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

Watson, Allan

doi:10.1111/j.1471-0374.2011.00357.x

Cited by 36 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 62 publications

(93 reference statements)

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“…); and world city cliques (Derudder & Taylor ). Furthermore, building on earlier work by Alderson and Beckfield (), quantitative network analysis techniques are being usefully applied to world city networks to measure the centrality and power of cities within urban networks (Neal , ; Watson ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

World City Network Research at a Theoretical Impasse: On the Need toRe‐Establish Qualitative Approaches to Understanding Agency in World City Networks

Watson

Beaverstock

2014

Tijd voor Econ & Soc Geog

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From the late 1990s, the establishment of a new relational 'turn' in the study of world city connectedness in globalisation has run parallel to the wider relational turn occurring in economic geography. Early work, built firmly upon a qualitative approach to the collection and analyses of new intercity datasets, considered cities as being constituted by their relations with other cities. Subsequent research, however, would take a strong quantitative turn, best demonstrated through the articulation of the inter-locking world city network (ILWCN) 'model' for measuring relations between cities. In this paper, we develop a critique of research based around the ILWCN model, arguing that this 'top down' quantitative approach has now reached a theoretical impasse. To address this impasse, we argue for a move away from structural approaches in which the firm is the main unit of analysis, towards qualitative approaches in which individual agency and practice are afforded greater importance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

World City Network Research at a Theoretical Impasse: On the Need toRe‐Establish Qualitative Approaches to Understanding Agency in World City Networks

Watson

Beaverstock

2014

Tijd voor Econ & Soc Geog

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“…Sociologists of culture refer to the extent to which the cultural production of a certain place interests cross-national producers, experts, and audiences as "centrality of production" (Heilbron, 1999;Janssen, Kuipers, & Verboord, 2008). This centrality may influence subsequent flows or reception of products, both on a national level, where the United States and the United Kingdom are key producers (see Negus, 1993), and on a local level, where cities such as New York and Los Angeles in the United States and London in United Kingdom take central positions in global music networks (see Brandellero & Pfeffer, 2011;Leyshon, 2009;Watson, 2012).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the particular constellations of people, traditions, infrastructure, etc., cities can thus take more or less central positions within the global market. Sociologists of culture refer to the extent to which the cultural production of a certain place interests cross-national producers, experts, and audiences as "centrality of production" (Heilbron, 1999;Janssen, Kuipers, & Verboord, 2008 Brandellero & Pfeffer, 2011;Leyshon, 2009;Watson, 2012). …”

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confidence: 99%

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

Verboord

Noord

2016

Popular Communication

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Many authors have pointed to the internet's potential to increase connectivity across the world, which would imply an equalizing effect, yet few researchers have examined this. At the same time, the increasing usage of social media by popular culture celebrities for self-promotion has been signaled. We study the extent to which social media can reduce inequalities in mainstream media attention between artists from central cities in popular music production (e.g., New York, London) versus more peripheral cities. We distinguish between media attention by institutionally embedded music critics and lay users on the internet. The results show that artists coming from more central cities have higher chances to get attention in mainstream media-both by institutional critics and lay users-than artists from peripheral cities. Building a fan base on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace can compensate for some of this inequality, but not for all of it. IntroductionRock 'n roll, and popular music in general, have traditionally been associated strongly with cities as loci of where new music is conceived, as is exemplified by the title of one of the earliest-and now classichistories of rock music: "The Sound of the City" (Gillett, 1970). Since then, scholars have shown how places matter in bringing together people (e.g., Connell & Gibson, 2003, 90ff;Lena, 2012), sounds and styles (Phillips, 2011), and businesses (Negus, 1992;Scott, 2000) to produce both artistically innovative and commercially viable music. However, the increasing popularity of the internet in the past decades has diminished the importance of geographical positioning. Or has it? A large body of authors has pointed to the internet's potential to increase connectivity across the world which would imply an equalizing effect (e.g., Anderson, 2006;Connell & Gibson, 2003), yet few authors have examined this. This article aims to study the extent to which various, different internet-based media 1 help reducing inequality between artists from central locations in popular music production versus more peripheral locations. More concretely, we examine how differences in mainstream media attention (both by institutional music critics and lay users) compare to pop artists' usage of social media (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter), and how this differs for artists of different geographical origin.It is evident that digitalization processes changed the structure and organization of the field of popular music significantly (e.g., Hesmondhalgh, 2012;Leyshon, 2009). The internet and especially social media platforms have made it easier to produce, disseminate, and consume popular music from all over the world (Baym & Ledbetter, 2009). This has led Wikström (2009, p. 10) to conclude that the current music industry is "characterized by high connectivity and little control; music is provided as a For the sake of readability we will also use the term "the internet" when we refer to internet-based media. However, we are aware that it is debatable whether the internet can b...

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“…Secondly, the network of bands in the most prominent Finnish metal music cluster was visualised through the connectivity between artists belonging to multiple bands pursuant to the analyses by Watson (2012) on the global recorded music industry. In the analysis, social network analyses methods were applied (see Scott, 2013;Watts and Strogatz, 1998): the network was portrayed through average path length and the degree of clustering.…”

Section: Data and Study Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Makkonen

2014

Environ Plan A

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Music in general and the music industry in particular have been understudied subjects in the field of geography. The relatively scarce amount of literature on music industries has concentrated its attention on companies operating inside the industry, and on popular music. There is a gap in the knowledge on the networking processes of individuals inside the music industry and the geographical dynamics of music genres. Thus, as a point of departure, this study focuses on the creative individuals of a distinct music genre, namely the bands and artists of the Finnish metal music genre, owing to the genre's international recognition and its importance in the Finnish economy and society. According to the analysis the metal bands in Finland tend to cluster in the largest cities. There are, however, some exceptions-very small municipalities (in terms of population) with a fair number of metal bands. Still, the capital Helsinki is the most prominent cluster of metal music in Finland. A further social network analysis reveals that the metal music cluster of Helsinki has a network of short average path length and a high degree of clustering. In other words, the members of the network function in close collaboration with each other. This notion was also verified by mapping the joint-career path of the most prolific (connected) individuals inside the network.

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

Cited by 36 publications

References 62 publications

World City Network Research at a Theoretical Impasse: On the Need toRe‐Establish Qualitative Approaches to Understanding Agency in World City Networks

World City Network Research at a Theoretical Impasse: On the Need toRe‐Establish Qualitative Approaches to Understanding Agency in World City Networks

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

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

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