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The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) is bringing back its annual conference with the SMIA Summit 2025.
The two-day event is taking place at The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow on Thursday, September 4 and Friday, September 5.
Building on last year’s digital pilot, this year’s in-person Summit – delivered in partnership with Creative Scotland, Glasgow Life, Glasgow UNESCO City of Music and UK Music – will bring together 200-plus artists, industry professionals, stakeholders and policymakers.
Each day will feature thematic panel discussions and structured roundtables, with all contributions helping inform the Scottish Music Industry Roadmap (2026–30), a strategic action plan for the sector.
Panellists include Scottish artists Liam Shortall (corto.alto), Conor Goldie (Vlure), Emma Pollock (The Delgados, Chemikal Underground Records & Chem19 Recording Studios) and Stina Tweeddale (Honeyblood, also Scotland coordinator for the Music Venue Trust), alongside representatives from across various areas of the industry.
These include Denise Allan (677 Media Management, representing Glasvegas), Hamish Fingland (Bounse Management, representing Walt Disco, Lucia & The Best Boys and Jacob Alon), Leo Fakhrul (Mamba Sounds – tech/A&R) and Aarti Joshi (coach, presenter, artist manager & marketing consultant).
Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Culture in the Scottish government, will also speak at the Summit.
With limited venue capacity, the in-person Summit is a curated, invite-only event. However, the organisation has opened registration for the SMIA Summit: Digital, launching in the week beginning October 6 and free to all SMIA members.
The digital edition will feature professionally filmed panels from the in-person Summit, alongside interactive virtual roundtables.
The SMIA Summit 2025 comes at a key moment for the Scottish industry following the announcement of Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding portfolio for 2025–28 and the largest-ever culture sector investment by the Scottish government.
While 46 music-focused organisations secured multi-year support – more than doubling previous figures – feedback gathered by the SMIA revealed the lasting impact of delays and financial pressure on organisations and individuals. Many highlighted the urgent need for coordinated sector development, long-term vision and meaningful support.
The Scottish Music Industry Roadmap (2026–30) – shaped by insights from the Summit followed by wider consultation – will respond directly to this need. The Roadmap will launch in April 2026, underpinning the SMIA’s advocacy throughout 2026–27 and beyond.
It’s important that we come together, share perspectives and co-design the solutions and innovations our sector needs
Robert Kilpatrick
Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and creative director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), said: “Following a tough and turbulent few years, we’ve entered a new chapter for Scotland’s music industry and broader cultural sector. To maximise impact and opportunity, it’s important that we come together, share perspectives and co-design the solutions and innovations our sector needs.
“The SMIA Summit will connect voices from across the industry, creating the space for meaningful dialogue and collaborative thinking. Insights from these conversations will directly inform the development of a Scottish Music Industry Roadmap, ensuring it reflects the realities and ambitions of our community and provides a clear and unified sector vision for the years to come.
“Whether you’re joining us in person or online, your contributions are vital. As the national membership and development organisation for Scotland’s music industry, the SMIA is committed to being a strategic vehicle of support – uniting people, ideas and resources to strengthen and sustain our sector for the long term.”
Alan Morrison, head of music at Creative Scotland, said: “The Scottish government’s uplift to the culture budget, which led to the SMIA and several other organisations receiving stable three-year support through Creative Scotland’s multi-year funding programme, has created an exciting new landscape of possibilities for the arts in Scotland. Timing is excellent, therefore, for the first in-person instalment of the SMIA Summit.
“This important event offers a unique opportunity for the Scottish music sector to join forces and address the challenges arising in the music industry now and in the future. By sharing the hard-won perspectives and first-hand knowledge of those at the heart of the sector – the artists, managers, bookers and many others – we can build a strong combined approach that places Scottish music at the forefront of global industry thinking.”
Katie Duffy, head of arts and music at Glasgow Life, said: “Glasgow was the UK’s first UNESCO City of Music and it is known globally as a cultural hotspot, so it feels fitting our city has been chosen to help shape the future of Scotland’s music scene by hosting the 2025 Scottish Music Industry Association Summit. Our city is the cultural and production powerhouse of Scotland, with four of the country’s five national performing arts companies based here and 41% of Scotland’s actors, dancers and broadcasters, and 38% of the country’s musicians, calling Glasgow home.
“We are grateful to have been given the opportunity to share the successes and aims of Glasgow’s Culture Strategy 2024-2030 as part of the Summit programme. Glasgow Life is also looking forward to working with artists, creatives and industry representatives to produce a roadmap for Scotland’s music sector which will strengthen its value at home and on the world stage.”
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