Scotland's pub music scene is lagging behind the rest of the UK as only one city makes the top ten in damning new research.

Music licensing and copyright company PRS For Music and the British Beer And Pub Association (BBPA) analysed data from 2020 to 2024 of more than 15,340 PRS registered pubs and bars that hosted live music events.

It found that Belfast had the UK's largest pub music scene outside of London with 387 venues hosting live shows beating the likes of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Manchester.

Birmingham, Nottingham, Bristol and Brighton made up the rest of the top five with each city introducing new music acts to the world include Lambrini Girls, and Peace in recent years.

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Meanwhile, the Scottish capital Edinburgh came in just seventh in the list with Glasgow lagging well behind at 15th in the new research.

It found that 78% of people are more likely to visit a pub if it hosts live music, while 73% said live music would make them stay in a venue for longer.

Andrea Czapary Martin, chief executive of PRS For Music, said: "Live music holds a special place in the UK's cultural landscape and the pub gig, unique to the UK, is a crucial part of that ecosystem.

"Pubs have long been a vital space for launching and nurturing new talent while bringing people together through the power of performance.

"Just think of the countless songwriting and performing careers that have started in local pubs - from Sam Fender and Idles, to Maisie Peters and Sam Tompkins, the list goes on."

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