2019: Finalist for ‘Best Education/Academic Book’ at the International Book Festival.
- Globally comparative and unique case study of seminal music cities, including Melbourne, Austin and Berlin.
- Offers strategies for creative cities to follow suit and become successful as music cities.
- Examines all genres, from classical to indie music.
Reviews
As a media scholar who is interested in accessing music activity in the city, she demonstrates that branding such cities as music cities is a dubious exercise because ultimately, the only significant urban innovations occur as a result of the coordinated effort of the music industry, the media, local government and the community.
Nezar AlSayyad, Professor of Urban History, University of California, USA
Music is much more than the soundtrack of our lives, it is the veritable heartbeat of the city. Andrea Jean Baker outlines the role of music in the economy and identity of great cities across the world. From Vienna, Berlin, and Paris to London, San Francisco, New York and Nashville, leading music cities have helped define the frontiers of innovative economies and societies, to cities with smaller, yet renowned music scenes, such as Austin and Melbourne. This is even truer today as music sits at the very centre of the creative economy. The Great Music City will be of great use to scholars and practitioners, musicians, journalists and city-builders all of whom are hard at working building the music cities of today.
Richard Florida, Professor of Urban Studies, University of Toronto, Canada
“It is very impressive, so much research on so many interesting cities. The deep historical detail is very engaging as well. I learned a lot about cities I thought I knew something about, like Berlin. The book is very good on both the histories and the current regulatory and activist environments in which music in these cities finds itself.
Will Straw, James McGill Professor of Urban Media Studies, McGill University, Canada
Baker, A. (2019). The Great Music City: Exploring Music, Space and Identity, London: Palgrave/Springer, pp. 1-329.
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan Cham |
| Hardcover ISBN | 978-3-319-96351-8 |
| eBook ISBN | 978-3-319-96352-5 |
