Scottish Music in the US

The Grammies, the US equivalent to the Brits and the most prestigious awards in the American music industry, are a notoriously difficult nut for British artists to crack. Indeed they are often a gateway to the holiest grail of them all for musicians from this side of the pond: success in America, the world's largest music market.

It was incredibly impressive then that this year's Grammy nominations featured the names of no less than four Scottish artists, two classical and two pop/rock acts: KT Tunstall, Snow Patrol (most of whose members come from Northern Ireland of course, but who formed at university in Dundee and who have made Glasgow their home base for the last decade), classical composer James Macmillan and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

For both Snow Patrol and Tunstall the road to American success opened up through TV and film. Both acts had made some progress in the US through playing live and the traditional support cool British artists receive from indie and college radio stations. However, those outlets cannot compete with the mass-market clout of mainstream film and television when it comes to exposing bands to a bigger audience.

Snow Patrol has – in part – medical dramas to thank for their American breakthrough. Despite the fact that their 'Eyes Open' LP was the biggest selling British record of the year, with sales approaching two million in the UK, sales in America were less impressive. Then their single 'Chasing Cars' was used in a poignant moment in the season finale of the hit medical show Grey's Anatomy. Then another track, 'Open Your Eyes', was featured in the season finale of another hit medical show – ER. America began to wake up to the band's charms. Singer Gary Lightbody says, 'You get asked for permission for your music to be used in adverts and films, but not for TV shows. So it all came as a bit of a surprise.'

A nice one, however: 'Chasing Cars' cracked the US top five, propelling sales of the album towards the one million mark, and Snow Patrol's current US tour itinerary includes two sold out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York, while the video for the next single 'You're All I Have' is to be directed by no less than David Goyer, the filmmaker behind blockbusters Batman Begins and Blade: Trinity. A far cry from when Lightbody was working behind the bar at Nice and Sleazy's on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow!

Singer/songwriter KT Tunstall's route from indie to mainstream success in America took a similar path when her song 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' was covered by Katherine McPhee, a contestant in the American version of Simon Cowell's X-Factor show.

Whereas before Tunstall's music had enjoyed exposure via alternative radio stations, which are limited in terms of their reach, usually only covering small local areas, X-Factor was one of the biggest shows in America, reaching an audience of 35 million viewers. Tunstall from St Andrews says, 'My status as a musician has been pretty much cemented in America by Katherine McPhee, which is really interesting and funny for me because I've never been very polite about how I feel about shows like that! When she sang that song less than one percent of the US population knew about it. . . .'

Following MePhee's performance, interest in the track picked up and Tunstall's version went on to spend 27 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100. Then the fashion world came calling for her next single 'Suddenly I See.' In a relatively short space of time the song was used in the Meryl Streep hit movie The Devil Wears Prada and the hit TV show Ugly Betty (which also starred Scots actor Ashley Jensen, famous in the UK for her role opposite Ricky Gervais in Extras). Both provided incredible exposure for Tunstall and drove US sales of her 'Eye to the Telescope' LP over the magical platinum marker of one million, surely some compensation for losing out to Christina Aguilera in the Best Female Vocal Performance category at the Grammies.

On the contemporary classical music front things are equally exciting. Another of Scotland's Grammy Award nominees was the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, who were nominated for Best Orchestral Performance for their interpretation of Alexander Glazunov's Symphonies No 4 and 7. The performance, conducted by Jose Serebrier is in fact the RSNO's sixth Grammy nomination in the last five years. The RSNO's Chief Executive Simon Woods says, 'It is wonderful that artistic excellence in Scotland is being recognised on the world stage.'

More controversial perhaps was Scottish composer James Macmillan's nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Macmillan's piece, A Scottish Bestiary, was originally written for the organist Wayne Marshall to perform at the inauguration of the Disney Hall organ in Los Angeles, but it has also drawn criticism in some circles as an attack on Scottish politicians; an accusation the controversial Macmillan has not been quick to deny.

As America's fascination with the Scottish music scene deepens (New Yorker magazine recently voted Glasgow's King Tut's Wah Wah Hut as its top rated music venue in the world, and a string of American bands – including The Killers, The Scissor Sisters and Arcade Fire – have already made T in the Park their priority festival appearance this summer) the big question is – who will be next?

Glasgow's Fratellis – fresh from their recent triumph at this year's Brit Awards – look set to make an impact Stateside when their debut LP 'Costello Music' is finally released there this month: the band's song 'Flathead' is already being heavily featured as the music for the new I-Pod TV commercials and US music industry pundits are tipping the band as 'one to watch.'

Or there's Paisley's Paolo Nutini: who is due to play at the South by South West Festival in Texas later this month, a prestigious showcase gig for the US industry which has helped to launch the American careers of Franz Ferdinand and many others in the past. Rolling Stone magazine – perhaps the most influential music publication on the other side of the Atlantic – has already named Nutini as one of its top ten artists to watch in the coming year.

Whatever happens, and whether you play guitar or cello, it looks like this is going to be the year to be in America if you're a Scottish musician. . . .

With some of the hottest Scottish bands heading out to Tartan Week in New York, we now take a look at why some of our artists are doing so well right now in the USA. (For more information about Tartan Week, please go to www.tartanweekny.com.)