Spaces and Networks of Musical Creativity in the City

Abstract

Urban geography, both material and imagined, is a crucial mediating factor in the production and consumption of music. The city provides the concrete places which offer spaces for musical creativity. While certain spaces such as recording studios are specifically organised for this purpose, music is produced in many spaces, from the bedroom, garage or home studio, to community and youth centres, to street corners and clubs. Cities also sustain networks that foster and support musical creativity. These networks come together in locales of creativity and production to find fixity in the concrete spaces of the city. At the same time the networks are fluid, with musical knowledge moving within and between cities through the mobility of skilled creatives and new technologies. A growing body of geographical literature is attempting to foreground the spatial in music studies by focusing on local scenes, musical production, and the particularity of certain places. This article aims to provide an overview of current geographical research and debates on music, with an explicit focus on the role of urban space in musical creativity, and on the musically creative networks at work within and between cities. We argue that there is a need to situate creativity more squarely in its material and embodied contexts of production and to consider the ways in which creative individuals interact in complex ways with urban physical form, technology, and other actors in networks of creativity and production.

The world according to iTunes: mapping urban networks of music production

“…However, it is important to note that there is a materiality to the mobility that stretches further back than the widespread introduction of the internet. Musical knowledge has always moved within and between cities through mobile creatives, including musicians and DJs, producers and music industry executives (Watson et al 2009). …”

“…The first stage in the process is the act of recording the 'live' musical performance by the musicians in the recording studio. As such, it is recording studios that are privileged to the most intimate moments of musical 7 creativity and emotive performance, with the insulated space of the studio that gives musical creatives the conditions required to experiment and create music (Watson et al 2009). It is important to note that these creative moments are produced not by the musician alone, but through relations between musicians, producers, and engineers (Gibson 2005).…”

The online place of popular music: Exploring the impact of geography and social media on pop artists’ mainstream media attention

“…On the artistic side, musicians get inspired and influenced by their peers; they all stand in a tradition that resonates in the media, in public spaces such as clubs and bars, or in the broader "cultural memory" (Street, 2004), while seeking innovations to be noticed by audiences. This collective impetus for producing music points to the importance of places where people meet to create, purchase, consume, exchange, or trade cultural artifacts (Brandellero, 2011;Straw, 1991;Watson, Hoyler, & Mager, 2009). …”

“…On the artistic side, musicians get inspired and influenced by their peers; they all stand in a tradition that resonates in the media, in public spaces such as clubs and bars, or in the broader "cultural memory" (Street, 2004), while seeking innovations to be noticed by audiences. This collective impetus for producing music points to the importance of places where people meet to create, purchase, consume, exchange, or trade cultural artifacts (Brandellero, 2011;Straw, 1991;Watson, Hoyler, & Mager, 2009). The significance of geography for music production is also captured by two routinely used ways to refer to music production: "scenes" when music is created in relatively small contexts where performers, support facilities, and fans loosely interact versus "music industry" when music is produced as a commodity for large audiences using highly formalized conventions with the aim to produce revenue (see Bennett & Peterson, 2004, pp.…”

Tales from the Thousand Lakes: Placing the Creative Network of Metal Music in Finland

“…According to Watson et al (2009) studies in music and geography can be broadly categorized into three perspectives: 1) studies which have been concerned with the role of music in the social and cultural construction of place, space and identity 2) studies which have explored soundscapes, sonic environments and the performative aspects of music, and 3) a smaller number of geographical studies undertaken by economic geographers on the economics and spatiality of the music industry, as well as on the impacts of technological innovation on music sales and distribution. Music clusters or music industry have been closely studied as an agglomeration of record labels and associated enterprises (Scott, 1999;Watson, 2008) but rarely as a network of bands and artists.…”