The SMIA Summit 2024: A Sound Investment – What’s Scotland’s Music Industry Worth?

This session will be centred around the key findings of recent SMIA co-commissioned research, which benchmarks the size, scale and value of Scotland’s music industry. These insights will provide a foundation for all Summit sessions, contextualising discussions and allowing participants to effectively discuss potential solutions.

Keynote speaker Dr Robert Allan will commence with an executive summary of his PhD research, ‘Mapping and Measuring the Scottish Music Ecosystem’. His study highlights the economic value of the sector and sets the stage for a broader exploration of ‘value’ – including social, cultural, and economic dimensions. The SMIA will publish an executive summary of the research ahead of the Summit to provide important context to the session. 

Following the keynote, our expert panel will delve into both the economic impact of Scotland’s music industry and the current public funding landscape for Scotland’s creative industries. Despite the creative industries receiving only 0.56% of Government spending for 2024-25, compared to the European average of 1.5%, there is a promising commitment from the Scottish Government to invest an additional £100 million annually in culture and the arts by 2028/29.

We’ll explore how this increased investment can be strategically allocated to ensure transparent and sustainable growth within the music sector, as well as discuss the unquantifiable value of music to Scotland and why investment in the sector benefits Scottish society more broadly. Our goal is to challenge existing perceptions, advocate for meaningful investment and develop actionable steps to bolster the industry’s resilience and commercial success.

The SMIA Summit 2024 is an exclusive event for SMIA Members, join our free SMIA membership.