This chapter provides an introductory overview of the distinctive character of Scotland as a small musical nation. It starts from the premise that the country has to be understood as both a part of and apart from the UK and argues that to examine Scottish popular music is to address the complexity of cultural identities, the impact of historical imagination and the effects of musical power structures. The issues here are examined with reference to broadcasting and arts policy, on the one hand, and to the history of language and migration, on the other.