Scottish Music Industry Urges Action to Prevent Cultural Funding Crisis – Scottish Business News

The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) is urgently calling on artists, industry professionals and music businesses from across Scotland and the wider UK to sign an open letter to First Minister John Swinney.

The open letter is in response to the closure of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals and the delayed reopening of the Access to Music Making and Strengthening Youth Music Funds.

These decisions, caused by the Scottish Government’s failure to confirm the release of previously allocated Grant-in-Aid funding, have sparked “the worst crisis that Scotland’s music and wider arts sector has ever faced.”

This crisis is unfolding rapidly, and the campaign will be live for 48 hours, leading up to 2pm on Friday 30 August, when Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals will officially close.

At this point, the SMIA will send the open letter to Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, backed by a growing list of high-profile signatories, demanding urgent action to avert “a cultural catastrophe” that “will lead to both direct and consequential job losses across an already underfunded sector.”

“Culture funding must be deemed essential,” the letter states, as it warns of the far-reaching impacts on the entire music ecosystem. “Without the ability to secure funding, many artists and industry freelancers will be unable to sustain creative activities. This will lead to critical job losses and sector skills vanishing, damaging Scotland’s music industry irrevocably, along with the Scottish economy.”

The campaign launches with over 170 signatories already confirmed. Key artist signatories include: Biffy Clyro, Paolo Nutini, Franz Ferdinand, The Proclaimers, Karine Polwart, Mogwai, Young Fathers, Glasvegas, Frightened Rabbit, Joesef, The Twilight Sad, Fatherson, Barry Can’t Swim, Honeyblood, Kathryn Joseph, Dead Pony, Vukovi, C Duncan, Elephant Sessions, Julie Fowlis, Hen Hoose, Seonaid Aitken, Stanley Odd, TAAHLIAH,  Juliette Lemoine, SHHE, Carla J Easton, Fergus McCreadie, Niteworks, Horse, Withered Hand and many more, with the list expanding every hour. 

Key organisation signatories include: Wide Events CIC, Active Events, Craft Management, CCM Live, A Modern Way Management, the Music Managers’ Forum, PRS Foundation, Chemikal Underground Records, Nostromo Management, HebCelt Festival, Skye Live Festival and many more.

Alex Kapranos, Franz Ferdinand, said: “This is a disappointingly short sighted cut which will cost exponentially more than what is saved in the short term financially.

“The arts are how a nation knows who they are. Without them we have an identity as two dimensional as the bottom line of a balanced account.”

Rod Jones, Idlewild, said: “Art in all forms is crucial to growth, well-being, joy and life.  To be truly artistic, relevant and unimpaired art is not always commercial so government support and funding is crucial to growing a healthy arts scene, nurturing and developing new and existing talents to showcase what incredible artists Scotland can and has produced.”

Stina Tweeddale, Honeyblood, said: “As a former recipient  of Creative Scotland funding, I can wholeheartedly say that my career would not have been the same without it … I implore the Scottish Government to reconsider this move, as there is no doubt that a lack of this support will have a colossal impact on the arts sector. We are more than just entertainment.”

The letter further highlights the “disparity between the Scottish Government’s stated goals and the current situation,” noting that while a pledge of an additional £100 million in cultural funding annually by 2028-29 has been made, “this does not address the immediate crisis. The sector cannot wait years for the investment it desperately needs now.”

The closure of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals threatens a music industry that, in 2018, generated an estimated £195 million for Scotland’s economy and contributed £406 million through music tourism.

These statistics come from recent co-commissioned research by the SMIA, conducted by Dr. Robert Allan as part of his ‘Mapping and Measuring Scotland’s Music Industries’ PhD project, which began in 2019.

The research also highlights that Scotland’s music industry supported approximately 10,373 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in 2018, with the vast majority – around 9,157 of those roles – carried out by freelancers who “rely on cultural funding to sustain their careers.” Further findings from the research will be presented on Thursday 5 September at The SMIA Summit 2024.

Without immediate action, many of these freelancers will be forced to leave the sector, “exacerbating inequalities and limiting opportunities for those from less privileged backgrounds.” This will not only harm Scotland’s cultural output but will also lead to “critical job losses and sector skills vanishing,” ultimately weakening the Scottish economy and its music industry irreparably.

The Open Letter calls on the Scottish Government to take the following immediate actions:

1. Confirm the previously committed cultural investment of £10.7 million for this financial year, allowing Creative Scotland to re-open the Open Fund for Individuals and open applications for the Access to Music Making and Strengthening Youth Music Funds.
2. Ensure that the planned £25 million increase in cultural funding for 2025 is secured by the start of the new financial year (1 April 2025). Additionally, expedite the distribution of as much of the pledged £100 million annual cultural funding increase by 2028-29 as early as possible.

Artists, industry professionals and music businesses are urged to add their names to the letter and stand in solidarity to prevent the collapse of Scotland’s cultural sector. Signatories can join via this Google Form, and are invited to contribute a short statement to share perspectives on the impact of the Scottish Government’s decisions on the sector, and what cultural funding has meant for their careers. 

Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and Creative Director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), said: “This is a cultural emergency of unprecedented scale, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

“We are facing the loss of vital jobs, creative careers and our diverse cultural identity. The time to act is now. We need every voice to unite and demand that the Scottish Government fulfils its commitments.

“Our sector’s survival – and Scotland’s cultural future – depends on it. Culture funding must be deemed essential.”

To learn more and sign up as a signatory, please visit http://smia.org.uk/cultural-funding-crisis