Current status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 12 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) economic and (b) cultural impact of grassroots music venues.
The Scottish Government has not conducted a formal assessment of the economic and cultural impacts disaggregated to the sub-level of grassroots music venues.
However in August 2024 the Scottish Government Industry Statistics Database estimated the overall Creative Industries sector GVA in 2022 (including digital) as £5,724 million.
Considering cultural attendance at a general level, the latest data from the 2023 Scottish Household Survey shows us that cultural attendance in Scotland is high and has increased since 2022. Attendance at a live music event (at 36 per cent) was the second most common type of event for adults to attend. Within that, attendance at live music events (in venues of all sizes across Scotland) was over four in ten for 16 to 24 year olds (46 per cent), compared with 11 per cent of those aged 75 or over.
As with other sectors in Scotland’s Creative Industries, the Scottish Government also pays careful attention to external, illustrative research undertaken by partners and stakeholders, such as the April 2025 report from the Music Venues Trust.