24 Jan 2024
By Richard Muir, Deputy Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
The first few weeks of a new year can often be long, dark and challenging and we’ve had our fair share of stormy weather recently, but the live music scene never fails to brighten up the lives and the economy of the city.
It provides a strong ray of light in Winter and optimism for the year ahead but it’s also much more than that.
Live music is big box office, a key component of Glasgow’s cultural offering and a cornerstone economic asset for Scotland more widely. That’s why it was particularly pleasing to hear that DF Concerts was recently ranked 33rd in the world - and 4th in the UK - in Pollstar’s rankings of concert promoters for concert grosses achieved. The ranking excludes festivals, which would actually take it into the top 20 globally. In terms of tickets sold for concerts (not including festivals), DF Concerts ranked 24th globally and, again, 4th in the UK. Pollstar is an international Live Music trade publication, and its rankings carry serious weight in the industry.
That aside, we can’t forget the success and attraction of the biggest and best music festivals which call the city home like TRNSMT, which entertains hundreds of thousands and boosts the city’s economy annually in July at Glasgow Green.
In addition, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut continues to punch way above its weight on a global basis alongside many venues 10 times its size. This is a remarkable achievement and many of the concerts feature emerging local artists on low ticket prices as well as each year presenting a large number of artists who subsequently headline arenas and even stadiums (past alumni include Coldplay, Gerry Cinnamon, Calvin Harris, Amy MacDonald, Arctic Monkeys, Biffy Clyro, Florence & the Machine and The Strokes.
As always, there are also strong showings for Glasgow’s other key live music venues with strong positions in their respective categories for OVO Hydro, 02 Academy, Barrowland Ballroom, and SWG3. DF Concerts alone promoted 46 concerts at the OVO Hydro in 2023 resulting in total ticket sales of over 420,000 and generating an estimated £42M in economic impact to Glasgow. This is in addition to approximately £25M of economic impact from their outdoor shows in Glasgow.
At the end of September, the OVO Hydro celebrated its 10th birthday by launching a celebration of the last decade at one of the world’s busiest and best venues. The Hydro, which forms a key part of the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) and has a capacity of 14,300, welcomed acts including Shania Twain, Busted, and New Order to mark the landmark moment for Scotland’s home of live entertainment.
Since opening its doors in 2013, the OVO Hydro has welcomed over 10 million visitors and has continually ranked in the top five busiest arenas across the world, most recently securing the number one spot in the world on the Billboard Top Grossing Venues (with a capacity of 10-15k). From hosting global superstars Prince, Madonna, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney to homegrown heroes Lewis Capaldi and Paolo Nutini, the past 10 years at the OVO Hydro have showcased some of the best in entertainment on the planet.
Of course, we are also now in the middle of our world-famous Celtic Connections festival which is worth millions to our local economy at an otherwise quiet time of the year. The festival, which is a Glasgow Life event, kicked off on Thursday 18 January and lasts until Sunday 4 February, for what will be one of its biggest-ever capacity festivals. Proudly known as Europe’s premier folk, roots and world music festival, and the home of spectacular musical showcases and one-off collaborations, Celtic Connections has continued to expand into a multitude of genres over its 30-year history.
Glasgow’s status as a UNESCO City of Music will be well and truly on display as more than 300 events bring 25 venues across the city to life, welcoming a host of unmissable music across its 18 days. Much-loved venues, such as the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Barrowland Ballroom, as well as The Pavilion Theatre and Barony Hall, will be providing audiences with a warm welcome. Like the anticipated 110,000 attendees, musicians will descend on Glasgow from all corners of the globe, including North America, West Africa, India, Australia and others making it a truly international attraction.
On top of all this, Scottish Opera and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra make their home in Glasgow alongside other national organisations including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scotland, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) and the Scottish Ensemble. Glasgow has the highest density of higher education institutions offering courses in music and the largest population of music students in Scotland. Glasgow’s music businesses generate proportionately more output than anywhere else in Scotland.
Glasgow is a vibrant city and live music is the city’s beating heart with a legendary music scene that stretches across the whole spectrum from contemporary and classical, to Celtic and Country. Its venues are equally varied, and the city hosts an average 130 music events each week.
It’s a great time of the year to celebrate the city’s music scene and plan our gigs calendar for the next 12 months.
