Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro and other stars warn Swinney of ‘cultural catastrophe’

Some of Scotland’s best-known music acts including Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro and Franz Ferdinand have warned John Swinney that the country is facing a “cultural catastrophe” due to cuts in arts funding.

In an open letter to the First Minister, more than 170 music industry figures say the closure of a Creative Scotland fund has sparked “the worst crisis that Scotland’s music and wider arts sector has ever faced”.

They have joined a chorus of discontent from the arts sector, after 130 individuals and organisations urged the Scottish Government to restore funding last week.

Creative Scotland has announced it is closing its Open Fund for Individuals to new applications as the Scottish Government has been unable to confirm if £6.6 million of funding will be released.

Other bands and artists to sign the music industry letter include The Proclaimers, Mogwai, Young Fathers, Glasvegas, Frightened Rabbit, Joesef, and The Twilight Sad.

Alex Kapranos, lead singer of Franz Ferdinand, said: “This is a disappointingly short-sighted cut which will cost exponentially more than what is saved in the short-term financially.

“The arts are how a nation knows who they are. Without them we have an identity as two dimensional as the bottom line of a balanced account.”

Rod Jones, of Idlewild, said: “Art in all forms is crucial to growth, well-being, joy and life.

“To be truly artistic, relevant and unimpaired, art is not always commercial so government support and funding is crucial to growing a healthy arts scene, nurturing and developing new and existing talents to showcase what incredible artists Scotland can and has produced.”

The campaign was organised through the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), a non-profit trade body.

In the letter to Mr Swinney, the artists say they “write to you with deep concern” about the closure of the Open Fund and other funds for musicians.

It continues: “These decisions, resulting from the Scottish Government’s inability to confirm the release of previously allocated grant-in-aid funding, have ignited the worst crisis that Scotland’s music and wider arts sector has ever faced. A cultural catastrophe is in process.

“It will lead to both direct and consequential job losses across an already underfunded sector, one which was disproportionately crippled by the pandemic and has yet to fully recover.

“The explanation that these decisions stem from emergency spending controls may reflect broader financial pressures, but they are devastating for Scottish culture, the economy and society.”

It calls for artists and cultural freelancers to be treated with the “same respect” as workers in other sectors which have recently secured pay deals.

The musicians have called for the fund to be reopened with a £10.7 million investment and a further £25 million for cultural funding in the next financial year.

The SMIA notes the music industry was estimated to have generated £195 million for the Scottish economy in 2018.

SNP ministers have been emphasising the challenging situation the Scottish Government faces around public finances, as it battles with the impact of inflation and the pressures of public sector pay deals.

Culture secretary Angus Robertson said: “I understand the concerns of many people within the artistic community, and I want to reassure those individuals that the Scottish Government is listening very carefully to the representations they are making.

“We are dealing with very significant challenges in the public finances, which are exacerbated by the UK Government’s recent announcements.

“We are investing significantly already in cultural activities, with over £55 million of investment in Creative Scotland this financial year.

“The government will set out in due course what further steps we can take to address the challenges that we are facing and to make sure that we address the issues that have been drawn to our attention by the artistic community.”