Edinburgh to have live music census

A volunteer army of music lovers is being recruited to take part in the survey, run by Edinburgh University.

From lone buskers to massed choirs, from pub gigs to stadium concerts, for one night in March organisers aim to track performances in cities across the country.

They hope the first ever survey of its kind anywhere in the world will help measure live music’s cultural and economic value, as well as discovering what challenges the industry is facing.

The UK Live Music Census will run for 24 hours from noon on Thursday, March 9.

Volunteers will be asked to record various aspects of the performance including the musical genre, the venue, door charge and audience demographic.

Lead organiser Dr Matt Brennan, of Edinburgh University, said: “This is like a Springwatch for live music.”