Gave keynote on Friday (16.4) on topic ”Popular music: the sound of thriving cities”.
This was part of an overall interesting conference day, online national library conference, ”Ääniä tulevaisuudesta 2- musiikin osaaminen muutoksessa”, where participants from different Finnish libraries also discussed the future of the library music departments. Interesting Finnish and Nordic keynotes , and a very active discussion.
Jag höll keynote om sambandet mellan framgångsrika städer och populärmusik, ”Popular music: the sound of thriving cities”, på nationella online bibliotekskonferensen ””Ääniä tulevaisuudesta 2- musiikin osaaminen muutoksessa” 16.4. Deltagare främst från olika finländska bibliotek tog del av intressanta finländska och nordiska keynotes och en livlig diskussion.
Popular culture is a barometer of the present. By studying popular culture we learn about society. Creative people cluster with other creative people. A vibrant music scene, a positive sense of (to quote Florida) ”what’s going on”, ”what’s there” and ”who’s there” are magnets for creative individuals and groups, representing different sectors and branches of the ”creative class”.
The sound of the city also connects to how cities, districts and places are presented in texts capes and soundscapes, in lyrics, sounds and songs, and emphasize the value of popular music (scene) for place identity and place image building.
Libraries, and their music departments, are, or should be, vital components of what’s going on in creative cities.
