Music celebrities appear to be scrambling to perform at Malta’s Isle of MTV, spurred on in part by the dazzling success of Lady Gaga, who first performed at the concert as a virtual nobody in celebrity terms and was catapulted to stardom just after the landmark concert.

Performing at the now annual Malta’s Isle of MTV has become a sought-after gig in the international entertainment industry, according to Mark Mulligan, an independent music industry analyst and former vice president at Forrester Research, who was interviewed recently by Bloomberg News.

“In the early days, we had to do some arm-twisting to get artists to perform in Malta, while now it’s become something desirable to do,” he said in the interview published earlier this month.

“Effectively, MTV is getting governments to market their brands,” Mr Mulligan said. “It’s an incredibly smart brand extension through these concerts.”

Lady Gaga, who has won five Grammy awards and was the music industry’s best-paid woman last year with about $90 million, according to Forbes, attended Malta as a relatively unknown artist in the early days in 2009 and when she asked to return the next year she had become a superstar.

MTV’s foray into music tourism started in 2007 with the first MTV Isle of Malta concert and the annual event has since featured pop singers including Nelly Furtado and rappers Flo Rida and Will.i.am.

It has become the largest free open-air concert in Europe and drew 50,000 fans in June, with sponsors like Unilever (UNA)’s Cornetto ice cream brand and Luxottica Group SpA (LUX)’s Ray-Ban sunglasses.

“You will see this business continue to grow for us with returning franchises,” MTVI president Bob Bakish said in the article, adding that through multi-year deals with tourism authorities, MTV is able to “establish a hip destination that can move the needle on music tourism”.

Manchester, home to The Smiths, Oasis and The Verve, is also turning to its roots to lure concert-goers to the northern English city by teaming up with MTV.

The Manchester City Council has agreed to host a concert free of charge next month with the Viacom Inc.-owned channel. MTV will bring the stars and film the event to screen via its online, mobile and pay-TV platforms. Manchester, into the second year of a €215 million austerity programme, will get a 30-minute programme highlighting the city’s attractions.