THERE is no other job Iain Hamilton, head of creative industries at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, would rather be doing.

The amiable Highlander dedicates his working life to helping musicians, writers, publishers and designers in some of Scotland’s most remote areas turn their talents into viable businesses. It has been a long journey since the one-time professional piper embarked on the role 15 years ago, but there is now a steady stream of creative success stories emerging from its support network.

“I can’t think of a better job than this,” Mr Hamilton said. “You get to work with stuff that’s really interesting, meeting some amazing folk doing some creative work and hopefully you come away having been able to help.”

Mr Hamilton lists with pride an array of artists and entrepreneurs who have taken big strides thanks in part to the business advice and financial support provided by the publicly-funded Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

A prime example is singer songwriter Tamzene, who has gone from busking in September to signing to the new Belladrum record label. The musician is bound for Hollywood next month to appear at MusExpo, one of the biggest events in the US music industry calendar.

Then there is Sandstone Press, the Dingwall-based publisher which has made the Man Booker long list with two of its titles. It has just acquired the English language rights to a German detective novel set to be turned into a TV series by Sky Atlantic.

Another example is Lewis-based music producer Colin MacLeod, who has his own label as part of a production deal with BMG. He is also a songwriter and his most recent album was produced by Ethan Johns, whose credits include Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams and Paul McCartney.

Beyond music, Mr Hamilton mentions Western Isles-based Rare Bird, which makes accessories using Harris tweed, and Orkney-based designer Hilary Grant, whose knitwear is sold around the world.

“There’s a real kind of buzz about it at the moment,” Mr Hamilton said. “There is a critical mass now [in the creative industries] that there wasn’t before. That’s made a difference. It is also impacting on the number of young folk that we are seeing choosing to stay or come back to the area, which is again not something you really saw [before]. The necessity to shift is pretty much gone.”

Indeed, while there was a time that bands coming out of the Highlands would say they were from further south, Mr Hamilton said that “doesn’t make sense now.” He noted: “There’s a story coming from the Highlands. It has got something to offer now that I don’t know that everybody saw in the past.”

That narrative shift owes much to the networks HIE has been put in place to expand its reach across the region. Mr Hamilton oversees four discrete networks, one dedicated to businesses involved in screen and broadcast, one to publishing, one to crafts, fashion and textiles, and one to music. Beyond those categories HIE is also supporting small businesses in areas such as software and gaming, which are also emerging in the Highlands and Islands.

At the heart of it all is XpoNorth, the annual conference and showcase for the creative industries which, among other things, connects the artists with the music labels, publishers, tech companies that can make careers happen. It was first conceived as a music showcase, GoNorth, but the decision was taken to broaden its scope, not least because many musicians work across different creative industries. Last year 1,942 delegates, ranging from representatives of multinationals, such as Sony, to the owners of micro businesses, attended.

“It’s definitely a business-to-business event,” Mr Hamilton said. “We certainly wouldn’t want to discourage students from coming, because you want them to be engaged, but it is intended to bring businesses together.”

The 2017 edition will take place at the Eden Court Theatre on June 7 and 8. In the build-up, musicians and business owners have the chance to apply for one of the showcase or pitch slots before the end of this month. For up-and-coming bands, it means the prospect of performing before some of the most influential movers and shakers in the music industry.

Asked what HIE would define as success, Mr Hamilton replied: “If you can survive as a business I’d say that is a success. We want to see them grow from that baseline.”

One challenge on the horizon is Brexit and its potential impact on funding for the creative industries. Mr Hamilton admits Brexit is “obviously a concern”.

He said: “That funding has been important for the Highlands and Islands. The only thing we do know is that it is not going to run out for a wee while, so it’s about making the most of it now.”

He added: “We want to get folk geared up to find alternatives to grant funding anyway. That’s not to say we don’t want to give anybody a grant – we’re happy to give money where appropriate – but we don’t want things to be based on what grant you are going to get. We’re doing a lot of work just now on how we can encourage commercial partnerships, how can we find bigger brands to work with and how to look at crowd sourcing and crowd finance.”