The creative city’s swan song? The individualisation of the music scene in Bologna, UNESCO City of Music

Abstract

This paper extends the debate on medium-sized cities as active designers of place-specific neoliberal identities by reporting relevant findings from Bologna, European Capital of Culture in 2000 and a UNESCO City of Music since 2006. The study identifies the formal relationships of collaboration among local musicians as a relevant proxy to discuss the individualisation of the pop-rock music scene and its variations between 1978 and 2019. For this purpose, formal Social Network Analysis is combined with semi-structured interview analysis and archival research. The findings reveal decreased levels of social cohesion among artists and establishes a link between growing individualisation in the local music scene and an increasing tourist-orientation in the city.