WATCH: Music and diversity 'integral to Birmingham '

“Music is Birmingham 's business, ” delegates were told during a discussion around the contribution of music to the culture and diversity across the city.

This discussion took place during the virtual 'Culture Exchange ' event held by the Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce (GBCCC) yesterday - the second event across their Commonwealth Opportunities week.

Welcoming guest speakers with a range of expertise regarding Birmingham 's music scene, the event explored the use of music in the promotion of diversity and how links to the Commonwealth through the music industry can be utilised effectively.

Dr Patrycja Rozbicka, senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Aston University and researcher surrounding the regulation of the live music industry, explained how Birmingham 's music scene has become what we see today.

She said the importance of music to Birmingham 's heritage can be seen in the myriad of activities that take place within the city each year, all of which hold music at the heart.

With over 195 live music venues, including some of the UK 's largest venues such as Utilita Arena Birmingham and the Genting Arena, Birmingham has the capacity to bring together 98,000 people on a single night.

The music tourism sector in the West Midlands is also estimated to generate around £252 million.

As the region anticipates welcoming 54 countries to Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Ammo Talwar (pictured) and CEO of Punch Records reflected on how the contributions made by Commonwealth migrants to the music scene over the years has positively impacted diversification.

Where many people often praise Birmingham for producing artists such as UB40, Duran Duran, CBSO and The Streets, Talwar remembered the artists who made way for a convergence of Indian and Caribbean sounds, such as Malkit Singh, Musical Youth and Steel Pulse.

In his opinion, these artists have significantly shaped Birmingham 's music profile today and are the reason for such a mixture of indie, rock, dance/electronic, folk, punk, R&B, reggae and classical sounds heard across the city.

Rozbicka said: “When looking at the diverse nature of our music scene, clearly we have the potential to use music as the grounds for our covid recovery, but it will also help to recover our communities ”

Talwar added: “Business doesn 't just move to cities because of motorways and railway connections- they look for embedded culture. So it 's not just about culture for culture 's sake. It brings immense value.

“Diversity is going to be incredibly impactful when it comes to rebooting this sector. If we don 't use diversity as an upstream to growth then we have failed as a city. Likewise, if we don 't use our differences to our advantage, whether they are race, gender, disability or class, we simply can 't be the global city that we say we are.

“Essentially this is a lot bigger than music, but music can be at the heart of the changes we want to make. The Commonwealth Games are important in this process because they are a key driver in our commitment to making those changes happen. ”

Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship, concluded: “Music is absolutely integral to this city and diversity is one of our greatest assets.

“Ultimately, culture and business are inextricably linked and what better place to bring those two things together than the city of Birmingham. ”

The next event during Commonwealth Opportunities Week takes place today and will cover 'The Benefits of Trading with Commonwealth Countries '.

To book your free space at the next event, click here.