EPISODE · May 20, 2026 · 12 MIN
Is there a crisis in Scottish music? - Scotpop investigates
from Scotpop · host Allan Glen
The Beta Band. Big Country. The Skids. Friends Again. The Rezillos. The Bluebells. The list of recently reformed Scottish bands goes on and on.As fans, we’re excited to have these bands back, of course, but having worked on music business magazines for 15 years, one thing I learned was promoters and venues like safe bets. Increasingly, with record sales collapsing, the music business is the live music industry.Yet as more and more bands who had their heyday in the 70, 80s and 90s reform to play live where does that leave Scottish music industry today? It’s a question I put to Sir Ian Rankin in the second part of our interview (the full interview will be coming shortly). It’s also a subject I discussed with James Grant (Friends Again/Love and Money) and Douglas MacIntyre, boss of the Creeping Bent record label. All three guests offer great insight and analysis into what is going on in Scottish music today.The importance of the live music industry on new music acts is also a subject I discuss this week with Erin Reidy, guitarist with Brontës, one of the most talked-about emerging bands in Scotland. This episode also features an introduction to four new bands you’re going to be hearing a lot of in the next year (and, yes, the Brontës are one of them). It would be great to hear what you think of the current state of music in Scotland; those who susbcribe to the Substack newsletter will be able to read about reports this week of the “deepening crisis” in the Scottish festival scene, with six promoters postponing or pausing their events this year. Add in the cultural evisceration with music programming at BBC Radio Scotland - Nicola Meighan is just the latest presenter to be axed – and suddenly the idea of a “crisis” in Scotttish music doesn’t seem so wide of the mark. Let me know what you think.You can sign up here for the new Scotpop newsletter on Substack - featuring extended shownotes, behind the scenes info, Scottish music news stories and the best new bands.For the latest news on the podcast and music updates, make sure to follow Scotpop on:InstagramLinkedInFacebookXHave any feedback, guest suggestions or general comments? Great - I’d love to hear from you at the links above, or you can email me at [email protected]. Cheers.
What this episode covers
The Beta Band. Big Country. The Skids. Friends Again. The Rezillos. The Bluebells. The list of recently reformed Scottish bands goes on and on.As fans, we’re excited to have these bands back, of course, but having worked on music business magazines for 15 years, one thing I learned was promoters and venues like safe bets. Increasingly, with record sales collapsing, the music business is the live music industry.Yet as more and more bands who had their heyday in the 70, 80s and 90s reform to play live where does that leave Scottish music industry today? It’s a question I put to Sir Ian Rankin in the second part of our interview (the full interview will be coming shortly). It’s also a subject I discussed with James Grant (Friends Again/Love and Money) and Douglas MacIntyre, boss of the Creeping Bent record label. All three guests offer great insight and analysis into what is going on in Scottish music today.The importance of the live music industry on new music acts is also a subject I discuss this week with Erin Reidy, guitarist with Brontës, one of the most talked-about emerging bands in Scotland. This episode also features an introduction to four new bands you’re going to be hearing a lot of in the next year (and, yes, the Brontës are one of them). It would be great to hear what you think of the current state of music in Scotland; those who susbcribe to the Substack newsletter will be able to read about reports this week of the “deepening crisis” in the Scottish festival scene, with six promoters postponing or pausing their events this year. Add in the cultural evisceration with music programming at BBC Radio Scotland - Nicola Meighan is just the latest presenter to be axed – and suddenly the idea of a “crisis” in Scotttish music doesn’t seem so wide of the mark. Let me know what you think.You can sign up here for the new Scotpop newsletter on Substack - featuring extended shownotes, behind the scenes info, Scottish music news stories and the best new bands.For the latest news on the podcast and music updates, make sure to follow Scotpop on:InstagramLinkedInFacebookXHave any feedback, guest suggestions or general comments? Great - I’d love to hear from you at the links above, or you can email me at [email protected]. Cheers.
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Is there a crisis in Scottish music? - Scotpop investigates
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