Lionel Ritchie, McBusted and Take That helped to raise £271 million for the West Midlands’ economy last year – and a major jobs boost.
The total spend generated by music tourism in the West Midlands hit that figure in 2015 – a £7 million increase on 2014 – on the back of a string of top artists at venues like the Barclaycard Arena, O2 Academy and Symphony Hall.
Festivals like Moseley Folk and the International Jazz Festival and major events like the BBC Music Awards also played a key role.
More than 230,000 people travelled into the West Midlands to take in music gigs last year, and income from music tourists rose 82 per cent year on year – the equivalent of £50 million – due to income from tickets, merchandise, accommodation and food and beverage.
There was also a major boost for jobs on the back of the music industry, with hundreds of new roles created and a total of 1,232 full time workers.
General Manager of the NEC Group Arenas, Guy Dunstan, said: “The results from the UK Music report tally with a noticeable growth in arena enquires from promoters. Birmingham is an attractive routing destination for the domestic touring market as well as international artists and their promoters, bringing with them great benefits to the West Midlands economy.
“With an ever-increasing demand for live music and a healthy number and variety events already booked for 2016/17, we’re hoping for another strong year.”
The Barclaycard Arena and Genting Arena in Birmingham, two of the largest venues in the region, attracted over a million people in 2015, with performances from some of the biggest artists in the world including Lionel Ritchie, McBusted, Take That, Florence + The Machine and One Direction.
The Script’s concert in February 2015 hosted the single, largest audience capacity of the year, hosting 15,443 concert goers in one night.
Emma Gray, director of marketing and communications at Visit Birmingham, said: “Birmingham received 1.1 million international tourists in 2015, largely fuelled by the strength of its arts and culture. The areas reputation as a thriving music hotspot is now growing even further, with major events like the BBC Music Awards taking place here last year - drawing in thousands of music enthusiasts and artists such as Jess Glynne, Mumford & Sons and One Direction. This report confirms just how much music tourism can boost local employment and stimulate the wider economy.”
