Music City;
Weber’s Ideal Type, Music Policy Development and gentrification
Paul Baird
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Flinders University
Adelaide, Australia
Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Behavioural Science
(Honours)
18th October 2016
Abstract
Music is increasingly recognised by politicians and policy makers for its ability to
create vibrant cities. Now, many cities are developing policies in an attempt to use music as
the cultural incubator to attract and stimulate cultural consumption in the city space. Competing
policy agendas and the contested space of the city means there are many policy problematics
to be negotiate. The urban space is not a tabula rasa and policy development needs to work
with what is already there. Discounting the specific social and cultural milieu of the urban
space can lead to unintended outcomes. This thesis uses Max Weber’s ideal type method to
understand music policy development while critiquing such policies ‘blindspots’, in particular
gentrification.
The decline of manufacturing and the globalising economy has seen more governments
turn to the cultural or creative economy as an economic stimulator. This has sparked debate in
the academic world as to the social consequences of such policies on a growing population of
flexibilised precariat workers. Yet urban revitalisation has the counter effect of stimulating
gentrification. While not a recent phenomenon gentrification is being pursued with renewed
vigour as cities compete for a foothold in a globalising economy. Urban sociology can play a
role in critiquing how this happens.
Using Max Weber’s ideal type method, five music cities from Australia and overseas
were analysed. It identified what was common, what was exemplary and what the core
features of a music city were. This then formed one ideal type of music city. While the ideal
type helped understand music policy development at an institutional level it did not leave
space for sociological critique.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Michael Scott for his guidance, support and advice. I
would also like to thank my fellow honours candidates for the sense of comradery I felt
through the course of this year and my mum and family for their unconditional support. I
would particularly like to thank my close friend Michael Player without whom I would not be
on this academic journey in the first place.
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1
Literature Review: Music, culture and the city .................................................. 5
Live Music........................................................................................................ 12
Method: Ideal Types ............................................................................................ 20
What are Ideal Types?..................................................................................... 22
How is the Ideal Type constructed? ............................................................... 25
Criticisms/Clarifications.................................................................................. 27
My Method ....................................................................................................... 29
Evidence Gathering ......................................................................................... 30
Analysis: The Music City .................................................................................... 31
Nashville ............................................................................................................ 31
Toronto.............................................................................................................. 34
Wollongong ....................................................................................................... 36
Brisbane ............................................................................................................ 39
Adelaide ............................................................................................................ 41
Comparisons ..................................................................................................... 44
Forming the Ideal Type of Music City ........................................................... 47
Ideal Type Policy Reform: Australia ............................................................. 48
The Music City: Overview .............................................................................. 49
Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 57
Gentrification and the limitations of the ideal type method ............................ 58
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 65
Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 68
1
Introduction
A vibrant music city is more than the sum of its parts. It is a community that stretches
across musicians, industry actors such as promoters and venues, and government who work
together to achieve a common goal. Pulling these parts together is now the focus of many cities
governments who are trying to harness the power of music for its ability to attract people as
consumers to the city. George Yudice wrote that ‘culture is a resource that is to be managed
with a view to harness it to the realisation of economic and social goals’ (cited in Bennett &
Frow 2008, p 6).Often a major goal of the music city is to use music as the cultural incubator
that promotes urban regeneration and stimulates economic growth. Developing policies that
harness this power is a delicate balancing act needing to consider the concerns of a diverse
range of stakeholders including, government, business owners, residents and community
members. It must also look beyond the point of consumption – concerts, performances and
events to build institutions that can sustain production.
Forming an analytical or governance structure to address these concerns is a problem
in itself. Disentangling all the independent and interdependent parts and ordering them into a
unified construct is a monumental task. From a governance perspective in Australia this
involves the collaboration between federal, state and local government bodies. Each separate
department within these governments such as arts and culture, education, law enforcement,
transport and infrastructure, social inclusion, liquor licensing and industry and economic
development must all be in communication. All these levels of government and the departments
within them have competing policy agendas that may or may not be favourable to policies that
promote music in the city.
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In conjunction with these departments the community needs to be consulted including,
artists, musicians, music industry workers, venue owners, city dwellers, youth, socially
disadvantaged and the multicultural communities. This extends from the city’s core to the outer
regions. While not everyone will be favourably disposed to promoting music in the city it is
important that the process remains inclusive. Pulling all of these parts together in one cohesive
document to gain an understanding of music policy development has yet to be undertaken.
Using Max Weber’s ideal type method (1949) to develop a model of the music city is the
primary goal of this thesis.
The role of the sociologist in recent times has largely been that of a social commentator
using sociological theory to explain the interplay of humans (and non-humans) and how they
interact with the social world. This thesis will not lay claim to be able to do that. What it will
do is use sociological theory to provide an objective practical tool to answer a specific problem.
The specific problem is how can music policy development be understood from a sociological
perspective? In order to help answer this question this thesis will adapt Max Weber’s ‘Ideal
Type’ method from ‘On the Methodology of the Social Sciences’ (1949). This form of
comparative analysis will examine five cities of music from Australia and overseas and
examine what is common and what is exemplary to form an ideal type music city. This can be
used as a comparative tool to aid music policy development aimed at making music city.
The role of music in urban regeneration forms part of a much larger ‘creative cities’
debate, sparked in part by Richard Florida’s ‘The Rise of The Creative Class: and how it’s
transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life’ (2004). This book is presented as a
practical tool to aid policy makers seeking to attract knowledge sector workers to their city to
stimulate the economy. Florida, however, has polarised the academic community. Concerns as
to the legitimacy of policy ideas that focus on consumption, disregard the needs and concerns
of the wider community and the social costs of catering to an urban elite have all been raised
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(Atkinson & Easthope 2009; Peck 2005; Pratt 2011; Scott 2010). A recurring concern is
problematic effects such as gentrification that Florida’s ideas are seen to contribute to. The
commonly held view of gentrification is that as property prices in the city increase, the
economically marginalised are displaced by the urban elite (Shaw 2008; Smith 1996; Zukin
1987). Balancing the problematic effects of gentrification with the positive effects of culturally
led urban renewal poses a whole set of problems specific to music policy development. A new
population in the city that is incongruent with previous night time activity leads to disputes
such as noise complaints, safety concerns and mixed use of public and private space (Gibson
& Homan 2004; Homan 2010; Roberts 2006).
My specific entry point to this thesis is the 2014 report by The University of Tasmania
on the cultural and economic value of live music in Australia, which cited gentrification as a
barrier for the performance of live music in Adelaide. Consequent investigations of the
literature regarding gentrification, music and creative cities revealed a complex set of questions
with no clear answers. The desire to make a contribution to music policy development in
Adelaide is central to this thesis. With this in mind meetings were held with the music
development office (MDO) in Adelaide. At the time Adelaide had just been named as the most
recent member of UNESCO’s creative cities of music network.
During the course of these meetings and with consultation from The Live Music Office,
the federal government body that informs music policy development throughout Australia I
decided to help with the formation of a best practice guide for music cities. This would take
the form of a desk top study using comparative analysis, doing case studies of cities that are
putting music at the forefront of their strategic plans for urban renewal.
The cities chosen were Nashville for its music history and reputation as one of the
leading music cities in the world. Toronto, for its recent contribution to music city best practice
4
guidelines. Three cities within Australia were chosen for their relatively similar policy concerns
in that they all have to negotiate the same governance issues. Specifically Brisbane was chosen
as it was the first city to implement music specific policy and it is the only Australian example
of a live music precinct. Wollongong was chosen as it is currently using music in an attempt to
transform an ailing urban centre and Adelaide as it is the city that forms the central basis for
this thesis.
Writing a thesis that satisfies the practical needs of a government department while at
the same time meeting the academic requirements of an honours thesis is a difficult task. Even
though it is a difficult task it is an opportunity to highlight the applicability of “sociology as a
tool to provide solutions to a specific topic area” (Zetterberg 1964 p 62). It is envisaged that
using Max Weber’s (1949) ideal type method can help gain an understanding of music policy
development. Equally though it will be pointed out that urban sociological issues such as the
spectre of gentrification are blind spotted by the ideal type method.
This thesis will be organised in the following way. Chapter 2 reviews the literature
regarding creative city strategies and clarifies terms that are part of the general creative cities
discourse. The review will also give an overview of the creative cities strategy debate. Part two
of the literature review will focus on issues relating to music policy development in general
and to music policy development in Australian cities specifically. Particular focus will be given
to the issue of gentrification. Chapter 3 explains the ideal type method and how it will be
adapted for this thesis. In explaining the ideal type method it will demonstrate that it is relevant
today as it was when first developed. Chapter 4 will form brief case studies of five music cities
and then analyse the data collected to form an ideal type of music city. Chapter 5 critically
examines gentrification and the limits of the ideal type for opening up the space for sociological
critique. Chapter 6, the concluding chapter, will summarise the findings and discuss the role of
urban sociology in future music city and creative city research.
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Literature Review: Music, culture, city
Cities as the epitome of modern space have provided a rich vein of research for
sociologists, no more so than now in the age of the post industrial economy. With the decline
of the manufacturing industry in many Western countries there has been a turn towards the
cultural economy as a means of economic regeneration. This has spawned many theories on
how best to implement policies that stimulate economic growth and improve social cohesion.
This has proven to be problematic as the two do not go hand in hand, furthermore the task of
contributing to long term sustainability for a city’s cultural economy has met with controversy
and opposition from urban sociologists, human geographers, economists and urban planners.
This review of the literature will examine and critique research from all of these fields through
the lens of urban sociology with the view to form an ‘ideal type’ (Weber 1949) of music city.
When George Simmel, (1950, pp 23-31) wrote ‘The Metropolis and Mental Life’ he
laid the foundations for the micro sociological and phenomenological observation of city life.
Simmel’s (1950, p 24) description of the metropolis as ‘the seat of a nation’s money economy
and intellect and the uniqueness and individualism of its many inhabitants that make up the
cultural milieu’, are the same conditions that policy makers are trying to tap into today
At the turn of the 20th century sociologists such as Marx, Weber and Simmel debated
the contradictory relationships between cities, culture, arts, technological developments and
control and domination ((Le Gales 2005). Now at the turn of the 21st century urban sociologists
are grappling with the post-industrial society and its ensuing problematics such as the uneven
effects of economic globalisation, the work and employment following the decline of the
industrial economy and the rise of the ‘network society’ that stretches across ‘Global Cities’
(Castells 2011). In a globalising economy cities are once again a lens for producing critical
knowledge about social, cultural and economic reconfigurations of society (Sassen 2010). As
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new nodes articulating global flows that transcend nation state boundaries cities, their
governance and policy settings are becoming increasingly important to attract investment
(Harvey 1989).
The cultural economy and the creative economy are terms that are often used
interchangeably within the broader creative cities research. This can lead to a contradictory
view of the creative city. Andy Pratt (2011, p 125) defines two strands of the idea of creativity:
Firstly; a humanistic root, value of individual creativity/ humanity and secondly; a link to
economic innovation and competitiveness. Now creativity is commonly viewed as a key
economic characteristic and a strong universal positive aspiration.
In a 1997 document the Department of Culture Media and Sport in Great Britain (cited
in Pratt 2011, p 127) defined the creative industries as ‘those activities which have their origin
in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have the potential for wealth and job creation
through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property’. This was a part of the Blair
governments ‘Cool Britannia’ initiative which sought to stimulate the country’s economy using
creative cities strategies (Pratt 2011). Sitting within the creative economy is the more distinct
place based cultural economy. Thomas Hutton (2004, p 91) describes the cultural economy of
cities as ‘any human activity that embodies symbolic meaning or is shaped by cultural factors
can be construed as contributing to the cultural vitality of the city’. This is in line with Yudice’s
(cited in Bennett & Frow 2008, p 6) idea of culture as ‘a resource that can be bent to a variety
of social, economic and political purposes’.
It is important for the purposes of this thesis that the distinction between culture and
creativity be kept in mind. Comparing music policies across five cities to form an ideal type of
music city needs to take into account the distinct cultural attributes of each city. Simple policy
transference is by definition uncreative. My aim is to analyse policy successes across the globe
7
and then imaginatively adapt them to fit the specific cultural milieu of a given city. Another
aspect of economic activity sitting within the creative and cultural economy is the night time
economy. As this thesis is about music cities this is another area that needs defining. Hobbs
(2003, p 48) describes the night time economy as ‘the expansion of bars and clubs operating
with extended licences that provide night time entertainment’. Policy that promotes music and
the night time economy needs to address the tension between creating vibrancy and maintaining
safety.
The idea of ‘creative cities’ was brought to prominence by Richard Florida (2003) with
his paper ‘Cities and the Creative Class’. This was a blueprint for how to attract the middle
classes to any given city. Florida emphasised three main points or ‘The three T’s technology,
talent and tolerance’. Florida was heavily influenced by the model of Silicon Valley and by the
work of Jane Jacobs (1961), who advocated for neighbourhood diversity in the revival of the
urban landscape. Florida’s thesis is cities need to attract a ‘creative class’ in order to stimulate
economic growth and compete for business in a globalised market place. Through field work
and statistical analysis Florida (2003, p12) concluded that for cities to be economically viable
and to attract the creative class cities had to have all of these three T’s. He defines these three
T’s thus; ‘tolerance, a place of openness and diversity (one of his measures is the gay index),
talent, anyone with a bachelor’s degree or higher and technology, innovation and high
technology concentrations’.
In the UK, Charles Landry echoed Florida’s creativity thesis and has since influenced
creative city policy makers with his ‘Toolkit for Urban Innovators’ (Landry 2012). Landry
created a creative city index, which was designed for the use by governments to stimulate
economic growth through creativity and innovation. Landry has a more holistic approach in
promoting a creative city than Florida that takes into account the ‘pre-existing cultural milieu
of any given city and looks at ways in which to improve upon it’ (Landry 2012, p 19) Landry
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has influenced government policy across the globe and was the Adelaide Thinker in Residence
in 2003 where his vision for a creative city was tabled in a report ‘Rethinking Adelaide:
Capturing Imagination’ (2003). Similar to Florida’s creative cities index Landry has ten key
indicators in his toolkit for urban innovators. Through surveys and interviews conducted in any
city that chooses to employ him he assesses needs in sectors such as, education and training,
industry and business and cultural, tourism and leisure institutions. The qualities these sectors
are assessed on are fuzzy managerialist descriptors: motivation, tenacity, inspiration and
adaptability.
While these two theorists have remained popular with public policy makers they have
received criticism from academics. As can be gathered from this brief review of their work it
is obvious that these ‘how to do’ documents would be attractive to policy makers. Both of these
blue prints are criticised for a one sided focus on cultural consumption. In fact many critics
believe that this focus on cultural consumption is to the detriment of cultural production (Peck
2005).
Many theorists such as (Atkinson & Easthope 2009;Kagan & Hahn; Koefoed 2013;
O’Connor & Shaw 2014; Peck 2005; Pratt 2008; Scott 2006; Smith 2002; Vivant 2013) have
raised issues such as gentrification, revanchist policy, cultural sustainability, cultural class
versus creative class definitions and homogenization as problems which are either brought
about or not addressed by ‘creative cities’ policies. While Florida was influenced by Jane
Jacobs, her book ‘The Life and Death of American Cities’ (1961) did not call for an attraction
to the city of ‘middle class’ types but emphasised the role of the ‘bohemians’ or cultural
creators such as those in Greenwich village as adding to the existing vitality of the city. Of
course increasing the vibrancy and enhancing the vitality of the city will inevitably drive up
the price of property which is the trigger for the process of gentrification.
9
Gentrification, which is primarily about the displacement of the economically
marginalised at the expense of the urban elite is an issue that has raised the ire of urban
sociologists. Sharon Zukin raised the issue of the balance between maintaining culture while
driving up real estate prices in her book ‘Loft Living: culture and capital in urban change’
(1989). Neil Smith is the most preeminent critical scholar on gentrification. His explanation of
the ‘rent gap’ (1996) has spawned much research and investigation on how land appreciation
occurs. Smith explains how when the price of rent in parts of a city is identified as being lower
than its potential price this is exploited by banks, large investors and governments. As the
infrastructure of the city is improved and demand for residential properties increase, the value
of property rises creating investment income and capital gains (from buying low and selling
high). This dynamic drives out lower income earners from the city as property and rent becomes
unaffordable to those previous city dwellers. Zukin on the other hand takes the view that
gentrification takes into account shifting patterns of culture and social reproduction and that
small ‘do it yourself’ investors as well as large investors play a part in the gentrification of
neighbourhoods (Zukin 1989).
According to Atkinson and Easthope (2009, p 72) the process of gentrification leads to
‘revanchist policies’ by local governments. This is a term coined by Neil Smith (1996) where
he describes aggressive neo liberal policies to take back the city from minority groups and the
working class. Notable examples of such policies include alcohol bans designed to remove
undesirables and manage risk in public spaces and the relocation of socioeconomically
disadvantaged people out of the city or, into the justice system. The overarching view of
gentrification put forward by (Lees 2008; Pratt 2011; Shaw 2014) is that it is an informal
economic policy that allows for the tax take to increase for the various governments that
provide the institutional conditions for gentrification. By actively increasing the price of rents
in the city local governments reap the monetary rewards while eroding social cohesion and
10
contributing to the socially homogenizing process of the city (Atkinson & Easthope 2009).
Attracting worldwide brand stores to the city drives up rent costs forcing local retailers out.
This economic and cultural process has consequences for the ongoing promotion of music and
arts as a contributor to the vibrancy of the city.
Kate Shaw’s empirical study of Melbourne’s ‘creative space’ program (2014) found
that cultural creators who the city’s creative policies were sold on had gradually been displaced
from their primary locations in the city by larger corporate players. This re-making of urban
space contributes to a homogenising effect on the city and its decline as a diverse cultural hub.
This has since been partially rectified through a program by the Melbourne City Council which
provided reduced rent spaces both residential and commercial for local artists leading to a
renaissance in cultural production in the city space (Shaw 2014).
The sustainability or unsustainability arguments put forward by (Kagan & Hahn 2011;
Kirchberg & Kagan 2013; Ratiu 2013; Vivant 2013) argue that in order for a creative cities
policy to be sustainable the artists and cultural creators need to be consulted, supported and
remunerated. Vivant (2013) argues that due to the precarious nature of artistic employment
coupled with the economic effects of gentrification it is harder for artists to experiment leading
to a decline in new and innovative art. Rather than being free to create Kirchberg and Kagan
(2013, p 142) state, ‘artists are conforming to the latest fads of the middle classes and producing
work on spec in order to survive’. These economic restraints means artists are compelled to
seek ‘precarious employment’ (Standing 2012) in the service industry including working
double shifts with flexible casualised working hours, serving food and drinks to the urban elite.
Further demonstration of the need for artist consultation to sustain cultural development
can be found in an article by Dan Ratiu (2013), where he investigated concepts and assumptions
of the creative cities debate. He points out that funding of the arts has a tendency to favour high
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art projects such as galleries, museums, opera companies and orchestra ensembles which are
brochure advertisements for international investors. This again is seen as an economic strategy
rather than one which sustains cultural development. Kagan and Hahn (2011) in their case
study of the artists role in the creative city project in Hamburg point to the role of artists in the
policy consultation process that was inclusive of the artistic community and led to the buyback
by the government of historically artistic cites for use by artists and cultural creators. Similarly
Kate Shaw (2014) demonstrated this effectiveness in the case of Melbourne with the buyback
of The Bond School Studios which installed artists into a guaranteed long term art space in
which they could create and share ideas. For the construction of the ideal type of music city it
is important to take these cases of government intervention in the sustainability of creative
urban spaces into consideration so as not to make the same mistakes and have to rectify them
as has been done in these cases.
A review of ‘creative cities’ policies by Pratt (2008) warns against the temptation for
policy makers to simply implement the same policies from one city to the next and argues for
the need to ‘pay attention to the context, history and regulatory forms of creative cities and be
very cautious in our desire to draw wider lessons based on policy transfer’ (Pratt 2008, p 112).
The urban space is not a tabula rasa so reflexivity is required when considering specific place
based concerns. A study of the creative cities project in Guimareas in Portugal by Oleg Koefoed
(2013) which involved extensive ethnographic and empirical research found, that out of several
initiatives aiming to sell the cultural heritage of Guimareas to the rest of Europe the only project
that proved to be sustainable was a community garden in the city centre. Through interviews
and combing of policy documents Koefoed uncovered no evidence of community consultation
on any of the initiatives enacted.
One initiative that has been taking place since 2004 is the UNESCO creative cities
network. This is a global cities network that is based on particular art forms that a city identifies
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with (Pratt 2011). For instance The City of Adelaide has recently been accepted as a creative
city of music. Other categories include art, gastronomy, literature and craft. This project is
designed to help similar cities to network and create private-public partnerships. This is a step
in the right direction as cities that identify with one another as having specific shared cultural
values are encouraged to network and share ideas. While this encourages the exchange of ideas
and the attraction of investment at an upper level it has so far proved to do little at the local
ground level. A comparative study by Cohendet, Grandadam and Simon (2011) of Barcelona
and Montreal, two cities in the UNESCO creative cities network found, that while there were
various initiatives and cross investment opportunities brought about by their inclusion in the
network, little was being done to foster local artistic and cultural initiatives. These initiatives
could be seen as more of an exercise in ‘cultural urban, branding’ (Okano & Samson 2010, p
15) for the purpose of inter city competition.
Debates about the positive and negative aspects of the creative city concept are vast,
complex and polarising. While somewhat discredited in academic circles creative city
strategies still have policy legs. Culture is still a legitimate focus of investment strategy. Music
is firmly on the creative cities agenda and the formation of global networks such as UNESCO’s
creative cities of music is a testament to this fact. Music policy development is a key pillar in
the creative city strategies. Understanding the policy problematic for cities of music will be the
focus of the rest of this thesis.
Live Music
The 2014 University of Tasmania report on the economic and cultural value of live
estimated that the live music industry contributes AU 15.7 billion dollars to the economy every
year. Based on these figures it is not surprising that cities are now looking to live music as a
stimulator of the local creative economy. While live music creates vibrancy in the city it can
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also raise concerns: how to foster, manage and form live music policy. It is the goal of this
thesis to examine and address these concerns and form an ideal type of music city. This section
reviews the historical problems faced when developing policy aimed at stimulating the live
music industry such as liquor licencing, noise attenuation and gentrification issues.
With the gentrification of central cities, residential concerns such as noise complaints,
alcohol related violence and anti-social behaviour are on the rise. New residential buildings are
side by side with traditional night time venues and the various laws that are in place are making
it difficult to run a profitable live music venue. For example, in Sydney it only takes a single
noise complaint to force a venue to change its practices and have to install expensive sound
proofing (Homan 2008). Complex liquor licencing and lock out laws are also making it
problematic to maintain a profitable venue. This is on top of the increased rent imposed upon
venue owners as the value of the property goes up. Shane Homan (2008) has written about the
issues faced in trying to maintain a live music scene in Australia. Focusing on Sydney he
examined:
The competing policy agendas, with live music precincts alternatively viewed as ‘vibrant’,
exciting sites that represent a rejuvenated inner-city culture; or as sites of disruption,
encouraging anti-social activity on the margins of legality. The ‘rehabilitation’ of live music
in the eyes of key government sectors was not simply a matter of ‘good’ cultural policy, but
the result of a combination of many factors (Homan 2008 p 243).
Homan’s paper documents a six-year campaign by various stakeholders to implement noise
attenuation, building code, and late-night trading and liquor law reforms designed to ensure the
survival of live performance venues and scenes. While this campaign has not born fruit in
Sydney other state capitals such as Adelaide and Melbourne have implemented many of these
policy reforms (Live Music Office Website 2016).
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Australia has a long history of live music with artists such as Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil and
Powder Finger earning strong international reputations for their live performances after years
of honing their skills on the Australian pub rock circuit (Homan 2008). The once flourishing
Australian music scene saw a decline with the advent of gaming machines in hotels as
performance space made way for gaming rooms. Through the late 90s and early 2000s many
venues, unable to compete without gaming revenue closed their doors contributing to the
dismantling of a once robust live music scene (Gibson & Homan 2004). Now music city
strategies are back on government agenda’s music policy is being developed to revive the live
music scene.
Turning away from revenue streams such as gaming machines in favour of live music
means negotiating a different set of economic and institutional issues. While gambling
addiction is high on the social agenda, due to its individualised nature it does not create a moral
panic that live music can. ‘Youth subcultures associated with different music scenes have had
the media portray these youths as ‘folk devils’ by exaggerating and distorting the numbers of
people and degree of damage or violence involved in incidents and confrontations with the
police’ (Roach Anleu 2006 p 248). Whether or not the threat of violence on the street is real it
is something governments must prepare to manage deal with if live music to add vibrancy to
the city. Chris Gibson states that ‘governments using live music as a part of its cultural policy
must always engage in the politics of risk’ (Gibson & Homan 2004, p 72)).
A case study in 2006 by Marion Roberts of the night time economy in Leeds and
Manchester examined issues such as binge drinking and street violence which was causing
some areas of the city to become no go zones. Violence real or not was stopping people from
going into the city at night. ‘In most cases it was the people that the cultural policy agenda was
aimed at getting into the city that would not go to these areas at night’ (Roberts 2006, p 336).
She documented the city safe initiatives of Leeds and Manchester such as street lighting,
15
community policing and transport access which helped ease concerns of those travelling to and
from the city at night.
These alcohol related concerns have made it hard for live music venues to gain liquor
licences. Until this year a liquor licence in South Australia required a separate application to
gain live music approval. This approval required specific wording as to the type of live music
being performed (Streamlining Live Music Report 2016). This has since been amended so that
small venues catering to less than 200 people can hold acoustic performances between the
hours of 11 am and midnight without the requirement of a separate licence. A report into live
music in South Australia in 2014 by then thinker in residence Martin Elbourne found that
obtaining a liquor licence when seeking to add amplified music as a part of a venues
entertainment needs to be accompanied by an acoustic engineers report. This costs upward of
$12000. This does not guarantee approval so the cost and risk involved has dissuaded many
venue operators from seeking to use live music in their venues. This thesis will form an ideal
type of music policy reform that addresses these complex issues.
Gentrification has had a direct impact on the ability to perform live music in the city.
Australia’s preeminent gentrification scholar Kate Shaw used time series mapping of inner city
Melbourne to highlight the ‘displacement of the live music scene due to increasingly dense and
contested urban space’ (Shaw 2013, p 341) She interviewed many people in Melbourne’s live
music scene that have witnessed the gradual decline of live music in Melbourne. Perhaps
Australia’s most prolific singer song writer Paul Kelly reflected:
I came to Melbourne in 1977 and started playing in small pubs in the inner city. … You
don’t learn how to write a song at school, you don’t do a TAFE course in how to play in
front of an audience. These places were my universities (cited in Shaw 2013).
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Although music making has retreated to the home and digital media this loss of venues for
artists to hone their skills is not only a loss for the artists it is a loss of music heritage. Policies
are being implemented to circumvent this issue such as Melbourne’s ‘agency of change’ (Shaw
2013). This policy recognises the rights of first occupancy. Any resident moving to an area
where live music is being performed will be responsible for sound proofing and will understand
that the current noise levels are part of the normal business of the venue. Up until this point a
person moving into an area next to a live music venue had the power to shut the venue down
through making noise complaints.
Using Neil Smiths frontier metaphor (1996) Gibson and Homan (2004) explain the
gentrification of inner city Sydney. “Gentrification was a frontier phenomenon, with artists,
students and musicians those to first colonise poorer inner-city areas, followed by property
speculators, estate agents and young professionals seeking relatively affordable housing in
emerging bohemian areas” (Smith 1996 p 133). Here musicians play an unwitting role in the
process of gentrification. By increasing the reputation of their neighbourhood they are
effectively pricing themselves out of the market. The middle classes taking control of a
neighbourhood was particularly troubling for live music venues. This was cynically
summarised in a 2002 letter to the Sydney Morning Herald:
At last, a devious Sydney real estate business is exposed. Purchase a property in a noisy
neighbourhood near a music venue at a cheap price (no one wants to live with noise), invest
in several phone calls to complain about the noise, have the music stopped, sell at a
premium. To hell with the rest of us (cited in Gibson & Homan 2004).
17
Now that music is back on the policy agenda the loss of live music venues poses a problem
in that a lack of access to live music means it is hard to create a market. The ideal type of music
city in this thesis will emphasise what can be done to promote live music in the city. Gibson
and Homan’s study of the urban redevelopment of Marrickville unveiled the council’s initiative
to use public space to put on free live music performances to promote live music to its current
population. This along with public street art are designed to regenerate interest in the music
and arts scene (Gibson &Homan 2004).
Kate Shaw was prominent in the fight to save ‘The Espy’ The Esplanade Hotel is one
of Melbourne’s most iconic music venue. Bought by developers in 1997 it was set to be
bulldozed to make way for apartments. A six year fight by ‘The Espy Alliance’ saw the hotel
heritage listed for its ‘cultural use’ (Shaw 2008). This was a land mark case in Australia that
recognised heritage not as just architectural value but recognised ‘The Espy’ for its ‘historical
and contemporary value and for its ongoing contribution to the vibrant music scene’ (Gibson
2010). As Homan puts it “The OZ rock pub or club has assumed its mythological place as part
of the urban landscape as a store house for social memories for fans and musicians” (Homan
2002 p9).
Forming cultural and in particular live music policy is tricky as it is hard for governments
to reconcile conflicting cultural, economic and urban policies. This has its particular issues
with Australia’s tripartite form of governance. Homan explains;
Australia has a tripartite system of governance consisting of a federal government (national);
the governments of the six states and territories (New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria,
Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory); and local city councils. Arts
18
ministers exist at both federal and state levels, with the federal minister providing funding
for the nation’s principal arts body, the Australia Council. (Homan 2008 p2)
Unifying these levels of government to form a cohesive policy for live music has proved
problematic. Liquor licencing, building code reform and land use zoning are different in every
state. Different government ideologies are at play with at some stages a conservative federal
government working with a progressive state government and vice versa. At the same time
local councils have their own agenda’s. Atkinson and Easthopes comparative study in 2009
examined the music policies in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. They discovered
that most of the policies were formed in an ad hoc fashion. None of these were formed with
any real consultation with the community and they were considered to be ‘neo liberal economic
policies rather than cultural policies’ (Atkinson & Easthope 2009, p 69). Also none of these
governments had a department dedicated to music or cultural reform. This made the silo effect
of separate government departments a problem for reconciling cultural policy concerns.
The silo effect refers to a lack of information flowing between groups or parts of an
organization.
At the time of writing this has been partially rectified in Australia. At the Federal level
there is a live music office which works with state level music departments. A good example
of this is governance structure is the music development office (MDO) in Adelaide which is
the only state with a government department dedicated to the needs of the state’s music industry
(Live Music Office Website 2016). This was one of the recommendations enacted following
the Elbourne report into the state of live music in South Australia in 2014. It will also form part
of the ideal type of music city.
19
This review of the literature regarding creative cities and its policy problematics and
specifically the policy problematics for live music in cities has so far raised as many questions
as it has answers. The tension between the need for economic regeneration and social cohesion
is always going to be a challenging problem for governments. On the one hand there is the
basically consumption based ‘creative city’ ideas from the likes of Richard Florida (2003) and
Charles Landry (2012) which both legitimately aim to promote and stimulate the cultural
economy. On the other there are concerns such as gentrification, homogenization, revanchist
policy and economic and cultural unsustainability. What is not clear in any of this research is
what can be done to reconcile these differing approaches.
While leading Australian scholars such as Shane Homan ( 2010,2013,Frith & Homan
2011) and Kate Shaw (2008, 2013a, 2013b) have done extensive research of the policy
problematics for the music industry facing Sydney and Melbourne there remains a dearth of
research on these problems for the other states in Australia. Using Max Weber’s ideal type
method this thesis will consolidate the reviewed literature and compare music policy
development from several cities including Adelaide, Brisbane and Wollongong. It will try to
ascertain which policies work at all levels including economic, social and community levels.
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Method
Max Weber’s Ideal-Types
Max Weber’s ideal type method is a form of comparative analysis that is apposite for
comparing music city policies. By reviewing existing music city policies using qualitative and
quantitative data to form an ideal typical music city it will be possible to compare music
policies and gain an understanding of what is common, what is missing and what is exemplary.
This will aid in the construction of a best practice guide to assist with music policy
development. Using Max Weber’s ideal type method of comparative analysis will demonstrate
the practical relevance of sociology in gaining new insights that can aid policy makers in
today’s socio-urban landscape.
The comparative method in the social sciences was pioneered by Max Weber and it
forms the basis for his book ‘Economy and Society’ (1922). The purpose of comparative study
is the explanation of a historical problem (Roth 1978 p20). For example Atkinson and
Easthopes (2009) comparative study of the pursuit of creative strategies in Australian cities
was able to explain how and why ad hoc implementation of creative policy ultimately led to
failure in most of those cities.
The ideal type method is one way to examine these policy projects as it both develops
generalizations and explains specific cases. It is a comparative method that gathers historical
and empirical data and examines it in an objective way. Drawing on Webers method of
comparative historical sociology will make it possible to propose tangible solutions to the
historical problems involved in music policy development. The comparative method also
provides a level of efficiency in that it can be used in a desktop study that must adhere to time
and space constraints such as this honours thesis.
21
For an honours project it is not possible to gather enough data to do a quantitative
analysis tracking data across the globe to chart the various successes and failures of music city
policy. Likewise it is not possible to gather qualitative data by travelling to cities doing
fieldwork and interviews. As discussed in the literature review music policy development
policies meets with an array of problems. Some are place specific and others are common
across all cities regardless of the culture, by laws, government structure and key stakeholders
involved in the cities social and economic life. To date there has been no cohesive document
providing a holistic answer to best practice guidelines for music city policy makers.
Constructing a document through comparative analysis that can assist policy makers to
achieve ‘optimal’ outcomes needs to be flexible, adaptable, and have realistic goals. It must be
able to be placed in a broader context and not just a specific place or moment in time. As
discussed in the previous literature review the likes of Richard Florida (2003) and Charles
Landry (2012) have attempted to provide a blueprint of ideas that can be rolled out in any given
city to turn it into a creative city. Yet there is a lack of literature on music cities in particular.
Though they have done extensive research providing evidence to develop generalizations about
creative cities they fail to explain specific cases. This is not to say that these policy ideas are
without merit and in fact they proved to be successful in many cases. It is envisaged that with
the aid of ideal types these policy ideas will be able to be analysed more clearly in order to
ascertain which are applicable to specific cases such as Adelaide.
At the moment policy blueprints of Florida and Landry are the closest there currently
is to any concrete guidance for policy makers and it is why both of these thinkers have been
influential in the field of creative city policy making. In Australia social scientist Kate Shaw
who has been influential in guiding cultural policy. She now sits on the music advisory round
table in Melbourne which is a think tank that helps guide live music policy in that city. Shane
Homan has informed various live music governing bodies on the problems faced by venue
22
owners and musicians who are trying to sustain a live music scene. (2004) While he has
provided a vast amount of factual information on the historical problems faced by the music
industry in Australia this has not been transformed into a cohesive policy guideline that could
assist with music policy development across the board.
This thesis will use previous research along with policy documents and strategic plans
from Adelaide, Brisbane, Wollongong, Nashville and Toronto to conduct comparative analysis
to form an ideal-type of music city. Each of these cities share common policy problematics to
do with gentrification, community engagement, policing and the mixed use of place and space.
While these policy problematics may be similar they must all take into account their specific
social, cultural and economic contextual situations. Forming an ideal type of music city through
this comparative analysis will not provide an answer to all these policy problematics. It will
however be a useful guide for those who are seeking to become a music city.
What are Ideal Types?
The Ideal Type theory was developed by Max Weber. A method elaborated on in
‘Objectivity in Social Science and Social Policy’ (1949). According to Weber;
An ideal type is formed by the one-sided accentuation of one or more points of view and
by the synthesis of a great many diffuse, discrete, more or less present and occasionally
absent concrete individual phenomena, which are arranged according to those onesidedly
emphasized viewpoints into a unified analytical construct (1949, p 91)
23
One of the main purposes of this thesis is to reprise Max Weber’s ideal-type method
and to demonstrate that it is a practical sociological method that is relevant today as when it
was first developed. In today’s parlance the term ‘best practice’ could be used interchangeably
with ‘ideal-type’ although this would not fully explain what an ideal type is. Weber describes
an ideal-type as; “a utopia, in its conceptual purity this construct cannot be found anywhere in
reality” (1949, p 23). An ideal-type is a construct built from empirical and historical data so it
is also an empirical possibility. “It does not describe a concrete course of action but it describes
an objectively possible course of action” (Parsons 1969, p 79). Weber developed the ideal-type
to be used as an objective tool in social science for the analysis of the social world. As an
economist he particularly used the ideal type to examine different types of economies such as
market or handicraft. Unlike previous critical research on music cities, using the ideal-type for
comparative analysis will as much as possible remove value judgements and subjectivity from
the analysis.
While the ideal type is not a hypothesis it is a conceptualization of facts, events and
courses of action that can be supported or not supported. “The ideal-type is a heuristic device
for the purpose of organising the empirically given; this makes the whole process of
conceptualization elastic and adaptive” (Abel 1969, p 41). It is presented as the most rational
course of action once all of the data has been analysed hence its interchangeability with the
term ‘best practice’. Psathas’ ‘Explorations of the Life World’ describes the need of the ideal
type for the social analyst;
In the view of the analyst who develops the ideal type, empirical reality consists of
multiplicities of events and activities which are manifest in a virtually chaotic and unending
24
flow of discrete particularities thereby necessitating selection, focus and reduction in order
to achieve a more coherent formulation (2005, p 146)
The generalized ideal type that will be used for the comparative analysis in this thesis
consists of an abstract general character and the ideal typical intensification of its empirical
reality. An abstract general character is a trait that is common across multiple examples and
the ideal typical intensification of its empirical reality is the best case example of this common
trait. In this case the core features of music city policy:
The ideal type is an ideal construction of a typical course of action, or form of relationship
which is applicable to the analysis of an indefinite plurality of concrete cases, and which
forms in pure logically consistent form certain elements that are relevant to the
understanding of the several concrete situations (Psathas 2005, p 148).
To elaborate, Talcott Parsons explains the requirements of an abstract general character; ‘the
hypothetical situation must be able to be placed in a broader context not a specific moment and
place in time and the ideal typical intensification of its empirical reality; must be the idea of
the best course of events’ (1969, p 80). Not the average or the norm but the best. Using this
ideal type construct as the analytical tool in this thesis will demonstrate not only the ‘best
practice model’ for a music city but also that Max Weber’s ideal-type theory is a practical
analytical tool for the task.
As Weber states ‘social reality consists of an infinite multiplicity of
successively and co-existingly emerging and disappearing events’ (1949, p 92). Post-modern
25
changes in demographics, culture, economic objectives and social issues cannot be predicted
so the ideal-type construct is a presentation of what is ideal at this time with all the information
that is currently available. Historical and empirical information will change over the course of
time so the ideal type would need to be revisited and adjusted according to these factors. “This
ideal-type construct is to furnish a point of reference with regard to which social reality can be
analysed and interpreted” (Parsons 1949, p 93).
In this thesis the ideal type will serve as a best practice model of a music city. The
construction of an ideal type is a comparative method that delivers an objective ordering of
facts into one cohesive document. It will observe and disentangle many policy elements that
go into the making of a music city.
How is the Ideal Type Constructed?
The formulation of the ideal type is a deductive or top down process as it starts with the
analysis of the general, synthesising the information down and forming one analytical
construct. As an example of this process we can take Max Weber’s construction of the ideal
type of market economy (1922). By observing many concrete examples of a market economy
he was able to form a theory or tentative hypothesis of how under the most rational conditions
a market economy could function. This involved observing many normative patterns and
regularities, observing what was common and what was exemplary in them and forming these
into one ideal type construct. It could be said that this forms a schema or in other words an idea
of what a market economy could look like under the most rational conditions. For example
Weber describes the market situation within a market economy as:
26
“Market situation” (Marktlage) for any object of exchange is meant all the opportunities of
exchanging it for money which are known to the participants in exchange relationships and
aid their orientation in the competitive price struggle. (1922, p 82)
The above abstract example of Max Weber’s formation of an ideal type construct was pieced
together from the writings of Max Weber in ‘Objectivity in Social Sciences and Social Policy’
(1949) and ‘Economy and Society’ (1922) as well as from secondary sources. The endeavour
to find an actual step by step example of how to form an ideal type proved an arduous task. To
provide such an example would involve an undertaking similar to Weber’s in ‘Economy and
Society’ (1922) which the time and space constraints of this thesis cannot afford. It was decided
that the above abridged version will suffice.
The ideal type is not a hypothesis and it does not exist in reality. It is a comparative tool that
can be used to guide an investigation into a problem. So in Weber’s case, once the ideal type
of market economy has been constructed it is then possible to measure a concrete form of
market economy and ascertain what is being done well and what could be done differently to
improve it. In the case of this thesis it is intended to be used as a comparative guide to help
understand music policy development. Although the ideal type is formed through the “onesided
accentuation of one or more points of view” (Weber 1949, p 46), it must be empirically possible
or it holds no weight as a theory. It might be easier to think of ideal as a world of ideas, it is
not idealistic. Objective empirical, scientific observations have no room for idealism. Nor is it
subjective as it is hypothetically constructed by the “synthesis of a great many diffuse, discrete,
more or less present and occasionally absent concrete individual phenomena” (Weber 1949, p
46).
27
It is important to emphasise that the ideal type is abstract. Although it is formed through
objective, empirical and historical data it is not a law or an absolute. The fluid nature of the
social world dictates that the ideal type will not remain constant. This means that its
construction will need to be revisited in the future. Once constructed it will be useful as a
conceptual foundation for further elaboration and refinement. The historical evidence already
gathered will not change but as time passes more will need to be considered. Social science
does not deal with absolutes.
Criticisms/ Clarifications
Some critiques of the ideal type have been critical of ideal type theory construction for
being either ambiguous, too complex or over simplified. This may be true in some cases as it
was developed for the use of analysing individual ideal-types through to institutional ideal
types. For the purpose of this thesis though the ideal type does not encounter any of these
issues. If the emphasis of this thesis was on the individual actor then the irrationality of human
behaviour would be problematic. The use of the terms rational/irrational are loaded terms.
Irrational in Weberian terms merely represents deviation from the norm and does not mean
either good or bad. Applying these terms to individual actors though may raise more questions
and debates then it solves. The ideal type is not designed to deal with these ambiguities as it is
merely presenting historical and empirical evidence and not necessarily the meaning behind it.
Likewise trying to apply ideal types to integrated systems and institutions could become
confusing as there are too many moving parts that are clashing. For example, an ideal type of
social policy tackling the ice epidemic would be different as a medical model as opposed to a
legal model. This would make the formation of an ideal type on a multi institutional level
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difficult to grasp. What would seem like a rational course of action to one group of social actors
may be entirely different to those of another as the norms values and goals would differ too
greatly between groups.
The formation of ideal types for this thesis only needs a rational understanding of the
subjective meaning of the empirical evidence being analysed. The analyst is experienced and
well versed enough to gain the rational understanding required to be able to present an ideal
type of music city. It has a discourse that is familiar to all parties involved and a set of normative
patterns that have formed historically and empirically over a relatively short period of time.
Though the ideal type is a potentially ambiguous method as it is only a conceptual construct
there will be no other ambiguities to grapple with for the reader of the document. The ambiguity
will only lie in the fact that it is a utopia. As Weber (1949 p 56) states ‘in its conceptual purity
this construct cannot be found anywhere in reality’. This being said though the ideal type must
meet an evidentiary burden of proof. It cannot be unrealistic, so readers or interpreters of the
document should have no trouble grasping the concepts put forward.
For the field of urban sociology the ideal type is particularly poignant. Webers own
studies on medieval cities and the city economy employed ideal types to compare types of city
economies (Rogers 1969). By constructing the ideal type of market economy he was able to
show that any economy that deviated from this ideal type was not a market economy. Given
this tool was used by Weber to construct ideal types of city economies it is apposite then to use
the same tool to construct an ideal type of music city.
The music city model is one that is ever expanding so it needs a construct that
is adaptable, flexible and able to change once more empirical and historical knowledge comes
to light. Having a construct that represents a selection of features or elements considered
29
significant, essential and exemplary negates the risk of too much trial and error in music policy
development. Having a blue print for best practice that isn’t set in stone and that is evidence
based can give policy makers relative confidence in implementation of what may seem to be
costly or unknown policy areas.
As a tool to explain the social world and in this case the world of music cities
the ideal type in this instance will be a best practice guide for policy makers anywhere in the
world. To suggest that there is any one concrete course of action in the social world is mere
folly. Social actors are constructors of their own reality and the balance between structure and
agency will vary by many degrees based on place, time and collective consciousness. Having
an ideal type that can describe a possible course of action that is objective and rational is a
foundational element that can be used irrespective of these factors.
My Method
Music policy development in the city faces a set of complex issues and the formation
of an ideal type of music city provides a guide for how to understand these issues. This will
involve the gathering of policy documents and drawing on available secondary documents from
the music cities being compared and then analysing them to compare what they have in
common what has been done differently and what has been successful. A brief case study of
each city being analysed will give an overview of each of the cities various policies and
initiatives. These will then be compared alongside each other in a matrix table. A picture will
then emerge of what is common in all policy making across the cities being analysed. It will
show what aspects are missing from one city to another. In conjunction with secondary
literature it will show what is exemplary, significant and essential to music policy development
within a music city framework.
30
As the ideal-type is a utopia and not an average or what is the norm the ideal type will
be constructed using the evidence produced from the comparative analysis. It is not the job of
the ideal type construct to account for meaning, tradition or emotion, this is up to the reader or
interpreter of the document. The ideal type will merely state what a course of events or actions
could be. This also assumes that all the human actors involved have the same means/end goal
in mind
With so many stakeholders in the constitution of a city economy it is envisaged that
compromise will be a large part of governance negotiations. Armed with a description of ideal
types the music city policy makers will have a foundation or base level with which to negotiate
from. To use a trade union parlance it may be called an ambit claim. It will however be a solid
point with which to launch a debate. The fact that the ideal type is based on historical and
empirical evidence gives recourse to argue for it as a concrete course of action.
Evidence Gathering
Documents from the cities being analysed were sourced from government websites
and with assistance from the Music Development Office in South Australia and The Live Music
Office in Sydney. Secondary literature was sourced from libraries and academic search
engines. Search words included, creative cities, gentrification, music city, sociology, post-
industrial economy, social policy, cultural economy, night time economy, urban sociology,
Max Weber and ideal types, globalisation, global networks, policy transference, cultural
homogenisation, governance, Australian live music policy Australian creative cities, Nashville
music, Toronto music and UNESCO creative cities
31
Analysis: The Music City
A comparative analysis was conducted on five cities to form an ‘ideal type’ (Weber,
1949) of music city to help understand music policy development. The cities selected were
Nashville, Toronto, Adelaide, Wollongong, and Brisbane. Nashville was selected due to its
long history of music culture. Toronto was chosen for its research into music policy and in
particular through its significant contribution to best practice guidelines. Adelaide was chosen
as it is the researchers home state and also because it is now considered to be the leader in
pioneering new and innovative policies within an Australian context. Brisbane was chosen for
its early innovation of turning the inner city suburb Fortitude Valley into a live music precinct.
Wollongong was chosen for its willingness to transform its declining urban centre into a city
of music.
The analysis will begin by giving a brief case study of each of these cities. It will move
on to compare what they have in common and also what is unique or exemplary in each of
them. A more detailed analysis of the various laws and policy reforms will be conducted on
the Australian cities as they share common problems developing music policy within a tripartite
government framework. It will consider the cultural aspects of each of these cities when taking
ideas and innovations from each and forming them into one ‘ideal type’ (Weber, 1949) of music
city.
Nashville
Nashville has a rich musical heritage dating back to the nineteenth century. It is the
home of country music and has earned itself the nickname ‘The Music City’. As music has
always been an integral part of this city’s identity, policy makers have been keen to preserve
and maintain music policies that sustain a vibrant music scene. As such policy reform around
liquor licensing, building codes and policies pertaining to noise levels have never really been
32
at issue as venue friendly policies are long established. Land use is defined as the activity
humans conduct on a particular piece of land (Nashville Next 2016). With this in mind the
Nashville City Mayors office has pursued policies to find a middle ground between the
disruptive effects of gentrification and the positive effects of urban renewal. Any new
residential developments come with the caveat that it must maintain affordable housing options
for its citizens (Nashville Next 2016). For music and the arts this has included providing artist
specific enclaves within the city to sustain the production of music and art. This combats the
effect of gentrification where gentrifiers move into an area as cultural consumers and in doing
so stymie the labour force who sustain cultural consumption.
Nashville’s musical heritage is a part of the social fabric of the city. As well as this it is
a key economic platform and source of tourist dollars. Musical tourism attracts many visitors
to the city, as such ‘The Music City’ moniker is key to its branding. Nashville has three city
districts designated as music and entertainment precincts and it is in the interests of all
stakeholders to preserve and maintain the musical culture of these districts. ‘The District’ is an
informal merchant advisory group with representation from government, businesses, non-profit
organisations and philanthropists who have an interest in preserving the cultural heritage of
Nashville (The District 2016).
‘The District’ has been the driver of policy which seeks to not only preserve heritage
listed buildings but to heritage list those areas of the city which have been a contributor to the
city’s culture. Heritage listing in Nashville not only recognises the historical significance of a
buildings architecture, but also the intangible cultural and social meaning of a venue and how
it has shaped the history and cultural and social fabric of the city (The District 2016). Rather
than a government body which decides on the historical value of a venue it is a collaborative
approach which considers the input from all the stakeholders on ‘The District’ merchant
advisory board. In some cases this has involved raising funds through various streams including
33
money from government, non-profit organisations, business owners, preservationists and
philanthropists to preserve and maintain a venue for its contribution to the social, cultural and
historical value of the city.
The flow on effect of this approach is that musical tourism benefits. Visitors to the city
can walk historical areas and visit venues where their favourite artist played. They can hear
stories and anecdotes about the performers and performances that have graced these venues
and visit them in a museum like experience during the day while witnessing contemporary
performances in the same venue at night.
Nashville has a holistic approach to sustaining the culture and vibrancy required to
support an ongoing creative city of music. The Nashville Next city plan (2015) brings together
all sections of city planning into one department. This enables collaboration to occur when
considering aspects of city planning including transport and infrastructure, land use,
entertainment precincts, tourism, education and youth engagement strategies. Governments
departments have traditionally operated in what is termed as separate silos where all
departments are standalone making collaboration and communication problematic.
Nashville has recognised the benefit of having a music hub or cluster where
government, non-profit organisations and private businesses are housed in one area.
Nashville’s ‘Project Music’ (2016) is a governance structure that brings together the music city
council, the country music association and the Nashville entrepreneur centre. It issues start up
grants to ten small music specific businesses a year that have a stake in and operate out of the
same premises as larger companies such as google and other high profile music and
entertainment companies.
It is not possible for cities around the world to emulate the success of Nashville as it
has a unique set of characteristics inherent to the city. Nashville’s rich musical heritage cannot
34
be manufactured yet policies and attitudes that have enabled it to grow can be learned from.
There are cities with a similarly rich heritage such as Memphis and Chicago which are also
trying to harness these unique qualities. What sets Nashville apart is its willingness to pursue
new and innovative ideas to enable it address the multiple objectives of music policy.
Toronto
Music Canada the country’s music funding body and in particular The City of Toronto
are at the leading edge of research and practice in the music city field. The Mastering of a
Music City (2016) document produced by Music Canada in conjunction with The City of
Toronto is a best practice guide for any city that is seeking to become a music city. With a
regional government that has provided an unprecedented $45million grant program it is clear
that they are taking the creation of a music city seriously. Toronto has a short, medium and
long term strategy designed to bolster its music industry (City of Toronto website 2016). In
large part, these strategies have been developed by examining and comparing music cities
across the globe. Toronto has adopted many of Nashville’s policies relating to music tourism
including, heritage listing the creation of music clusters and cultural hubs and by a similar
approach to tackling the issues created by gentrification. Like Nashville it has made provisions
in residential development laws that stipulate access to affordable housing in areas where
housing prices have been pushed up through the processes of gentrification. It has also initiated
a heritage listing policy that recognises a venue’s contribution to the social and cultural fabric
of the city (City of Toronto Strategic Plan 2014).
Toronto faces similar problems to most cities when it comes to venue licensing, noise
restrictions and building codes and bylaws. Part of their strategic plan is to implement music
and musician friendly policies such as an Agent of Change policy. This was first introduced in
Melbourne where the rights of the first occupant are considered before taking into account such
35
things as noise complaints of residents who have moved into an area where music is a
contributor to the night time economy (The Mastering of a Music City 2016). Equally though
if a music venue moves into a residential area it will be the one responsible for taking noise
attenuation measures.
In order to facilitate the implementation, consultation and communication between all
stakeholders Toronto has formed a live music office (The Mastering of Music City 2016). This
is a government agency that, like Nashville tackles the silo effect of government departments
working alone, rather than consulting with all departments that are relevant to the
implementation of the various policy concerns at hand. This is a one port of call for musicians,
promoters and venue owners who are trying to mitigate noise attenuation, liquor licensing, and
building code issues. Cutting through ‘red tape’ and having one government department to deal
with somewhat negates the cost prohibitive process of applying for licences and settling
disputes with other residents. Toronto is aiming to amalgamate this with similar music cluster
models from places as diverse as Nashville and Adelaide where government departments,
music businesses and non-profit music related entities share space, ideas and strategies under
the one roof (The Mastering of a Music City 2016)
Toronto has also formed music round tables and advisory boards that address issues
around the music industry and for lobbying government in the interests of the music industry.
It is also used to bring the community together so that the interests and concerns of all
stakeholders can be voiced and heard. As the Toronto council only voted to make Toronto a
music city in March this year its strategic plan is in its infancy (City of Toronto website 2016).
Many of its plans for policy reform are yet to be enacted and it remains to be seen if they can
be passed as legislation. In its favour is the fact that their strategic plan is shaped by evidence
based best practice from music cities around the globe.
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Toronto is aiming to join a global network of music cities in the same way that Adelaide
has joined UNESCO’s creative cities of music network. In an era of globalisation growing
international networks is viewed as a key economic platform as cities are new nodes
articulating global flows that transcend nation state boundaries. Sharing resources and ideas
outside of a nation state framework is increasingly becoming the norm for corporations and
cities alike. Music city forums have been set up where cities take it in turn to host conferences
so that members of those various music communities can come together to share ideas and
form relationships.
Wollongong
Wollongong is a small coastal city 1.5 hours’ drive from Sydney with a population of
approximately 200,000. In the past Wollongong relied on heavy industry including mining and
manufacturing for its main source of income and employment. With the decline of its urban
centre it has had to look for new ways to sustain its community. Branding itself as the city of
innovation Wollongong has turned to the creative economy to do this (The City of Wollongong
website 2016). It could be said that it has tried to do this in the Floridian sense by using talent,
tolerance and technology to attract people to the city. As a part of this plan music is firmly on
the council’s agenda. In 2013 the Live Music Taskforce report was released that investigated
how the music scene could contribute to its night time and cultural economy.
The findings of the taskforce mirrored many of the concerns facing cities and built up
urban areas attempting to enhance the opportunities for live music within their regions. Chief
among them is balancing the need to provide night time entertainment while building critical
residential mass within the same space. This coupled with long established legislation
pertaining to liquor licensing, noise attenuation and land use zoning were all problems for the
taskforce to investigate.
37
Among the concerns identified with providing night time entertainment was the
perception of safety or lack thereof around being in the city late at night and from alcohol
related violence. The Wollongong council, police and representatives from the live music
taskforce launched a campaign to change public perception and to make the city safer at night.
They provided free late night transport options and restricted the sale of take away drinks and
shots. Since the start of the campaign in 2008 there has been a 38% decrease in alcohol related
assaults (The Live Music Taskforce Report 2013). An increased police presence and more
lighting around perceived dangerous spots has seen a change in the perception of the public
about the safety of the city at night. Along with this the council has made data about crime and
violence in the city more accessible so that perception can be informed by evidence based
rather than through a media driven moral panic.
This issue has also been problematic for venues and businesses seeking liquor licensing
and applying for extended trading hours. The city crime figures have now been provided to
liquor licencing board members so they could make more evidence based decisions when
considering the issuing of liquor licences and the granting of extended trading hours (Live
Music Taskforce Report 2013). Complex liquor licencing laws have been problematic for those
seeking liquor licences for the purposes of putting on live music performances. Ambiguity and
subjective assessments on noise attenuation has meant that any one applying for a liquor licence
with the view to providing amplified music have either been flatly turned down or have come
with costly conditions (Live Music Office website 2016). For example acoustic testing and an
acoustic engineers report must accompany the application. It costs thousands of dollars for an
acoustic engineers report and this is no guarantee in gaining the licence.
Tackling the subjectivity around noise attenuation and noise complaints has been a key
focus of the taskforce. Previously one noise complaint had the potential to cause a venue to
close down. This was in fact the case at The Patch live music venue where one noise complaint
38
led to a cessation of all live music order. Considering the fact that out of 250 noise complaints
in Wollongong in 2013 only 2 were for live music the requirements of venues to attend to noise
levels seems heavy handed (Live Music Taskforce Report 2013). The second highest amount
of noise complaints involved pets yet no one was ordered to get rid of their dog.
An innovative plan the taskforce has initiated to deal with these issues is to look at land
use and zoning. This removes many problems around noise complaints. Wollongong now
issues an s149 certificate potential residents of the city (City of Wollongong Website 2016).
This states that Wollongong is committed to revitalising the city through live music and other
night time events and residents should be aware that this will generate noise. This coupled with
the provision that any new residential building must provide noise attenuation via double
glazing on all external sliding doors and windows somewhat negates noise concerns (Live
Music Taskforce Report 2013). Another initiative is a move to mediation before litigation when
dealing with neighbourhood disputes including noise complaints.
Some other initiatives being enacted from the taskforce findings are to preserve iconic
venues in the city and add live music to the council’s master plan for an arts and cultural
precinct. There is a focus on audience and talent development via youth and community
engagement. Ten $2500 grants funded by the Wollongong City council are now issued per year
to young musicians and bands to help develop talent. The council runs free six week workshops
in youth and community centres on how to make it in the music business. While Wollongong
may be too small to have a music hub they have appointed someone to the position of music
officer so that venues and musicians have one port of call when applying for liquor licences
and seeking expert advice. This officer also informs council on best practice and evidence
based assessing of noise and liquor licensing issues. Live music matters are now a fixed agenda
item on regular council meetings (Live Music Taskforce Report 2016).
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Brisbane
As a music city Brisbane is unique within an Australian context as it is the only city to
specifically designate an area of the city as an entertainment precinct. Fortitude Valley in the
city has long been identified as a creative hub of arts, music and culture. In 2004 the Brisbane
City council developed the ‘Valley Music Harmony Plan’ (2004) in response to meeting the
needs of a diverse range of stakeholders. Like all cities the need to attract new residents to the
city has juxtaposed the need for entertainment to attract these newcomers into the city. In
response to growing noise concerns the council looked into ways to meet the needs of all
stakeholders. From here the Fortitude Valley entertainment precinct was born.
By designating an area of the city as an entertainment precinct it enabled council to
adopt uniform noise emission levels for music venues within a designated area. This also
allowed for order of occupancy laws to be less ambiguous as residents moving into the area
did so in the full knowledge that they could not expect noise levels to be at the level of the
average residential area. Sound proofing and noise attenuation measures were made
compulsory for any new residential builds in the area including a buffer zone just outside of
the precinct. Uniform noise emission levels work both ways as any new activity in an
established venue that breaches the noise threshold will be judged objectively by a decibel level
meter. It also negates the issue of a space that was previously commercial and then converted
to residential being able to shift the regulatory requirements when it comes to allowable noise
levels. Previously if a commercial property next to a venue was converted into a residential
space the venue would be forced to amend its noise levels to meet a new requirement.
The council also provides advice to all stakeholders on how to improve noise
management and assists venues with sound proofing measures. A novel idea that has been
40
implemented is ‘The Valley Sound Machine’, this is a recording on CD of expected day and
night time noise levels within the precinct that prospective residents have available to listen to
so they know what to expect before deciding to dwell in the precinct (Valley Sound Machine
2004).
Having the majority of night time activity in the one precinct also allows for policing
levels to be efficient and for typical late night behaviour concerns to be contained in one area.
This along with the ease of providing transport and infrastructure planning are among the
positive aspects of a designated entertainment precinct. In order to enable the ongoing success
of venues outside of the precinct the Brisbane City council has designated a second smaller
precinct zone where iconic music venues that would have fallen outside of the zone exist
(Valley Music Harmony Plan 2004). From a marketing perspective clustering music and arts
into one precinct is easier for music tourism campaigns. Businesses in the area can collaborate
and pool resources for promotional purposes as all venues will be benefitting from a single
campaign.
Outside of Fortitude Valley though Brisbane and the state of Queensland has the most
red tape and restrictions around noise compliance and liquor licencing. Mandatory acoustic
engineering reports must accompany all liquor licencing applications which is cost prohibitive
and a mandatory 75 baseline decibel level is considered extremely low (Live Music Office
website 2016). Also the definition of unreasonable noise is completely subjective.
Investigations into the liquor licencing procedures in Queensland have also suggested a lack of
integrity in the issuing of liquor licences. It was found that there was corruption involved in
the issuing of liquor licences by previous conservative governments (Live Music Office
website 2016).
41
Adelaide
In 2013 the South Australian government commissioned Thinker in residence Martin
Elbourne to report on the state of live music in Adelaide. The aim of this report was to advise
government on ways to make the city a more vibrant place to live and play. At this time there
were 22,000 people residing in the city, as part of the government’s 30 year plan for greater
Adelaide they aim to increase this to 50,000 by 2024. Live music was identified as a key
platform in achieving this goal (Reverb report 2014). Since the tabling of this report many of
its recommendations have been enacted.
First on the agenda was to establish a music industry council which brought together
key players in the music industry to present a unified voice to other groups and stakeholders
including local and state government agencies. At the same time the Music Development
Office (MDO) was established which is the government agency in charge of funding various
state bodies and non-profit organisations including Music SA. The MDO is situated in the St
Pauls Creative Centre in Adelaide which is a music cluster similar to that of Nashville where
government, council, non-profit organisations and private music businesses work together in
an open plan office space giving industry direct access to government. The centre’s facilities
include song writing rooms, music education and artist development workshops and offers hot
desking opportunities free of rent to small start-ups, artists and students (Music Development
Office website 2016).
At the start of 2016 Adelaide was designated as a UNESCO city of music. There are
currently 19 cities of music in this global network along with another 119 cities in 54 countries
in the creative cities network (Live Music office Website 2016). For Adelaide this means the
ability to network, collaborate and foster sister city reciprocal agreements with other cities
within the network. This also enables the marketing of Adelaide as a city of music to a global
42
audience. In order to meet the requirements to become a city of music a holistic government
approach to sector development was required. Bringing together key stakeholders to work
collaboratively to achieve a common goal has had a flow on effect in that it has got all levels
of government working together with the Premiers office championing the cause of live music
reform in South Australia.
Like any other music city, Adelaide has to balance the needs of the community when
considering the city as a place of mixed business, entertainment and residents sharing the same
space. Prior to 2013, red tape, building code restrictions and liquor licencing laws made it
problematic for those seeking development approval to put on live music performances in the
city. This has now been amended so that any venue licenced or non-licenced can hold low risk
musical activities without the need to gain development approval. This reduction in regulatory
burden is important for small bars and cafes in the city that are seen as vital to adding vibrancy
to the inner city. It is no longer necessary when gaining a liquor licence to obtain separate
consent to put on live music between the hours of 11am and midnight (Streamlining Live Music
Regulation Report 2016)). To put this into context, separate consent involved specific wording
of the music to be played which was done in consultation with the licencing board. One café
had the stipulation that they were only allowed to play harp or didgeridoo music.
An amendment to the building code in South Australia has recognised the difference
between a small arts venue and a stadium. Previously all entertainment venues fell into the
class 9b building type category. This has been amended and now smaller venues only need to
comply with a class 6 building type category. This means fewer assessment hurdles and less
compliance obligations (Streamlining Live Music Regulation Report 2016). Before this
amendment a small bar or café with a capacity of 200 people had the same building code
requirements as a 15000 seat stadium. With regards to noise attenuation Adelaide has looked
to clarify the agency of change law where it is the obligation of those moving into an area
43
where noise levels are higher to have to attend to noise attenuation and sound proofing (Live
Music Office website 2016). By using sound mapping technology it will be possible for venues
to measure noise outside and around the venue in real time. This will enable venues to self-
regulate and mitigate noise related issues in mixed use areas (Streamlining Live Music
Regulation Report 2016).
Adelaide will be the first city to appoint a case management service for venues so that
they have one point of contact for all application approvals including development approval,
liquor licencing and noise attenuation issues (Streamlining Live Music Regulation Report
2016). Grants will be made available to venues to cover the cost of noise proofing and noise
standards will be uniformed. To reduce the cost of an acoustic engineers report a guide to
acoustics and noise attenuation is being compiled. This will be made available to venues,
acoustic engineers and relevant government departments. At the moment there is no industry
standard so even after a venue has paid for a report by an acoustic engineer it does not
automatically mean that development approval will be given. Adelaide has not designated an
area of the city as a specific music precinct. The city has put measures in place such as acoustic
mapping, agency of change, mediation service for mixed use areas and case management
services for anyone looking to start a live music venue. Though there is no designated music
precinct this should enable the needs of live music venues and residents to be adequately met.
Within an Australian context Adelaide is currently viewed as the leader when it comes
to live music reform (John Wardle 2016). Adelaide has some innovative musician friendly and
youth engagement programs. Grant funding for recording, touring and artist development is
available to young musicians and bands at all stages of development. Music SA is funded to
run workshops throughout the year to help musicians learn how to build income streams in the
music industry. In the suburbs there are many programs funded within youth centres that
provide training, rehearsal and recording space with opportunities to host live music events
44
showcasing young talent. This is funded by the state government with The MDO as the
controlling funding body (Music Development Office website 2016).
A state apparatus working under a Premier who is the champion of the cause is
invaluable. Political will is important. The Music Development Office as a single point of entry
for the live music industry that has the ear of those in upper government is probably a novelty.
It does show that with all levels of government and the community working towards the same
goal it can go very close to forming the ideal type of music city.
Comparisons
These case studies reveal many commonalities between each city. There were also
aspects of each city’s approach to the making of a music city that were distinct due to its own
historical, cultural and social factors. For example, Nashville’s musical heritage is embedded
in the social and cultural fabric of the city. This cultural history is a distinct advantage that
Nashville has over cities seeking to make music a part of their social strategic plan. For the
researcher trying to form an ideal type of music city this poses a problem. A level of optimism
on the part of the researcher would suggest that musical heritage would be part of an ideal type
of music city but a strict adherence to the criteria for an ideal type may rule it out as an empirical
possibility. For this research it was decided that musical heritage will form part of an ideal type
of music city. It was in making decisions as to what an ideal type of music city is that the
researcher’s understanding of Weber’s concept of verstehen was employed. A rational
understanding of the cultural context of each cities social reality meant that comparing the other
cities musical heritage to Nashville would equate to a value judgement. Objectively there was
enough evidence to suggest that each of these cities has some amount of musical heritage.
45
The use of the ideal type method has not been easy to employ in this research. This
attempt at constructing an ideal type of music city has been pieced together by an interpretation
of Weber’s own writings on the subject as well as from a variety of secondary sources.
The first step in the comparative analysis was to construct matrix tables to analyse
quantitative data and display what was common and what was missing in each of the cities
with regards to their music policy development. A separate table was constructed to analyse
the Australian cities for policy commonalities and differences. Following this an ideal type of
music city was constructed using the information garnered from the literature review, the case
studies and the data displayed in the tables below
Table 1
A comparison of music city initiatives from the five cities. All of these initiatives combined into
one ideal type will make up the core aspects of an ideal type of music city.
Adelaide Brisbane Nashville Toronto Wollongong
Audience Development Plan ✓ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✓
Entertainment Precinct
✕ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✓
Government Support
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Policing/Safety Promotion
✓ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✓
Music Development Office ✓ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✕
Music Advisory Board
✓ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✓
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Building Code Reform
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Noise Attenuation
Soundproofing/Acoustic Mapping
✓ ✓ ✕ ✓ ✓
Liquor Licensing Reform
✓ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✓
Land Use Reform
✕ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✓
Music Heritage Listings
✕ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✕
Music Hub
✓ ✕ ✓ ✕ ✕
Musician Friendly Policies ✓ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✕
Professional Development ✓ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✕
Music Education
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✕
Music Grants
✓ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✓
Youth Engagement Plan
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Transport and Infrastructure ✕ ✕ ✓ ✕ ✓
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Table 2
A comparison of music related policy within Australian cities. All of these policy reforms
combined will form the ideal type of Australian music policy development
Forming the Ideal Type of Music City
The ideal type is a utopian construct that is hypothetically possible. All constructs that
make up this ideal type do exist in the real world however they are not all present in the same
place. The researcher understands that while this ideal type is an empirical possibility it is
unlikely that it would become a concrete reality in its totality within the one place. It is designed
to be used as a comparative document to measure the concrete reality of any city seeking to
become a city of music. To that end it is designed to be adaptable. It would be unreasonable to
expect that this ideal type could be simply transplanted as the historical, cultural and social
factors that make up any given place or space are unique and vary greatly. With all this in mind
the following constructs make up the ideal typical music city.
Adelaide Brisbane Wollongong
Land Use Reform
✕ ✕ ✓
Building Code Reform
✓ ✕ ✕
Noise Attenuation Reform ✓ ✓ ✓
Liquor Licencing reform
✓ ✕ ✓
Government Support
✓ ✓ ✓
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Ideal Type Policy Reform: Australia
It is important in the context of this thesis and its target audience to form an ideal type
regarding music policy reform within the Australian context before going on to broadly define
the ideal type of music city. Cutting through red tape and conflicting policy ideals have posed
a problem for all Australian cities seeking to use music to add to urban vibrancy. Shane Homan
(2014) has detailed a long history in the fight for policy reform across all states of Australia.
Some of these issues have been time and place specific but what they all have in common is
dealing with the complexity of a tripartite system of government (Homan 2012). An
amalgamation of the policy reform fought for and introduced across the three states in this
analysis formed the ideal type of policy reform within an Australian context.
Building Code Reform
First, regulatory reform enabling the opening of music venues or for existing venues to
include live performances. Using the case study of Adelaide the ideal type of policy regarding
building code is to remove the class 9b building type category for smaller venues seeking to
make live music part of their business and replacing it with the class 6 building type category.
Smaller venues only having to comply with a class 6 building type category means fewer
assessment hurdles and less compliance obligations (Streamlining Live Music Regulation
Report 2016). Before this amendment a small bar or café with a capacity of 200 people had the
same building code requirements as a 15000 seat stadium.
Liquor licensing Reform
Adapting liquor licencing regulations to the cultural practices and institutions of live
music performance.
Liquor licencing for live music venues should include removing licensing restrictions
on live performance between the hours of 11am and midnight. The removal of a separate
49
application for live music in small venues will reduce red tape. It will allow venues freedom to
select what types of live music is performed in their venues. After midnight noise restrictions
will apply that respect the rights of nearby residents but extended trading hour applications will
be given the same consideration as applications from hotels that do not have live music.
Noise Attenuation Reform
Build institutions to minimise, and make the public aware, of noise and the night time
economy.
Noise attenuation standards will be uniform and a procedure put in place to take as
much subjective assessment as possible when judging the merits of a noise complaint. Agent
of change policy will place the onus on the resident or business moving next to an area where
live music takes place to take appropriate sound proofing measures. Acoustic mapping
technology will be made available to venues so they can measure noise emanating from their
venue in real time. A recording of expected noise levels will be made available for those
moving to an area where live music takes place to ensure they understand the noise levels to
expect when living in an area where live music takes place. An established mediation plan for
issues and concerns will also be in place to prevent noise related disputes from proceeding to
litigation.
Land Use Reform
Use state power over land use zoning to undergird a vibrant music scene/precinct.
While it may not be possible have a designated entertainment precinct it should be stipulated
in conveyance documents that the land use in and around the city does rely on a night time
economy. Like Wollongong an s149 certificate will be a standard document for those
purchasing land or property in areas where live music takes place. This stipulates that live
music is a part of the night time economy which is part of the city’s plan to revitalise the urban
50
space so higher than standard noise levels will apply. This also stipulates that any purchase will
include paying for sound proofing such as double glazing on all external sliding doors or
windows.
Government Support
A ‘single point’ of contact government office working across state portfolios and
liaising with music industry stakeholders.
Government support will be available for music venues to establish a single point of
contact for music venues when applying for the various licences required to operate a venue.
Live noise mapping technology will be made available to accurately measure noise levels. To
negate the cost of an acoustic engineers report for development applications a comprehensive
guide with clear parameters for acoustic requirements will be a standard document. This will
cut down the cost of an acoustic engineers report and take any subjectiveness out of the
decisions as to whether or not to grant the application. Government will provide a case
management service to live music venue operators that will advise and advocate on the
operators behalf when dealing with application matters. This will also streamline processes
involved in establishing a live music venue. Finally grant funding will be available for
entrepreneur’s relating specifically to sound proofing of the venue.
The Music City: An Overview
A music city will be one that has music at the centre of urban regeneration policies. It
will aim to be socially inclusive and not only will it take into consideration the needs and
concerns of the community it will work collaboratively with the community to try and ensure
that all voices are heard. If the idea of becoming a music city does not work with or add to the
social and cultural fabric of the city then it may be a music city in name but not in substance.
51
Governance
The ideal type of music city will have policies that support the growth of the live music
industry. This cannot just be policies that promote live music in the venue. To have a
sustainable live music industry that generates income through consumption it must have
structures in place that supports ongoing networks of production. This must include a
government department dedicated to the needs of the music industry. This is not a government
department that sits in isolation and makes bureaucratic decisions. It is dynamic, works
collaboratively with other government departments and advocates for the needs of the whole
music industry. The people that work in this department need to be passionate and dedicated
to the growth of the music industry in their city. They must have a skill set that enables them
to work and negotiate with competing interests and systems.
This department should be in constant communication not only with players within the
government but outside of it with the community at large. It will have representation on a music
advisory board. The music advisory board will have representation from the music industry,
local council, non-profit organisations that provide music related opportunities to the
community and local businesses with a stake in the music industry. The music advisory board
can then lobby government in the interests of the broader music community. It is not enough
however for this to take place in the form of scheduled meetings.
The ideal type of music city will have a central hub which allows for constant
communication and collaboration amongst all stakeholders. This music hub will allow the
opportunity for small music related businesses to work in a shared space. It will offer space for
musicians to come and work on professional development. It will offer in kind support in the
way of free work spaces, free Wi-Fi and the opportunity to learn from larger and more
experienced music industry professionals. A good example of this is The St Pauls Creative
52
Centre in Adelaide. The music hub will also be the single point of entry for those seeking help
to meet all licencing requirements starting a music venue. Assistance in the form of case
management will be offered to help aspiring artists apply for music grants as well as for those
needing expert advice to get a new music venture off the ground.
Youth Engagement
The ideal type of music city does not just encompass the city space. A broader
population sample needs to be reached to make the music city venture sustainable whether that
be as consumer or producer. This requires an investment in the future with a plan to engage the
younger members of the population. Good youth engagement policy will include spaces and
places where young people can practice and perform music under guidance. A part of these
programs should make provisions to hold all age’s gigs in a safe alcohol free environment. Not
everyone can be a musician but anyone can get involved in music. Providing the opportunity
for youths to be involved in putting on a live music event gives them a sense of what it is like
to work in the music industry. This should be underpinned with music business courses that
include entrepreneurship, and event management as well as courses in the technical side of
music production such as sound mixing and recording. An example of this is The Northern
Sound System in Adelaide’s outer northern suburbs (MDO Website 2016)
Policing
The ideal type of music city will take a holistic approach to policing. Working in
conjunction with the community to not only make the city safe but to change public perceptions
of the city as a dangerous place to be at night. Actual crime statistics can tell a very different
story to those that are reported in the media. A strong campaign promoting the city as a safe
place using real crime statistics can paint a different picture of the city at night. This has been
demonstrated in the case of Wollongong. A worst case scenario of how a media driven moral
53
panic can destroy a city’s night time economy is in Sydney where the government’s response
to media reports of violent incidents in the city led to lock out laws, effectively shutting the
city down after midnight (Homan 2014).Policing is not just uniformed officers enforcing the
law. It is about strong relationships between law enforcement authorities, venue owners and
the general public.
Music Heritage/Tourism
The ideal type of music city will recognise the heritage of its iconic business and music
venues and put measures in place to preserve them. Heritage listing will not just be about
architecture. A recognition of the intangible historical, cultural and social value is as much a
part of the heritage of a city as its architecturally historic buildings. Every city has a venue
where bands reputations were made or that famous people have played at over the years and
that have become a part of the city’s folklore, these sites must be protected. Nashville has
provided the best practice model of how to do this with the ‘The District’ advisory board. There
are many cases of iconic venues having to shut down due to noise complaints, increased red
tape or compliance costs. The ideal type of music city will identify parts of the city where
music festivals can be held. The government will facilitate by working with entrepreneurs to
bring festivals to the city. Annual festivals bring overseas, interstate and home grown talent
together in the same place at the same time. Attracting people to the city for large events has
the flow on effect of showcasing what the city can offer on a year round basis and may capture
a market that would not otherwise be in the city.
Cultural Zones/ Music Precincts
Cultural zones and music precincts are another way to protect the social and cultural
heritage of live music. The size and lay out of a city will dictate whether or not this is a
54
possibility. These zones will have more relaxed noise attenuation restrictions and residents
moving into these areas will be made aware of expected noise levels by being given a sound
file of expected noise levels in that part of the city at night. As well as this new residents will
be made responsible for sound proofing such as double glazing on external sliding doors and
windows.
Where it is not possible to set aside specific zones or precincts new residents will be
issued with a certificate in their conveyance document that they are moving into an area where
the night time economy is a part of the city’s plan to revitalise the economy and they should
expect higher than normal noise levels. This will also come with the responsibility of attending
to adequate sound proofing. An agent of change policy that respects the rights of first residency
to maintain the same noise levels before the other resident or business moved will be standard
across the city. A mediation service will be established to attend to any complaints or issues
between residents in order to avoid litigation.
Transport and Infrastructure
The ideal type of music city will provide public transport to and from the city that is
accessible to people living in outer suburban regions. Transport and infrastructure is not only
an issue for people travelling to the city to attend live music it is a problem for musicians.
Temporary loading zones will be made available for musicians to load in and out at all music
venues in the city (The Mastering of a Music City 2016).
If the city is to promote itself as a music city then music has to have a visible presence.
This includes gigs during the day in public spaces. Parks and meeting places will have plug
and play facilities so that amplified music can be performed in and around the CBD. This will
require a permit similar to a buskers permit and the music will need to be reviewed before being
55
played for public consumption To further promote this presence the city will have free WI FI
to enable live streaming and recording of performances by the public (Nashville Next 2016).
The music city will have an inventory of all venues and rehearsal spaces to ensure that
musicians have places to play and to practice. As a part of this inventory venues are to be
checked to ensure good sound quality. The inventory should include available sound
technicians and equipment. Once an inventory is taken it then needs to identify and meet the
gaps in rehearsal and venue space. To foster live talent a range of venues are required from
intimate small room venues through to stadiums.(The Mastering of a Music City 2016) This
enables home grown talent to perform in the city through every stage of their career. Having
venues of an appropriate size to make it viable for national and international touring acts to
play in the city will also give home grown musicians the opportunity to play as supporting acts
for more experienced acts.
Future Innovation
There are many other small innovations taking place that will contribute to an ideal type
construction of a music city. Liquor licensing reform is ongoing in Australia and it is hoped
that this policy will be further streamlined to aid in the ability for venues to host live music
events. A real time live music gig guide app is being developed in Adelaide that will tell the
reader where a gig is on at that time and how close it is to their location It will also constantly
update to enable the reader to put in date, genre and location of any gig that is happening in the
city (MDO website 2016).. This and many others ideas, policies and innovations will be added
to an ideal type as they emerge.
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Gentrification Pressures
The city space is one that is shared and used for a variety of purposes so the ideal type
of music city needs to be able to address these concerns. One of the biggest problems for a city
looking to use music to add vibrancy to its city space is gentrification. Gentrification means
different things in different cities and this has been previously discussed in the introduction
and literature review of this thesis. The formation of this ideal type is designed to find a balance
between the disruptive effects of gentrification and the positive effects of urban renewal.
Attracting ordered middle class consumption to the city is critical to its ongoing
revitalisation but it is equally as critical to attend to the needs of its incumbent inhabitants. This
not only includes residents but any businesses that operate in the city. In the ideal type of music
city any new residential building development will be built on the proviso that a percentage of
the housing be made available at a lower rent or purchase price than its actual market value.
An artist enclave will be set aside as low rent community housing to musicians and artists. This
will help maintain the cultural aspects of the city that made it attractive to move to in the first
place. It will be a place where these musicians and artists can create and collaborate together.
This will include rehearsal and studio space in conjunction with collaborative spaces for other
artists with which to practice and work in. Low rent, short and long term lease commercial sites
will be made available to those who have a new and innovative business plan that need financial
assistance to help get it off the ground.
To date this is every policy the researcher has found that deals specifically with the
issue of gentrification. It has followed the Weberian rule of an ideal type being formed by the
one sided accentuation of one or more points of view (1949). However the effectiveness of
these policies relies on the political integrity and long term vision of a government that can
resist the short term financial gain of developer’s dollars. It is important for the researcher to
57
pause and acknowledge here that in forming the ideal type of music city, dealing with the issue
of gentrification has been the hardest one to tackle. It is an urban sociological issue that is blind
spotted by the ideal type method and one I will turn to in the next section
Conclusion
At the time of writing the researcher has taken historical and empirical knowledge to
form an ideal type of music city that will help understand music policy development. It is not
perfect and nor should it be. There is no such thing as a perfect description in the social world.
To again paraphrase Weber ‘social reality consists of an infinite multiplicity of successively
and co-existingly emerging and disappearing events’ (1949, p 48). Trying to capture as many
of these events as possible at one time and forming them into an ideal type is an open process.
By the time this thesis is finalised the ideal type of music city will have changed to some small
degree. The next chapter will critically analyse some of the limitations of the ideal type method.
58
Gentrification and the limits of the ideal type method
It is important in the context of a sociological thesis to critically analyse some of the
social impacts of music city policy. If the city is to serve as a site for the ‘production of critical
knowledge in sociology generally and urban sociology specifically’ (Sassen 2010, p 4) then
the ideal type method will not suffice. Luc Boltanski in ‘On Critique’ (Boltanski & Thévenot
1999) posits that the space for sociological critique is between ‘reality and world’. Reality
meaning, what is and the world meaning, what could be. As the ideal type is an onesided
accentuation of historical and empirical data it fails to open up the space of the world. To put
it another way the ideal type is a presentation of the structurally ‘instituted’ diminishing the
role of human agency in ‘instituting’ (Castoriadis 1994).
Although the ideal type method helps understand music policy development at an
institutional level it does not produce critical knowledge on urban sociological issues involved
in the broader creative cities debate. This chapter will examine the spectre of gentrification and
the limits of the ideal type method. It will identify some of the tensions that open up the space
between ‘reality and world’ (Boltanski & Thévenot 1999) where sociological critique could
contribute to a greater understanding of the music cities project.
The ideal type construct of the music city identifies some areas of music policy
development that deals with the effects gentrification has on live music performance in the city
such as land use reform, noise attenuation measures and entertainment precinct zoning but it
does not examine the processes of gentrification in the first place. Gentrification is a
contradictory process; it would be naive to deny its usefulness in stimulating any city economy.
Gentrification repairs buildings and increases the property tax base, so that local governments
can fund improvements to streets and services.
59
From an urban sociological perspective the issue of gentrification is also about class
stratification and the displacement and exclusion of people who cannot compete financially. It
is the battle between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. Ruth Glass (1964), one of the earliest writers
on gentrification explains the process of gentrification of an influx of ‘gentry’. “Once this
process of gentrification starts in a district it goes rapidly on until all or most of the working
class occupiers are displaced and the social character of the district is changed” (Glass, 1964 p
XIX). For the music city this includes a loss of live music venues at the expense of designer
retail outlets.
There are two strands of the debate on gentrification, one is the neo Marxist notion of
uneven development in capitalist societies and the concept of a rent gap as a prerequisite for
gentrification as put forward by Neil Smith (1996) and documented in Adelaide by Blair
Badcock (2001). This strand views it as a production of gentrifiable neighbourhoods where
investors, banks and governments recognise an opportunity to increase capital by investing in
a neighbourhood where accumulating property at a low price will provide good investment
return in the future.
The other is the post-industrial urban restructuring concept (Lees 2008) where jobs in
offices and global corporate headquarters have moved into city regions. This takes into account
cultural choice as people move closer to the city for work or as a place for cultural consumption.
The choice to move away from the suburbs is also influenced by social change such as
feminism and the rise of the economically independent woman, maturing baby boomers and
restructured labour markets (Shaw 2008; Zukin 1987). Both of these strands are rooted in
global processes and are intertwined. As Harvey (1989, p 3) theorises, ‘the urban built
environment is a destination for capital investment, the profitability of which is linked to the
state of the wider economy’
60
With both of these strands in mind we can see how creative and music city strategies
aimed at rejuvenating the urban space will have gentrification central to the debate. Jamie Peck
(2005, p 741) views creative city strategies to increase their competitiveness in the global
economy as a ‘collection of recipes for locally induced gentrification’. Clearly banks, large
investors and governments are going to recognise the opportunity for investment return on
property in a city that implements creative city strategies. This build-up of new residential
development through investment will attract white collar workers moving into the city to take
up employment in the offices that have been centralised due to post-industrial global economic
restructuring. Prices go up, the city gets beautified and all of a sudden it is re- imagined as a
playground for the urban elite.
Where does this leave the ‘precariat’? The emerging social group is defined by Guy
Standing (2012, p 560) as ‘those that live through a series of casual, short term or temporary
jobs and have relatively low and insecure earnings’ such as artists and musicians that make the
city an attractive option to move to in the first place. In the case of the music city it probably
leaves musicians seeking to play original amplified music in an outer suburban shed. One
dystopian view is that they get on a train with their acoustic guitar to go and play 40 cover
songs for pocket change or to ‘produce work on spec to cater to the fads of the middle classes’
(Kirchberg & Kagan 2013, p 141). This may seem cynical but statistics from the Adelaide live
music census (2016) indicate that in May 2016, 790 of 1101 live music performances in the
city were made up of musicians performing cover songs. While this is an opportunity for
musicians to hone their stage craft it is hardly showcasing the creative music talent of the local
population nor is it encouraging aspiring musicians up pursue more individual or creative forms
of expression that will build the city’s reputation for a live music scene.
The ideal type method does not leave room to critique the urban sociological issues that
arise through the processes of gentrification. Without the underlying qualitative and
61
quantitative data it is not possible to critically analyse the issues of gentrification. Gaining an
understanding of the stages of gentrification and its processes will help identify tensions that
can open up the space for critique.
Viewed as a continuum gentrification starts with the first inhabitants, the working
classes, and artists and marginalised members of the community. This is followed by the early
gentrifiers such as cultural professionals who work in the arts and public sectors and are
attracted to the area for its cultural attributes. The area is then ‘discovered’ (Shaw 2014, p 1713)
by people with more money who buy up properties as cheap investment. This includes Neil
Smiths developers in his rent gap hypothesis (1996). Finally highly renovated buildings return
to the market at high prices, social diversity diminishes and a new set of ‘socially homogenous
middle to upper class neighbourhoods are created’ (Lees 2008, p 2459).
Identifying the tension created at various stages along this continuum is where the space
for sociological critique can be opened up. For instance it remains a sociological truism that
early gentrifiers not only help destroy the features that lured them into the city but predicated
their own displacement in turn (Ley 1996; Zukin 1989). Critically it is the increased vibrancy
created by music venues that is predicating their own displacement. While residents are moving
to the city partly for their own cultural consumption, music venues which are cultural
incubators find it increasingly hard to exist alongside new residential developments. Problems
such as noise complaints arising from music and from people leaving venues late at night add
to the costs of running a venue and in some cases make it unfeasible.
As discussed in the previous literature review and in the formation of the ideal type,
measures have been taken to correct this final stage with low rent provision on new builds in
the city and the setting up of low rent residential and commercial space for artists (Kagan &
Hahn 2011; Shaw 2014). This along with land use reform and new noise attenuation measures
62
are good ideas but, depending on the historical context and structural pressures of gentrification
logics, it may be too little too late. It would seem that preventing the social homogenisation
and the systematic displacement of original inhabitants would be better than trying to cure it.
As the ideal type method involves an analysis of historical and empirical evidence it is not able
to offer any form of critique that prevent these effects of gentrification.
There are many different expressions of gentrification and ‘the one common is that
people who cannot afford to pay are not welcome and homeless people are moved on’ (Shaw
2014, p 167). Henri Lefebvre in his book ‘The Right to the City’ (1968) critiques the crisis of
gentrification and the ‘right not to be displaced into a space produced for the specific purpose
of discrimination’ (cited in Schmid 2012, p 42). For the music city the concept of ‘exclusionary
displacement’(Marcuse 1985) is important here: if people are excluded from a place they might
have lived or worked in or otherwise occupied had the place not been ‘regenerated’, then this
should be considered gentrification as much as had they been directly displaced. This includes
small venue owners unable to afford increasing rent prices and the ‘precariat worker’ (Standing
2012) and artist who may be able to serve but are unable to frequent the new hip venues created
for the emerging urban elite of white collar workers. These many expressions of gentrification
are urban sociological issues that need to be critiqued but they are blind spotted by the ideal
type method.
Using the ideal type method to help understand music policy development is certainly
a practical device for the historical and empirical evidence it provides as to the successes of
various music policies in cities around the globe. One risk involved though is that it may
actually contribute to the social and cultural homogenisation of a city. This is the idea that the
world is becoming more uniform and standardised through a cultural synchronization
emanating from the West (Pieterse 1994, p 161).The urban space is not a tabula rasa so policy
development must consider what is already there before implementing a policy that has proven
63
successful in another urban setting. This requires a degree of reflexivity which once again
requires the opening up of the space between ‘reality and world’ (Boltanski & Thévenot 1999)
to critique the tensions that an attempt to transfer policy can create.
Ad hoc policy transfer or cookie cutter policy making is an attempt to just transfer a
policy from one city to the next (Pratt 2011, p 128).The blueprints for a creative city such as
those written by Florida (2004) and Landry (2012) have been heavily criticised for the fact they
are advocating for the implementation of policy that if done so would make, in the words of
Australian singer song writer Paul Kelly (2001), ‘every fuckin city sound the same’. It is social
and cultural differences that make up the distinct and unique cultural milieu of any given place.
This is why it is critical that the ideal type be used as a comparative device or it risks becoming
another generic policy blueprint. The fact that ideal type is a hypothetical construct allows for
the reflexivity required to avoid the risk of social and cultural homogenisation.
Social and cultural homogenisation can be partly attributed to both gentrification and
globalisation (Peck 2005; Scott 2006). Global competitive markets make it hard to resist a tried
and true model of profitability. The power of global brands such as Starbucks means that
leasing commercial space to these types of global franchises poses less risk than leasing to a
local first time coffee shop operator. The ability of these franchises to invest large amounts of
capital on long term lease agreements and renovations in turn drives up the price of rents in the
area once again excluding those that cannot afford to operate there. In terms of consequences
for music in the city it is easier to rent out space to a business selling the vanilla flavours of
global corporate capitalism who will not pose any issues around late night noise and policing
complaints than it is to take the risk on a venue that may fail due to all of the barriers to running
an successful live music venue.
64
It would seem that both sides of the creative cities debate view the socially and
culturally homogenising effect of globalisation as a top down process. This ignores the
reflexivity of human agents as instituting beings. On one side there is Florida and Landry
(Florida 2003; Landry 2012) who propose to implement a set of policies as if each urban space
was a tabula rasa. On the other are their many critics who believe that if these policies are
implemented humans lack the agency to influence them. Urban sociologists such as Roland
Robertson (2012) recognised this is not the case when he examined the process of
‘glocalisation’.This is a process that recognises the influence of human agency on the
hybridisation of globalising processes in a localised setting. This can be viewed as a counter
effect to homogenisation where changing demographics through migration brings with it a new
set of cultural and social practices. This de-homogenises the cultural setting where the
migration takes place and enriches its cultural and social fabric.
It is the tension between attracting global capital while maintaining a local ‘authentic’
presence that policy can be developed that addresses the issue of social and cultural
homogenisation. While the construction of the ideal type of music city recognised the need to
maintain the cultural and social heritage of the city and its iconic venues it was not helpful in
addressing ways to critique the issue of cultural and social homogenisation. This is an urban
sociological issue that is blind spotted by the ideal type method. Critiquing cultural and social
homogenisation as a side effect of globalisation and gentrification has long been the domain of
urban sociology. The future is open and we cannot predict the outcome of how these new music
policies may become imbricated with processes of gentrification. This is an area for future
urban sociological research and critique.
65
Conclusion
This thesis has been designed to be used as a practical tool to help understand music
policy development. It has demonstrated that Max Weber’s ideal type method helps understand
the core features music policy development but urban sociological issues such as gentrification
are blind spotted by it. While this is the case its presentation of historical and empirical data
can contribute to music policy development in the city of Adelaide.
Using Max Weber’s ideal type method to form an analytical structure to analyse and
compare policy ideas has demonstrated the external validity of sociology and its applicability
in addressing specific problem areas outside of academia. The ideal type provides an
underpinning theory to use as a framework for policy analysis. It is objective and lays no claims
to be an absolute rule or law. It has been important to explain in as much detail as possible
what the ideal type method entails so that the reader realises that the ideal type is an evidence
based objective form of analysis.
The social sciences risk being judged for providing subjective assessments of a social
reality and it was essential in this case that the objectivity of the analysis be explicitly stated.
Following the rules of the ideal type method means providing evidence based best practice
guidelines. Without an underpinning theory explaining the historical and empirical evidence
base of this analysis the results may not withstand the weight of an opposing argument. As
policy reform requires complex negotiation involves compromise it is important to have a
strong empirically based framework in order to identify the core features of contemporary
music city policy that could be implemented or compared to music policies in other parts of
the world, such as South America, Europe and Asia.
66
This ideal type model of a music city is a presentation of facts as they hypothetically
could be. Innovative noise attenuation measures, progressive liquor licencing, building and
land use zoning reform, music precincts, cultural heritage listing for iconic venues, audience
development plans and youth engagement strategies that form this ideal type of music city exist
in the real world, but are unevenly applied. Competing policy agendas and the contested space
of the city will mean that not all of these concepts will be able to be implemented in any one
place at one time.
This thesis has identified policy problematics in the formation of a live music city and
offered through the use of the ideal type, ways in which they can be overcome. It identified the
fact that policies in the formation of a live music city are not contained to the city itself. They
must include policies that are made in collaboration with the whole community, while adapting
to shifting, political, economic and policy contexts. A raft of policies pertaining to the
production and consumption as well as the sustainability of the project need to be considered
that require long term commitment and investment.
Examining policies in more detail and from a larger sample size is an area for future
research. As many of the policy strategies for music cities are either new or untried there is an
opportunity for longitudinal studies that can examine social impacts of previously untried
policies. This would provide empirical data that would be better able to analyse economic
return on long term government investment as well.
The ideal type of music city has identified key stakeholders and how they should be
consulted. It has provided a model of how this can be done. For instance forming a government
department or agency dedicated to the growth of the music industry and having a music hub or
cluster facilitates cohesive and expedient policy development. Constant communication and
cooperation as well as the agency of passion and imagination are the key to the success of the
67
music city project. A strategic plan needs to be one that is embraced and actively implemented
at all levels of governance as well with all relevant stakeholders.
This thesis has also considered the impacts of gentrification on the music city but it
must be recognised that gentrification impacts many facets of the music city and creative cities
at large. While this thesis has presented possible solutions already integrated in music city
policies to negate these impacts, it has concentrated on how live music and residents can coexist
within the city. The review of the literature and a critical analysis revealed the limitations the
ideal type has for opening up the space for sociological critique. Critically, gentrification
remains a spectre in the ideal type method.
The creative cities research field is multi-disciplinary but recently it is one that has been
dominated by urban planning human geography, economics and media and culture. As it is an
area that requires practical solutions urban sociology has an important role to play. Having a
lens to observe the way humans interact with one another as well as how they interact with the
built environment can provide more holistic solutions to modern day problems. The mixed use
of public and private space for work, recreation and habitation, policing and safety perception,
and issues of governance all fall under the purview of an increasingly inter-disciplinary urban
sociology.
68
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