Bristol has been named the UK city with the most artists

Pirate, the leading music studio provider in the UK, has recently disclosed the cities with the highest density of bands, DJs, and producers. Conducting a comprehensive study of the UK music industry, Pirate analyzed the number of individuals utilizing music studios in relation to city populations, shedding light on the dynamics of the music scene in various regions. The study also examined the balance between live artists and DJs in different cities, as well as providing insights into the most popular music genres based on applications to Pirate's recent Pirate Residency scheme.

According to Pirate's analysis, Bristol emerged as the UK city with the highest concentration of music artists. By evaluating the number of bands, DJs, and recording artists relative to the overall population, Bristol proved to have the most artist-dense environment. Joining Bristol in the top five cities with a significant artist population were Norwich, Brighton and Hove, Nottingham, and Liverpool.

In contrast, Bradford exhibited the lowest density of music artists among the cities analyzed. Surprisingly, London, despite its renowned music scene, also ranked among the bottom five cities, likely due to the higher cost of living in the capital. This finding underscores the unexpected concentration of music artists across different regions of the country.

Rebecca Mason-Evans, the lead of Pirate Residency, a talent initiative focused on nurturing artists utilizing Pirate's studios, emphasized the significance of supportive environments for fostering talent outside of traditional music hubs. She expressed Pirate's commitment to providing such an environment for artists to thrive.

The study also highlighted the growing interest in electronic music and DJ culture across the UK. Comparing the usage of DJ studios to band rehearsal studios in 17 major cities in the UK and Ireland, Pirate discovered that DJs outnumbered live artists in most cities, including music capitals like London, Manchester, and Birmingham. The exception was Edinburgh, where bands surpassed DJs in number.

Ross Gordon, Pirate's Edinburgh Site Manager, reflected on the abundance of talent emerging from Pirate's Edinburgh site and expressed pride in being part of a music scene that excels in diverse genres and styles. Dublin, the only non-UK city included in the study, also had more live artists than DJs, although by a narrower margin than Edinburgh.

Additionally, Pirate's report provided insights into the most popular genres among applicants to their Pirate Residency scheme. Rock and indie music emerged as the favored genres in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, while drum and bass took the lead in the South West and East of England. House and techno dominated multiple regions, including Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, the South East, the North West, the East Midlands, and London.