Amongst the cider, the costumes, the denim, the mud, and the pills (pardon the generalisation on the latter), the epitome of British summertime happiness - the Music festival - is the beat of the UK summer in more ways than one. 'Music is putting the GREAT in Great Britain', UK Music Chief Executive Jo Dipple enthused, as UK Music – the umbrella organisation encompassing the collective interests of the UK's commercial music industry – published an economic study today, revealing the remarkable contribution of music tourism to the economy.
The report 'Wish You Were Here 2015' reveals detailed evidence of the direct impact that music events, along with their ever-increasing influx of fans, have upon every region of the UK, including: Glastonbury, the Isle of Wight Festival, T-in the Park, Koko, Green Man, Sheffield's iconic Leadmill Venue, and the Sage in Gateshead. A grand total of £3.1 billion, generated in the hands of 9.5 million festival fanatics, boomed the UK economy in 2014. Most essential, however, is the effect that this surge has had on driving wealth into recovering local economies across the whole of the UK, as 38,238 sustained full-time employees owe their thanks to music tourism.
Cultural Secretary John Whittingdale commented: "It's fantastic news […] but it's no surprise. Festivals like Glastonbury hold an iconic status on the world music scene," he said. "We know our UK creative industries contribute an astonishing £76.9 billion to the UK economy but this report confirms they are truly world-class and a powerful advert for the UK." A powerful advert indeed, Britain's truly world-class sound of 2014 is reported to have enraptured the ears of 546,000 overseas tourists, with the average festival-goer spending £751 directly to UK businesses when attending gigs. The chairman of UK Music, Andy Heath, expressed the need for the continuation of this exponential growth crescendo: "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."
Thus, Britain's rich music heritage continues to produce happiness and well-being as it has done for decades. Calling all festival-goers…Wish You Were Here 2015? Here's to an even more lucrative British summertime sound; thank you for the music.