Report: Music tourism worth £3.1bn to the UK

Music tourism was worth £3.1 billion (A$6.25 billion) to the UK economy in 2014, according to a report by the industry body UK Music. It is made up of industry groups representing musicians, songwriters, record labels and studio producers, among others.

In its Wish You Were Here 2015 analysis, UK Music maintained 9.5 million music fans from abroad visited the UK to attend concerts and music festivals, a 39% rise from 2010. Each spent an average of £751 or A$1514 (up 13%) and helped maintain 38,238 full time jobs, a 57% increase from 2012.

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale attributed this to the fact that UK artists now account for one in seven albums sold globally, and for the worldwide reputation that UK festivals like Glastonbury enjoy.

"We know our UK creative industries contribute an astonishing £76.9 billion ($15.5 billion) to the UK economy but this report confirms they are truly world-class and a powerful advert for the UK."

Scotland alone drew 721,000 music tourists for festivals like T in the Park, Celtic Connections and The Wickerman. North Ireland drew 260,000, generating £84 million ($169.3 million), spending an average of £860 ($1730) each and helped sustain 694 full-time local jobs.

The UK Music report comes a week after a report by the IFPI and Music Canada, which stressed how global music cities as London, Melbourne and Austin play a large role in attracting fans.

In 2012 London drew 1 million and Manchester 45,000. Nashville attracted 1.3 million last year contributing over US$5 billion (A$6.45 billion) in revenue. Its Country Music Hall of Fame alone was visited by 900,000 in 2014.

The IFPI and Music Canada stated that music tourism accounted for almost half of the US$1.6 billion (A$2 billion) of economic output, and US$38 billion (A$49 billion) in tax revenue attributed to music in 2010. In 2014, it accounted to US$315 million (A$406.8 million), which it described as “impressive”.

The report did not specify music visitor numbers for Melbourne but pointed out that 5.4 million attended gigs during 2009/10.