The Connection Between Artist’s Hometown Identity and Success

Traditionally and contemporarily, strong links between music and the senses of identity and place have existed between people and locations. Rock‘n’roll and prevalent themes have been linked with municipalities as loci of where the new composition is apprehended, as is demonstrated by the heading of the now-classic “The Sound of the City”. Different scholars have shown how different locations have influenced the type of music and reception an artist receives. The idea of place is essential to music, as geographic areas, countryside sceneries, and communal morals influence the creation of sounds and the reception. The geographical positioning of a piece affects the success of the work.

A subfield in urban geography referred to as music geography studies music production and its consumption as a spitting image of the scenery and topographical spaces adjoining it (Johansson and Bell, 2012). It turned out to be evident that people associate music with their surroundings. John Connell submits that associations in music, belief, and legitimacy, reinvented in the communal surrounding of the urban regions, establish how high-tech variations have impacted the production of local music, the establishment of new home-based recording models, and entrepreneurialism (Shuker, 2016). Geographical identity comes with the culture and beliefs of the people therein; therefore, for geographical-based success in music, the sounds, rhythm, and lyrics should align with the people’s culture (Marston and De Leeuw, 2013).

A city can create music-pleasant and artist-friendly plans. Whereas it might be challenging to develop the secret item that results in entertainers and musicians assembling in a town, it is conceivable to construct a setting that allows artists to practise and exercise their talents. Access to preparation and teaching plans, mentoring, and music scores, as well as inexpensive accommodation, can aid in the attraction and retention of artists, the majority of whom are on restricted wages. The Beatles, for instance, are known to be the most influential band in music history. The band started in Liverpool and received immense support from the public sector and the private ones in their journey (Spitz, 2012).

Circumnavigating music-related management strategies and guidelines has been a significant challenge to musicians. Certain cities have created music offices and officers to be a central point of contact. For instance, in the United States, the Seattle Office of Film+Music acts as a central shop for musicians, their producers, and marketers (Cameron, 2014). Other cities supported the audience’s development of their artists. Liverpool, for instance, has erected statues of the Beatles, which has influenced their success (Wise, Melis, and Jimura, 2019). Jamaica also raised a Bob Marley statute in Kingston (Espinosa, 2013). Statues help in commemoration and maintenance of an influential person’s legacy (Ma, 2013). Furthermore, they indicate that the person was influential in their time alive, thus appreciation.

The musician’s hometowns sometimes ensured their access to different spaces and places. Music requires a home. It requires numerous backgrounds. From tutoring to preparing for recording and presentation, an effective Music City involves a range of worthy spaces (Wynn, 2015). Homan (2019) states that backing the public where entertainers start, grow their abilities and am for their goals needs a site ladder–a complete array of live places, from little spaces to large arenas and the lot in between. This does not continuously comprise new constructs. Numerous societies have established inventive methods to recondition and repurpose available movie auditoriums, places of worship, and additional structures. In other municipalities, the community and private segments are operating–occasionally together, other times distinctly–to form new spaces, like music centres or aids for entertainers and music industries. For instance, in Toronto, key record brands offer workplace space for several of the sovereign brands in which they operate (Florida, Mellander, and Stolarick, 2010). This is a perfect means to share knowledge. When the Blur band was starting in London, the city offered them Hyde Park for concerts. Their concerts helped them gain an audience for their existing and upcoming albums (James, 2010).

Some musician hometowns offer audience development. Any fruitful Music Town requires amenable and involved fans. Furthermore, good transport associations and operational advertising of live performances and demographics similarly play a substantial part in audience growth(Krüger 2013). Numerous music municipalities have great student populations, which is beneficial (Lashua, Spracklen, and Long, 2014). Future music supporters developed their entertaining perceptions. Occasions involving all age groups help involve younger onlookers, guaranteeing they grow a permanent affection for music (Platz and Kopiez, 2013).

Other cities, such as London and Nashville, have established music tourism programmes (Lomax, 1985). Music tourism produces millions of dollars for towns annually, and the properties comprise a municipality’s continual live music act, holidays, and antique music developments. Main music commemorations brought large amounts of travellers (Bolderman, 2019). For instance, in 2014, numerous bands performed at Bogotá’s Rock al Parque, drawing approximately 400,000 individuals and branding it one of the globe’s major music carnivals (Castro, 2016). Other municipalities have wide-ranging music tourism policies that include music-founded branding, publicity movements, social media policies, music set-up ventures, signage as well as programming (Su, 2011). Beatles have greatly earned money in their hometown through tourism.

Nashville, for instance, places music at the centre of its trademark. Its tactic is very productive. In 2014, the municipality received over 13 million guests who donated more than $5 billion in income and backed 50,000 professionals (Lomax, 1985). The municipality’s music note emblem is evident on structures, souvenirs, and publicity supplies, and its traveller site, visitmusiccity.com, represents a radio station with Indigenous entertainers seeking applications for the community to bond with the live music events (Johansson, 2010).

Enhancing a municipality’s music frugality conveys numerous bonuses: it spreads inventive and ethnic development, reinforces a society’s communal fabric, generates work, and improves financial activity and tourism expenditure. An animated music budget generates a great aspect and the value of life that attracts people to the town, offering it an advantage in enticing and holding ability in every field, industry, and venture.

References

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Cameron, K., 2014. Mudhoney: the sound and the fury from Seattle. Voyageur Press (MN).

Castro, E., 2016. 'Rock al Parque 2016'.

Espinosa, C.O., 2013. 'Statue of Bob Marley, Ocho Rios, Jamaica'.

Florida, R., Mellander, C. and Stolarick, K., 2010. Music scenes to music clusters: the economic geography of music in the US, 1970–2000. Environment and Planning A, 42(4), pp. 785-804.

Homan, S., 2019. Lockout’laws or ‘rock out’laws? Governing Sydney’s night-time economy and implications for the ‘music city'. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 25(4), pp. 500-14.

James, A., 2010. Bit of a Blur: The Autobiography. Hachette UK.

Johansson, O., 2010. Form, function, and the making of music-themed entertainment districts in Nashville and Memphis. Material Culture, pp. 47-69.

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Lomax, J., 1985, Nashville: Music City USA. Abrams New York.

Ma, J., 2013. Statues and cities: honorific portraits and civic identity in the Hellenistic world. Oxford University Press.

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Platz, F., and Kopiez, R., 2013. When the first impression counts: music performers, audience and the evaluation of stage entrance behaviour. Musicae Scientiae, 17(2), pp. 167-97.

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Spitz, B., 2012. The Beatles: The Biography. Little, Brown.

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Wise, N., Melis, C. and Jimura, T., 2019. Liverpool’s urban imaginary: The Beatles and tourism fanscapes. The Journal of Popular Culture.

Wynn, J.R., 2015. Music/City: American festivals and placemaking in Austin, Nashville, and Newport. University of Chicago Press.