Member Article

Beatles Story points way to unlocking value of UK music heritage for tourism

The UK could earn an extra £4bn every year in music heritage tourism, according to a report from UK Music, the campaigning and lobbying group representing every part of the recorded and live music industry.

Titled ‘Imagine’, the study’s findings take the example of Liverpool, where the heritage of The Beatles attracts millions of music tourists every year and generates £70 million for the city’s local economy.

The impact that music heritage has on the region’s tourism economy will be discussed at the ‘Business of The Beatles’ symposium, held by the award-winning Beatles Story, as part of Liverpool’s International Festival for Business (IFB).

The symposium, chaired by Liverpool’s business ambassador Mike Southon, will take place on the 26th and 27th June. The event will present both local and international specialist speakers discussing Liverpool’s popular music heritage tourism industry and the wider global industry of Beatles-related business.

The lead speaker will be Roag Best, brother of ex-Beatle Pete Best and MD of the Casbah venue in Liverpool.

Billy Kinsley, founding member of Liverpool band The Merseybeats, who appeared with The Beatles at Liverpool’s Cavern Club on many occasions, has also been confirmed as a speaker at the two-day event.

Taking place at Liverpool Hope University’s Creative Campus, the symposium will consider how the legacy of The Beatles has been handled by entrepreneurs within Liverpool.

The event will also look at how the history of pop tourism has brought the city to this stage in its development. Joining the Beatles Story and Liverpool Hope University for the event will be speakers from Cavern City Tours, the Beatles Story and Liverpool Vision, amongst other international experts.

Issues will include the uses of The Beatles’ music in advertising, Beatles branding, the pitfalls of pop ‘museumification’, the mixed histories of Beatle City and Merseybeat-related vanity publishing, and more besides: all relating to The Beatles’ and popular music’s economic legacy.

Martin King of the Beatles Story says: “As a vital and much-loved institution at the forefront of Liverpool’s cultural offering, the Beatles Story is well-placed to contribute to this fascinating symposium.

“Beatles business comes in many forms and there’s a lot to be learnt from the ways other cities have packaged their musical heritage both in terms of their successes and failures.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .