9th World Conference for Graduate Research in Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure.

Cartagena, Spain 6-11 June 2017

Urban positioning through

music tourism: The
phenomenon of Music Cities
Paula Sim Toms - PhD Student. Universidad de Valncia (Spain) - pausito@alumni.uv.es
> First paper of 3
> PhD: The economic impact of tourism
and live music events. A Take That Tour
Study Case.
Main hypothesis to test
MAIN HYPOTHESIS TO TEST

1. Music is a language through which people communicate and express

themselves, providing comfort whether alone or in groups.

2. Cultural tourism is increasingly growing in advanced countries -around a third

of all tourism in the EU-

3. Music tourism accounts for one of the clearest expansions in the EU and

North America.

4. Cities can improve their options for development through a global positioning

based on specialization in the production of recorded, and above all, live music.
Goal
> Presenting a State of the Art about the relationship between tourism, music

and urban development.

Literature Review
Music Economy

1. The evolution of the music economy in the world has

been marked in the last decade by a constant relative loss

of relevance in the sector, as well as by digitization and the

recovery of live performances at the core of production and

employment.

2. In 2015, revenue from digital music sales worldwide

exceeded, for the first time, that of physical copies &

streaming keeps growing at the expense of digital

downloads

World Market Share, 2015.

Rest
UK 2%
10%

Germany
11%
US
44%

Japan
33%
(IFPI, 2016)
Music & Territory
5. On the supply side, people involved in music are more creative than
average and musical practice strengthens their identity and improves their
(Rudd, 1997)
quality of life

6. The clusterization of creativity promotes more productive habitats and

cities with higher quality of life (Rindermann et al., 2009;. Lazzaretti et al., 2012).

7. A territorys ability to attract and retain talent, combined with the places

opportunity, diversity and quality, is increasingly more relevant to urban

development as opposed to the ability to attract enterprises. (Florida, 2000)

8. Favorable conditions for creative activities are directly linked to the

configuration of public space, usually urban areas, and to its commercial and
leisure framework (UnHabitat, 2013)

9. These are drivers of diversity, the breeding ground of creativity. Creative

classes emerge, consolidate and are attracted by vibrant neighborhoods

where public space encourages the multiple uses throughout the day. These

frameworks and networks emerge in small venues and favor the diversity of
meetings, exchanges and complementary relationships between residents (Jacobs, 1973; Harvey, 2012).
and visitors

10. EU strategy in the field of creativity and the Creative Cities Network
program, founded in 2004, aiming to promote and strengthen the relationship

between cities that recognize creativity as a strategic factor for development,

(Santagata, 2009; UNCTAD, 2011; UNESCO, 2004; UNESCO, 2013)
music included.
Music & Territory

11. On the demand side, music as a productive activity plays a

key role as a component of leisure and audiovisual

entertainment in advanced societies and is therefore an

interesting channel to generate production and

employment with the usual multiplier and dragging effects on

the whole local economy.

12. If local musicians are competitive producing live or

recorded music, that competitiveness will hold a significant

effect on economic growth, employment and public budget in

the municipalities in question.

13. Demand in the local music sector may in turn have its
geographic origin not only among the resident population but

also the foreign population who knows of the local supply.

14. The demand for live music and visiting relevant places for
the music fan generates visits, trips shorter than 24 hours or

day trips and overnight stays, i.e. tourism.

(UK Music, 2016)
Results
 Music Tourism & Music Cities

Take That Wonderland Tour. Manchester, May 2017

 Music Tourism & Music Cities

British Music Experience Museum. Liverpool, 2017

Music Tourism & Music Cities

Hard Days Night Hotel. Liverpool, 2017

 Music Tourism & Music Cities

Music Tourism Convention, Sound Diplomacy. Liverpool, 2017

Music Tourism & Music Cities
 Music Tourism & Music Cities

David Bowie Is, Museu del Disseny de Barcelona. 2017

Conclusions & Implications
> Although the movement of Music Cities is in its infancy, it showcases, on the one hand, the very

great importance of music and live music as a leisure activity among the population and, on the

other hand, the opportunities to attract music tourism and creative residents toward cities with an

outstanding musical activity.

> Even though it is some cities in the US and UK that act as leaders, there exist other candidate

territories in Europe and Spain to follow suit.

9th World Conference for Graduate Research in Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure. Cartagena, Spain 6-11 June 2017

Thanks for your attention

Paula Sim Toms
@paula_simo
pausito@alumni.uv.es