The Cultural Value of Live Music: A Case Study of Enthusiast, State-funded, and Commercial Events at the Queen's Hall
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Edinburgh College of Art
Abstract
Since 2008 the value of the live music industry in the UK has consistently exceeded that of the recorded sector (Page and Carey 2009, 2010, 2011, PRS for Music 2012). In addition live music in England and Wales has been the subject of a great deal of political interest since the changes in the licensing of it brought about by the passing of the 2003 Licensing Act and the subsequent repealing of some aspects of this via the Live Music Act, 2012. Within Scotland proposed changes to local licensing regulation of live events also caused some political concern in 2012. In sum, live music is the subject of a great deal of political and media attention. This has, however, frequently focused too narrowly on economic value or political intrigue. Less often has the cultural value of live music been considered. We aim to begin to remedy this via an in-depth case study of one venue, the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh.
Built in 1823, and in use as a music venue since 1979, the Queen's Hall is a multi-genre music venue based close to Edinburgh's Royal Mile. It is host to a wide range of musical events ranging from pop gigs, through jazz shows to full orchestral performances. At each of these shows different forms of cultural value are being promoted, performed and received. We will examine the different forms of cultural value that are in evidence via a detailed analysis of the promotion, performance and reception of three musical events. A central area of inquiry here concerns the ways in which different forms of musical value are articulated and perceived across musical genres.
Our starting point is promotional practice. Here we build on the previous work of the investigators in constructing a typology of promotional practice - conceived of as enthusiast, state-funded, and commercial. We will examine the ways in which different types of concert promoter understand the musical events which they are constructing and the audiences they are trying to attract. Key questions here concern the sort of cultural values which are illustrated in promotional materials (press, internet, flyers etc) and the ways in which the event itself is constructed on the night (configuration of seating, location of stage etc).
We will also examine the ways in which the performers at the events articulate different forms of cultural value. Of particular interest here will be how they construct themselves as performers and audiences as audiences. In what senses are cultural value shared across different audiences and performers. In what ways are cultural values imparted from performers to audiences?
However, our main focus will be on cultural value and audiences. Significant issues to arise here will include the ways in which cultural value is perceived and subsequently articulated by audiences. Via a series of audience surveys we will analyse how audiences come to know about musical events, how they determine which ones to attend, what cultural value they place on those events they attend and how they perceive the events following attendance. The use of reflective diaries (covering the period from initial booking to a period of two weeks after the event) will allow for detailed analysis of the perceptions of cultural value attached to different types of live music event and how these are perceived over time.
Our interest here is how the articulation of cultural value revealed through our examination of audience surveys and reflective diaries is (or isn't) mediated by promotional practice and, relatedly, genre. Interviews with promoters, performers and venue staff will give further insight into how cultural values are mediated within the live music ecology.
Built in 1823, and in use as a music venue since 1979, the Queen's Hall is a multi-genre music venue based close to Edinburgh's Royal Mile. It is host to a wide range of musical events ranging from pop gigs, through jazz shows to full orchestral performances. At each of these shows different forms of cultural value are being promoted, performed and received. We will examine the different forms of cultural value that are in evidence via a detailed analysis of the promotion, performance and reception of three musical events. A central area of inquiry here concerns the ways in which different forms of musical value are articulated and perceived across musical genres.
Our starting point is promotional practice. Here we build on the previous work of the investigators in constructing a typology of promotional practice - conceived of as enthusiast, state-funded, and commercial. We will examine the ways in which different types of concert promoter understand the musical events which they are constructing and the audiences they are trying to attract. Key questions here concern the sort of cultural values which are illustrated in promotional materials (press, internet, flyers etc) and the ways in which the event itself is constructed on the night (configuration of seating, location of stage etc).
We will also examine the ways in which the performers at the events articulate different forms of cultural value. Of particular interest here will be how they construct themselves as performers and audiences as audiences. In what senses are cultural value shared across different audiences and performers. In what ways are cultural values imparted from performers to audiences?
However, our main focus will be on cultural value and audiences. Significant issues to arise here will include the ways in which cultural value is perceived and subsequently articulated by audiences. Via a series of audience surveys we will analyse how audiences come to know about musical events, how they determine which ones to attend, what cultural value they place on those events they attend and how they perceive the events following attendance. The use of reflective diaries (covering the period from initial booking to a period of two weeks after the event) will allow for detailed analysis of the perceptions of cultural value attached to different types of live music event and how these are perceived over time.
Our interest here is how the articulation of cultural value revealed through our examination of audience surveys and reflective diaries is (or isn't) mediated by promotional practice and, relatedly, genre. Interviews with promoters, performers and venue staff will give further insight into how cultural values are mediated within the live music ecology.
Planned Impact
This project has been designed to impact on a number of potential users.
1. CONCERT PROMOTERS.
Concert promoters are the prism through which this research has been framed. They are key cultural actors whose actions construct and mediate cultural value. However, they rarely consider their own promotional practices as purveyors of cultural value and this project offers the possibility for promoters to adjust promotional practice in the light of our findings.
2. CONCERT VENUES
Similarly concert venues are key sites for the articulation of cultural value, yet few dedicate time to the implications of this. Our ongoing expertise and the proposed research will allow venues to re-consider their status here.
3. THE QUEENS HALL AND THE CITY OF EDINBURGH
This research will be of direct benefit for the Queens Hall, an independent charity, in informing its planning for a major building redevelopment. However the impact will go beyond the venue to the city itself. The Queen's Hall is not only a key venue within the annual Edinburgh festival, but throughout the year. This research has the potential to show how audiences value the live experience within Edinburgh and thus to inform the marketing strategies of the city and its other venues.
4. MUSICIANS
Musicians will benefit from increased knowledge of the ways in which audiences value their work and of how promoters and venues conceive of it. Audiences' reflections of the staging of concerts and on performances have the potential to inform musical praxis and marketing.
5.MUSIC POLICY MAKERS
The research will be disseminated to both the Scottish Music Industry Association and UK Music, the key music industries lobbying groups for Scotland and the UK respectively, and both groups have personnel on the advisory group. We will also seek to disseminate the research to other key bodies such as the Scottish Cultural Evidence Network (SCENe), Creative Scotland, the Arts Council of England, the Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities and the Local Government Association. By seeking to show how one venue can illustrate a number of questions around cultural value, policy makers will be able to assess the implications for their own practice.
1. CONCERT PROMOTERS.
Concert promoters are the prism through which this research has been framed. They are key cultural actors whose actions construct and mediate cultural value. However, they rarely consider their own promotional practices as purveyors of cultural value and this project offers the possibility for promoters to adjust promotional practice in the light of our findings.
2. CONCERT VENUES
Similarly concert venues are key sites for the articulation of cultural value, yet few dedicate time to the implications of this. Our ongoing expertise and the proposed research will allow venues to re-consider their status here.
3. THE QUEENS HALL AND THE CITY OF EDINBURGH
This research will be of direct benefit for the Queens Hall, an independent charity, in informing its planning for a major building redevelopment. However the impact will go beyond the venue to the city itself. The Queen's Hall is not only a key venue within the annual Edinburgh festival, but throughout the year. This research has the potential to show how audiences value the live experience within Edinburgh and thus to inform the marketing strategies of the city and its other venues.
4. MUSICIANS
Musicians will benefit from increased knowledge of the ways in which audiences value their work and of how promoters and venues conceive of it. Audiences' reflections of the staging of concerts and on performances have the potential to inform musical praxis and marketing.
5.MUSIC POLICY MAKERS
The research will be disseminated to both the Scottish Music Industry Association and UK Music, the key music industries lobbying groups for Scotland and the UK respectively, and both groups have personnel on the advisory group. We will also seek to disseminate the research to other key bodies such as the Scottish Cultural Evidence Network (SCENe), Creative Scotland, the Arts Council of England, the Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities and the Local Government Association. By seeking to show how one venue can illustrate a number of questions around cultural value, policy makers will be able to assess the implications for their own practice.
Publications
Behr A
(2014)
Cultural value and cultural policy: some evidence from the world of live music
in International Journal of Cultural Policy
Matt Brennan
(2014)
The Cultural Value of Live Music
| Description | 1) Survey respondents, interviewees and diarists alike found it difficult to quantify the intrinsic value of live music. Common responses across the different audiences were that value was to be found in liveness itself and the experience of being in the same space as the musicians. The methodological challenge presented in measuring these experiences is considerable. Respondents' first port of call - almost across the board - in making assessments of the 'intrinsic' value of live music was to reach for inchoate and ephemeral terms - eg: 'life affirming', 'nourishing for the soul', 'energy'. When pressed for detail, these would often collapse into instrumentally measurable benefits - (mental health and mood enhancements were common responses). Whilst easier to quantify than intrinsic concepts (although more difficult than economic indicators), these ultimately derive from the intrinsic value, rather than being a measure of it. 2) Given the importance of the experience of liveness, across the range of music taking place in the venue and across different genre discourses, this suggests that a potential way forward is to reconceptualise 'value'. Rather than attempt to measure 'cultural value' as a thing in itself, we should reorient our approach towards an empirical assessment of how audiences, promoters, venue staff and musicians go about valuing the musical experience. A comparison of what different parties do to assess the experience rather than an attempt to quantify value affords the possibility of outlining key concerns without offering hostages to fortune by trying to force different perceptions into a 'one size fits all' framework. 3) Audiences can attend the same concert for a diversity of reasons, but there are certain axes of live music experience that emerge across genres. People attend live music for diverse reasons that do not necessarily match up even though they are at the same event, and which also do not map easily onto genre stereotypes (e.g. quiet attentive listening for classical music vs. rowdy behaviour at rock concerts). However, it makes sense to an extent to identify axes between binaries in audience members' experiences and expectations. Ways of experiencing and, importantly, expressing value differ across genre - but there are commonalities (e.g. the attraction of spectacular vs. intimate live experiences, inward vs. outward participation, etc. - see the peer-reviewed article associated with this project for a full account of these). 4) Whatever differences between these audience ascriptions of value, what they have in common is that they are not based on is how much it cost. Traditional definitions of 'value' are not fit for purpose when it comes to describing the cultural value of live music: value for money decisions do not necessarily apply to a live music experience in ways they might to other commodities; the instrumental value of live music may be easier to measure than its intrinsic value, but instrumental value always derives from intrinsic value and is not a measure of it; and finally, 'value' is perhaps best conceived not much as a good as it is a process which those who attend a concert enact. The value attached came from being taken out of the ordinary and mundane and being transported elsewhere. This can be seen as being something intrinsic to the music which has the capacity to move audiences in ways which go beyond simple economic rationales. 5) Live music audiences at the Queen's Hall share certain characteristics. There is an identifiable Queen's Hall constituency that the venue attracts which cuts across musical genres. Audiences also value shared elements of the live music experience across genres, and many audience members refer to a live music experience that, at its best, is somehow transcendent. What becomes clear is that audiences think not only about the music they are going to hear, they also think about the place in which the event is taking place. 6) The non-instrumental value placed on live music by our respondents does not translate simply into policy. However, the language used by respondents can inform policy. Policy makers therefore need not only to resist political imperatives to assess all art in instrumental terms, but to understand those attributes, which make up intrinsic value and the ways in which audiences come to conclusions about intrinsic value. In practical terms, this means thinking through the different ways in which audiences reach and experience transcendence, as well as a realisation that this can differ within the same audience. If policy is related to quality of life, then the qualitative judgments made by respondents can take discussion of arts policy beyond the instrumental. Transcendence does not necessarily have a market value. 7) More research is needed into the interdependence of venues and models of concert promotion - what one might call "the ecology of live music." Our research found that expressions of cultural value were relatively unaffected by the type of promoter staging the event, but that a range of venue provision in a city was seen to be important. Based on our interviews with representatives form local authorities, cities that investigate their local music ecology come to realise the inter-connectedness of venues. It is also clear that local authorities can audit and make provision to facilitate live music; this need not involve subsidy and can incorporate 'cutting red tape' such as public entertainment licences. |
| Exploitation Route | As we mention in our key findings, it is clear that local authorities can audit and make provision to facilitate live music. This need not involve subsidy and can incorporate 'cutting red tape' such as public entertainment licences. Any such review in Edinburgh (and potentially other cities as well) would provide a clearer picture of how a venue like the Queen's Hall fits in the city's broader live music ecology and could be informed by our own findings. The continuance of the Queen's Hall as a venue is the main concern here and the warmth and esteem which the venue generates obviously has potential to assist in its continued existence. We certainly gathered enough endorsements to provide for publicity, while also raising issues which the venue needs to consider. Such endorsements might well find their way into marketing and strategy documents for the venue. Finally, this case study provides a solid foundation on which to develop further research into the ecology of live music, ultimately leading to evidence-based policies that encourage live music to flourish in UK cities. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2014.987668 |
| Description | As a result our findings and the networks we built throughout this project, we were asked by Karl Chapman (Manager of the 2,000 capacity Usher Hall) and David Williams (Arts Strategy and Funding Manager) in February to provide additional information and advice in relation to the challenges Edinburgh City Council (ECC) was facing with respect to live music provision. PDRA Behr was invited to present at a meeting of the Culture & Sport Committee in June 2014, and PI Brennan and Co-I Behr were invited to join a new Edinburgh City Council working group called Music is Audible in November 2014. We also strengthened our links with industry bodies including PRS for Music, UK Music, and the Musicians' Union, which led to working with these three organizations as formal project partners on our second AHRC Cultural Value project, "From Pub to Stadium: The ecology of public and commercial investment in British live music venues" (AH/L014416/1). |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Policy & public services |
| Description | Queen's Hall venue collaboration |
| Organisation | The Queen's Hall |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Our team conducted the research as outlined in our Je-S application (e.g. surveys, reflective diaries, interviews, literature review, data analysis). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Queen's Hall contributed use of facilities/ equipment (room provision for final seminar), staff time (for interviews with Chief Executive, Marketing Director, and Front of House staff), and an in-kind contribution of 20 tickets per show for three performances to conduct audience research. |
| Impact | We produced a bespoke executive summary of our findings to the Queen's Hall with a view to contributing to its marketing and planning strategies. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Cultural Value of Live Music Queen's Hall concluding seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 20+ live music industry stakeholders attended a concluding seminar for the project at the Queen's Hall. This included dissemination of the research findings, breakout groups and discussion, and network. The attendees included five academics, three venue representatives, two concert promoters, three members of Edinburgh City Council, and representatives from the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Music Industry Association, Musicians' Union, Creative Scotland, Scottish Jazz Federation, and Traditional Music Forum. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |