outlined measures that could be taken to supercharge music industry growth and support the talent pipeline and is now calling on the new Government to take action. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "The UK's thriving music industry continues to be one of our most powerful global exports and an important driver of economic growth.
“In towns and cities across the country, the music industry
provides entertainment, employment and inspiration to
millions. UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said: “In 2023, music pulled more than 19 million tourists into local areas and supported £8 billion of spending in local economies across the UK. This demonstrates the positive impact music tourism has on our towns and cities. “But while music generates huge benefits for our local areas, beyond a handful of very successful musicians the opportunities for many artists are becoming increasingly squeezed. “Grassroots music venues and festivals, studios and rehearsal spaces are facing tough economic pressures and it's vital that the music ecosystem that enables musicians and artists to perform is supported to ensure that everyone – no matter where they live - can have access to music. “We're looking forward to working with the new Government to ensure that all our towns and cities have thriving music ecosystems that support the growth of the industry - generating thousands more jobs, boosting economic growth and making their areas even more attractive to visitors.” Last year UK Music' released the Here, There and Everywhere report that featured a toolkit to local governments to help them maximize the opportunities music can bring to their economies. END Notes to editors: For further information please contact: Jennifer Geddes Communications Manager M:07557 654821 E: Jennifer.geddes@ukmusic.org Vincent Moss Director Of Communications M: 07718 585333 Read UK Music's Manifesto for Music here. All figures are analysed by Oxford Economics, a leader in global economic forecasting and quantitative analysis. All the figures are rounded, except for the number of foreign music tourists, which is presented in full this year. This is because rounding would distort the fluctuation from 2022. While UK Music collects data from the industry, all figures are estimations and are subject to revision. The employment figure in 2022 was reported as 56,000 but has now been revised to 53,000. The event attendance numbers represent the total number of visits to live events made in 2023 and so an individual may visit more than one event. Domestic music tourists are defined as those who are travelling from within the UK to see live music events if they travelled more than three times an average commute. Total music tourism spend covers both direct and indirect spend. This includes ticket sales, food and beverage sales, merchandise, venue parking, camping fees, accommodation, travel, and additional spending outside of venues while visiting the UK for a live music event, as well as spending indirectly supported by such businesses' supply chain. Employment from music tourism captures jobs sustained by music tourism and is measured in terms of full-time equivalency. Music tourism data broken down by nations and English regions: Northern Ireland Visits: 345,000 Spend: £135 million Employment: 1,110 Scotland Visits: 1.6 million Spend: £499 million Employment: 4,320 Wales Visits: 707,000 Spend: £276 million Employment: 2,830 London Visits: 6.9 million Spend: £2.8 billion Employment:17,210 North East Visits: 489,000 Spend: £187 million Employment: 1,730 North West Visits: 2.3 million Spend: £735 million Employment: 6,220 Yorkshire and the Humber Visits: 1.1 million Spend: £434 million Employment: 3,890 East Midlands Visits: 649,000 Spend: £398 million Employment: 3,530 West Midlands Visits: 1.2 million Spend: £510 million Employment: 4,470 East of England Visits: 625 million Spend: £363 million Employment: 2,840 South East Visits: 1.2 million Spend: £715 million Employment: 4,994 South West Visits: 2 million Spend: £897 million Employment: 8,680 |