A wave of big-name acts including Taylor Swift, Charli xcx and Bruce Springsteen helped to attract a record of more than 23 million live music fans in the UK last year, leading to an unprecedented £10bn of spending across the UK economy.
A report from the industry body UK Music estimates that 23.5 million “music tourists” attended concerts and festivals last year, up almost a quarter on the 19.2 million in 2023.
While the vast majority, 93%, were UK music fans, the number of overseas music tourists climbed to 1.6 million, a 62% annual increase.
The Hometown Glory report credited Swift’s Eras tour, the most commercially successful tour of all time, with helping to drive the figures to a “new high”, while festivals including Glastonbury, Download and Boardmasters also proved to be big draws.
Other major acts who played in the UK last year included Sam Fender, Olivia Rodrigo, Girls Aloud, Chappell Roan, the Killers and Foo Fighters.
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said: “These numbers show just how powerful the UK is as a home for live music, attracting the biggest acts, drawing millions of fans, and giving a real boost to local economies through tourism and jobs.”
Spending on music tourism hit a record £10bn last year, up by about 25% over the £8bn spent in 2023. The figure includes £5.1bn spent directly by music tourists on tickets, food and drink, merchandise, travel, parking and accommodation.
It also includes £4.9bn classified as indirect spending such as on fencing and security at concerts.
While the additional 4.3 million music tourists that attended gigs and concerts last year helped fuel the record £10bn spend, it has also been boosted by the impact of inflation on accommodation, travel and food and drink as well as soaring ticket prices.
This year, Oasis fans are expected to splash out more than £1bn on the reunion tour, more than £766 a person across the 17-date tour.
The report highlights the dominance of London, which is home to big arenas such as the O2 and Wembley, which drew 7.5 million music fans and accounted for £2.7bn of the total £10bn in revenues. The capital was followed by the north-west of England, with 3.3 million visitors and £1.2bn in revenues, and the south-west of England, with 2.5 million music tourists and £1.1bn.
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Overall, the live music industry supported 72,000 full-time equivalent jobs last year, up from 62,000 in 2023, according to UK Music.
However, the report also highlights the increasing pressure on the industry, with 250 festivals having ceased to operate between 2019 and June this year.
“While music generates huge benefits for our local areas, there remain a number of challenges facing our sector such as the rising cost of touring for artists and the threat of closure looming over venues, studios and other music spaces.”