What If Hewlett and Packard Had Started a Band Instead? An Examination of a Music Scene as Economic Cluster

Abstract

A growing area of discourse in urban economics is the value of artistic production and its role in economic development theory. One arts subsector that has received little attention is popular music. Prior research tangentially acknowledges that music scenes function as economic clusters, but little detailing of their dynamics as such exists. The bulk of attention is paid to how these scenes operate in the framework of the broader music industry, not how they contribute to their surrounding urban economic landscapes. This paper uses Michael Porter's economic cluster theory to examine Denton, Texas' music scene. Findings point to the scene operating as an economic cluster as defined by Porter in addition to catalyzing economic and community development. Results address the existing gap in research leaving the economic value of music scenes underexplored and help detail the necessary conditions for a music scene to develop.

The power of local networking: Bologna’s music scene as a creative community, 1978–1992

“…The notion of scene as articulated in this stream of literature has therefore a conspicuous geographical dimension. Whereas popular music (pop and rock) has been the subject of substantial geographical research (Connell and Gibson, 2003;Wood and Smith, 2004;Krims, 2007;Wood et al, 2007), authors have paid less attention to the economic geography of music (Seman, 2015) and to the economic rationale of common locational choices (Cummins-Russell and Rantisi, 2012), which obviously tend to favor relatively large cities. Along the same lines, Florida's (2002) creative class paradigm tends to emphasize the prominent role of large, attractive cities that can provide a particularly friendly environment for creative professionals, and such implications are further articulated with specific reference to the music industry (Florida and Jackson, 2010;.…”