We need more young folks!

Foot Stompin' Scottish Music

When I look at the business of Scottish trad/folk music I often worry. I do this because a lot of the non-performance industry (by this I mean record company owners, publishers etc not musicians) are run by folks in their 60s and older. From a www.footstompin.com point of view many of our suppliers are in this age range. They produce a lot of very valuable music and books which are in danger of getting lost if they stop. Maybe their interest is fueled due to their age and experience but at the same time they are keeping the tradition alive and available. (I am aware that trad music is not necessarily big bucks business but important non the less.)

We need to encourage more of our young people to get involved in this side of the business. How do we do this or should we rely on them to show an interest? I would love to see more folks taking up the mantel of publishing music. Highland Music Trust, Hardie Press and Kerr’s have done wonderful jobs in publishing with their vast array of books but there are still lots of collections out there. The record industry also needs people to get involved. Also more websites promoting Scottish music trying to make viable business’s. New technologies are appearing all the time and we need to move with them and young people are the best at that.

In the end you cannot force people to do things but the time is coming when we are going to need a new generation to get involved and I suppose that is now. Let’s do it!