I thank Adam Tomkins for the opportunity to take part in this important debate. Perhaps it is even more important now, in the light of the terrible and devastating fire at the Glasgow School of Art, which also spread to the adjacent O2 ABC building, which is one of the city’s major live music venues, as we have heard in the debate. While investigations take place to establish what happened and what can be done, it is important that we do not lose sight of the many great things that are currently happening in Glasgow—in particular, around music.
Glasgow is recognised internationally for its vibrant and thriving music scene, which attracts music lovers from all over the world. As we have heard, and as the report clearly sets out, that translates into an important economic contribution and more than a thousand full-time jobs. However, the value of music to Glasgow is far from limited to economic benefits. Music, particularly live music, enriches people’s lives, enhances our society and makes a huge contribution to our culture and to how others see us. It demonstrates what a vibrant, lively and exciting place Glasgow is—as Scotland is.
Music is in the very fabric of the city of Glasgow, which is why it has been named as a UNESCO city of music. That is great recognition that deserves to be brought to the fore, as a number of members have said. When last year I met the then newly appointed chair of Glasgow Life, Councillor David McDonald, he shared his plans to make more of that UNESCO designation. In March this year, I met the deputy director general of UNESCO in Paris, and I expressed our strong support for UNESCO’s work and our commitment to promote and harness the value that its recognition brings. He was very pleased when I told him about Glasgow City Council’s undertaking to make more of the UNESCO city of music recognition. Glasgow has a great opportunity to put its name on the music map—which it already has—through that recognition and the networks that it brings. Working in partnership, we need to do everything that we can to ensure that that opportunity is not lost.
Tom Arthur made an important point about grass-roots venues being a pipeline of music opportunity and talent. Last year, I tasked my officials with looking at what can be done to support them. That has already been discussed with other jurisdictions—Wales and others—at the British-Irish Council. Discussions about the agent of change principle were included.
Festivals are, of course, a key part of the music experience in Glasgow. Celtic Connections, which is the world’s largest winter festival, is a great showcase for Scottish traditional music. Earlier this year, I decided to open up the festivals expo fund to include Celtic Connections for the first time. That enabled it to apply for funding of up to £100,000 in the 2018-19 budget. The festivals expo fund, which was set up in 2008, will now also support artists from Celtic Connections to make the most of their career opportunities internationally.
No member has mentioned the world pipe band championships which are happening this summer, which is a fantastic opportunity to bring people to the city for music.
Four of our five national performing companies—the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the National Theatre of Scotland, Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera—are based in Glasgow. Those organisations, which are now in their 12th year of direct Government support, make significant contributions to Glasgow and all Scotland.
On the major infrastructure investments that the Government has provided, capital support of £5.4 million has been provided to develop Glasgow’s Theatre Royal for Scottish Opera, and £8.5 million has been provided to support the creation of a new home for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra as part of the Glasgow Royal concert hall complex. The new national orchestra centre not only provides the orchestra with a state-of-the-art operational base; it also provides Glasgow with a purpose-built music venue. In addition, the dedicated learning and engagement centre supports music making and creativity for young people and communities across Scotland.
Much of the debate has been about contemporary music—or, in Brian Whittle’s case, music that was once contemporary, but is now part of history. This week, the National Museum of Scotland will open a major exhibition for over the summer that is dedicated to Scottish pop music. “Rip It Up” will explore the musical culture of Scotland over more than half a century, and will feature artists and bands from Orange Juice to Franz Ferdinand.
Live music venues are an important part of why people come to Glasgow for music. Obviously, I was saddened to hear about the fire at the O2 ABC at the weekend. We have a number of much-loved venues that have provided stages for emerging new talent and for some of the biggest names in the music industry. Those venues include Barrowlands—I think that I saw The Alarm there once—King Tut’s and the Sub Club. They have played a pivotal role in the careers of not only Scottish acts but international acts. Pauline McNeill made a very important point about the relevance of the international aspects. The character and uniqueness of the venues are a key part of the live music experience.
I was pleased to see that, according to Pollstar, the SSE Hydro was the fourth-busiest arena in the world in 2017 in respect of ticketed sales. It was behind only the O2 Arena in London, Madison Square Garden and Manchester Arena. We should be conscious of that rapid ascent to its being a top world-class experience.
Whether we are talking about long-established or new and emerging music venues, we need to protect the culturally and socially significant spaces that they provide. I pay tribute in particular to Lewis Macdonald, who has pursued the issue for some time. I also pay tribute to the members of the Local Government and Communities Committee. The convener of that committee, Bob Doris, made sure that extended evidence was given on that particular subject as part of consideration of the Planning (Scotland) Bill. That is precisely why the Minister for Local Government and Housing announced earlier this year our intention to introduce the agent of change principle in the next national planning framework. As we have heard, the chief planner wrote to all planning authorities to highlight the Scottish Government’s support for the agent of change principle, and specifically asked them to ensure that issues relating to the potential impact of noise from live music venues are always appropriately assessed and addressed.
In its evidence on the Planning (Scotland) Bill, the Music Venue Trust noted that
“Scotland is already leading the way”—[Official Report, Local Government and Communities Committee, 28 February 2018; c 70.]
in the UK, with the strength of our message on the agent of change principle. Our view is that the appropriate approach is inclusion of the agent of change principle in the national planning framework, the status of which the Planning (Scotland) Bill seeks to strengthen. Nevertheless, I understand that the Minister for Local Government and Housing is considering the committee’s view and whether it would be appropriate to lodge an amendment to the bill. I undertake to draw the attention of the chief planner and the minister to the May case that Lewis Macdonald referred to—if he has not already done so—as part of the generality of the policy issue.
This year is particularly exciting for Glasgow. Running alongside the 2018 European championships—the biggest sporting event in Scotland since the Commonwealth games—the cultural programme of festival 2018 will deliver the best in music and other art forms. Through a groundbreaking cultural partnership between Glasgow and Berlin, a scaled-up Merchant City festival will deliver the best in Scottish and international arts and entertainment. Music will be at the heart of it with a range of concerts and activities including Mix the City—a digital online music platform that will create musical soundscapes of Glasgow and Berlin.
The debate has been important, constructive and engaging, and has rightly had the importance of music front and centre. I support many of the comments that have been made, and I will use my efforts to ensure that we continue to have a great grass-roots pipeline of music in Scotland, including the practical issues that face venues, whether they can be addressed immediately or strategically.
We have great ambitions in Scotland, and we have great talent. Something about Glasgow audiences is very special indeed, as has been referred to. I particularly liked Adam Tomkins’s comment that
“music makes Glasgow and Glasgow makes music”.
It does that particularly well.