Live music lovers boost UK economy by £3bn

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By ( Louder ) published

Study finds those travelling around the country for events like Download contributed £3bn in 2014

A new report has found that fans travelling around the country for music events like the Download festival boosted the economy by £3.1bn in 2014.

The Wish You Were Here study carried out by UK Music discovered a total of 9.5m people attended gigs and festivals across the country last year – a 34% increase between 2011-2014.

The research also found out that live music sustained 38,238 full-time jobs and that 546,000 fans from overseas came to the UK to see their favourite artists in the same period, each spending £751 on average.

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale says: “British music is legendary around the world and continues to go from strength to strength, with UK artists now accounting for one in seven albums sold worldwide.”

UK Music chairman Andy Heath adds: “More international music tourists are coming to the UK and more Brits are travelling further afield to gigs.

“The average spend by international music tourists has increased by 13% during this period while the total exports have grown by less than 2%. If we want an export-led recovery, we need music tourists to keep coming to the UK.”

UK Music is made up of industry groups representing musicians, songwriters, labels, producers and others.

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.