A new tourism campaign promoting Glasgow’s legendary music scene to potential visitors from across the UK has launched. Developed by Glasgow Life’s Destination Marketing team, “Glasgow: Music Nonstop” showcases the energy and vibrancy of the city’s unrivalled music offer, positioning Glasgow as a first-choice short break destination for music fans.
Article published 15/02/2022
Glasgow’s reputation as a music capital
Named “Europe’s Secret Capital of Music” by TIME Magazine, Glasgow was the UK’s first, and remains Scotland’s only, UNESCO City of Music. Prior to COVID-19, Glasgow hosted an average of 130 gigs and music events every week, contributing an estimated £75 million each year to the city’s economy.
SWG3, Glasgow
Image credit Ryan Johnston for Glasgow Life
Destination & Sector Marketing Fund
The campaign was created with £90,000 from VisitScotland’s Destination & Sector Marketing Fund. It’s aimed at supporting the recovery and restart of Glasgow’s music and night-time industries in the wake of the pandemic, as well as reinforcing the wider message that the city’s tourism and hospitality sector is open for business.
Campaign activity
Running until the end of March 2022, the campaign features a mix of targeted digital and social media advertising, PR activity and new music-themed content on the city’s official visitor website, peoplemakeglasgow.com.
Additionally, a new 30-second video provides a teaser of Glasgow’s world-class music scene and is set against the track “Young Punks” by up-and-coming Glasgow indie band Voodoos, who performed at TRNSMT in 2021. Visit the dedicated campaign landing page on the People Make Glasgow website.
Watch the campaign video
Importance of industry collaboration
Industry collaboration is a key element of the campaign and Glasgow Life has engaged with partners throughout the planning process. This has included:
- Involving music industry figures in creative briefings
- Hosting a workshop to inspire businesses to come together and create new bookable music-themed visitor offers
- Inviting businesses to have their say and help shape how the city’s music products and experiences are promoted
An industry toolkit hosting campaign assets has also been made available for businesses to use on their own social and digital channels. Access the industry toolkit.
Visitor experiences in the city
A strong focus of Glasgow Life’s campaign is on visitor experiences, products and attractions that help bring the city’s unique musical heritage and character to life – from Glasgow Music City Tours’ guided walks around iconic venues, to Mharsanta’s popular Trad Trail Experience, combining great food and a stroll through Glasgow’s folk music history, or City Sightseeing Glasgow’s newly launched music bus tour, narrated by multi-award-winning Scots singer-songwriter Eddi Reader.
Glasgow enjoys a global reputation as a live music hotspot. Our venues punch well above their weight internationally – our OVO Hydro is regularly named in the world’s top five arenas – and the passion and enthusiasm of our audiences is unrivalled.
We’re also home to some outstanding tours and visitor experiences, which delve deep into our city’s vast musical legacy. It’s these credentials that make Glasgow a must-play destination for the world’s biggest artists and promoters, and it’s a major reason why visitors choose to come here.
From Celtic Connections to TRNSMT and every genre in between, our legendary music scene offers something for every fan, which is why music is a core pillar of Glasgow’s Tourism and Visitor Plan to 2023. Supporting the recovery of our music and night-time industries post-pandemic is hugely important for the city, not just for our visitor economy, but to help protect the thousands of jobs that exist across these industries, their supply chains and more widely across every part of our tourism and hospitality sector.
Since autumn 2021 we have been promoting Scotland’s UNESCO Trail, capturing the spirit of Scotland – including the pulsating heart of Glasgow’s music scene as UNESCO City of Music. The trail encourages visitors to stay longer, explore more widely and support local tourism businesses.
The Destination & Sector Marketing Fund money awarded to Glasgow Life for “Glasgow: Music Nonstop” will help to accelerate the sustainable recovery of the tourism sector in the Glasgow City Region in the medium to long-term, helping to reach new audiences within the domestic market.
Tourism recovery
“Glasgow: Music Nonstop” was created with assistance from the Destination & Sector Marketing Fund, delivered by VisitScotland as part of the Scottish Government’s £25 million tourism recovery programme. Find out more about the COVID-19 tourism recovery programme.
Glasgow Tourism and Visitor Plan to 2023
This activity supports Glasgow’s recovery plan for tourism, developed following a review of the Glasgow Tourism and Visitor Plan to 2023. Sustainability and shared responsibility are the guiding principles of this new Action Plan, which is led by the partnership of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life, Scottish Enterprise and VisitScotland. Find out more about the Glasgow Tourism and Visitor Plan to 2023.