Sellout events like Glastonbury Festival and mega-grossing stadium shows by Beyoncé, Harry Styles and Blur helped lift the U.K. live music industry to record heights last year, generating 8 billion pounds ($10.3 billion) for the country’s economy, according to new figures published Tuesday (July 23).
Umbrella trade organization UK Music reports that 19.2 million “music tourists” attended live concerts and festivals in the United Kingdom in 2023, up 33% on the previous year. The trade body defines a “music tourist” as someone who has traveled at least three times the average commuting distance for their region or is based overseas.
The £8 billion financial windfall these music tourists contributed to the local economy through direct spending on things like gig tickets, travel, accommodation and food and beverage sales, as well as indirect spending on supply chain businesses such as security and fencing, represents an increase of 21% on 2022’s 6.6 billion pound total.
The 2023 figure is the highest ever recorded by UK Music since the organization started analyzing music tourism spending a decade ago. That’s despite the number of foreign concertgoers falling fractionally to just over 1 million last year, down from 1.053 million in 2022. However, the total number of domestic music tourists grew 36% year-on-year to 18.2 million, said UK Music, while 62,000 jobs were sustained by live gigs.
On a regional basis, London was the United Kingdom’s most popular destination for attending music concerts, drawing 6.9 million music tourists — up 40% year-on-year — who contributed £2.8 billion ($3.6 billion) in spending. The North West of England, a region which includes the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, was the second most popular destination for traveling music fans, with 2.3 million people visiting for live shows and spending £735 million ($950 million).
UK Music chief executive Tom Kiehl said in a statement that the record numbers “demonstrates the positive impact music tourism has on our towns and cities” but warned that “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,” added Kiehl.
So far this year, around 50 U.K. music festivals have either been canceled or folded entirely due to rising production costs and changes in music fans’ ticket-buying habits, according to The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF). The country’s grassroots music venues circuit is also having a difficult time, with the Music Venue Trust (MVT) reporting that 125 venues have either shut down or stopped putting on live music in 2023.
For emerging and mid-tier U.K. artists, the increased costs of fuel and post-Brexit requirements for touring carnets and work permits have brought further financial burdens. As a result, UK Music is calling on the newly installed Labour Government to urgently address what it is calling a “cost-of-touring crisis.”
The United Kingdom is the world’s second-largest music exporter and the world’s third-biggest recorded music market behind the United States and Japan. But without action, it risks being overtaken by countries who are more proactive, warns the trade body, which published a 10-point “Manifesto for Music” last year.
“The U.K’s thriving music industry continues to be one of our most powerful global exports and an important driver of economic growth,” said culture secretary Lisa Nandy in a statement accompanying Tuesday’s music tourism figures.
She said the government will “work hard to ensure our creative industries get the support they need to flourish, driving opportunity and economic growth into every community and inspiring the next generation of performers.”