Output details

An Economic Impact Study of Welsh National Opera in Wales

This report was commissioned by the WNO in a context of wide recognition by the UK Government and the Welsh Assembly Government that music plays a vital and growing role in a modern economy to say nothing of its societal and community roles.

However, the picture in respect of the music industry in Wales is challenging and incomplete especially given that much of the music industry is either made up of small enterprises (businesses and venues), or sole traders whose income is not fully reliant on their music industry activities. A further complication in Wales is the extent of either direct or indirect public subsidy for the music industry in all facets of its scope – from events such as the National Eisteddfod, to the venues such as the Wales Millennium Centre and local authority managed venues to the music institutions themselves such as the Welsh National Opera. Disentangling these activities and the effects of their subsidies makes it hugely problematic to achieve a relevant and useful estimation of economic impact.

The research and analysis conducted here suggests a number of important features that make the contribution and impact of the music industry in Wales worthy of further, more extensive and better resourced study and illustrates the value in dis-entangling these often complex interactions.

The methodology used in this study has been validated in 25 other studies with a diverse range of theatres.