Curating the urban music festival: Festivalisation, the ‘shuffle’ logic, and digitally-shaped music consumption

2021 ◽  
pp. 136754942110086
Author(s):  
Paulo Nunes ◽  
Carolyn Birdsall
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Radio Station ◽  
City Branding ◽  
Music Festivals ◽  
Music Festival ◽  
Urban Music ◽  
Cultural Intermediaries

In recent years, music festivals have grown in significance within local cultural policy, city branding and tourism agendas. Taking the Mexefest festival in Lisbon as a case in point, this article asks how, in the digital streaming era, music festivals in urban environments are framed, curated and experienced. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, our analysis examines how music festival programmers curate the urban festival experience, for both locals and tourists alike. First, we identify the emergence of urban music festivals in recent decades, and how modern festival programmes have adopted the cultural technique of the ‘shuffle mode’ as an influential principle. Second, we investigate the work of festival programmers through the lens of ‘cultural intermediaries’, and ask how their programming strategies, particularly through digital mobile media (such as music playlists), contribute to an aestheticised experience of the city during the festival. Third, we focus on how the Mexefest festival events are staged in tandem with brand activation by sponsors like mobile phone company Vodafone and their radio station Vodafone FM. In doing so, we highlight the participation of festival-goers through their embodied engagements with digital media, music listening and urban space, and evaluate the heuristic value of ‘shuffle curation’ as a tool for the understanding of music festivals as a distinctly global and networked form of leisure consumption in urban culture.

The Familiar City

2020 ◽  
pp. 108-146
Author(s):  
Germaine R. Halegoua
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Spatial Relations ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Space And Place ◽  
Navigation Systems ◽  
Digital Maps ◽  
Mobile Navigation ◽  
Technology Users ◽  
The City

Through questionnaires administered to 210 users of navigation technologies (e.g., GPS, digital maps, and mobile navigation systems) and interviews with ten navigation technology users, chapter 3 identifies the ways that users understand their own spatial relations, conditions of and tactics for mobility, and embeddedness within urban space. One of the most common engagements with GPS is through online mapping tools and mobile navigation technologies, yet we know very little about how these technologies are incorporated into everyday life—how they shape spatial relations, influence cognitive mappings of urban space, and contribute to the formation of a sense of place. Many scholars and critics have understood digital navigation technologies as alienating, abstracting, and distancing the digital media user from place. In contrast to popular assumptions about the distracted perception of space and place encouraged by digital navigation technologies, this chapter analyzes the ways in which the exact opposite processes are observable: navigation technology users are developing wayfinding strategies that reframe their image of the city, alter perceptions and practices of mobility, and re-embed them within urban environments.

MUSIC FESTIVAL AS AN EXPERIENCE OF PRESERVING THE CULTURAL MEMORY OF THE PEOPLE (RECONSTRUCTION OF THE URAL MUSIC FESTIVALS OF THE 1930S – 1970S).

2021 ◽  
pp. 155-165
Author(s):  
Yulia V. Fedotova ◽  
◽  
Alexandr S. Fedotov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Regional Culture ◽  
Music Festivals ◽  
Music Festival ◽  
Festive Culture ◽  
The People ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

The article reconstructs the process of origin and development of the festival movement in the Urals in the 1930s – 1970s in the music and concert sphere. The history of some of the largest festivals is viewed in the context of the formation of the Soviet festive culture and the goals of the Soviet cultural policy. The authors highlight the main holidays, for which the philharmonic society prepared musical programs - the anniversaries of the October Revolution of 1917 and the formation of the USSR, the birthday of V.I. Lenin. Since the late 1930s, the scope of musical programs has steadily increased. More and more organizations were involved in the creative process - philharmonic societies, theaters, libraries, clubs, art centers, departments of public education. The concert space has expanded from the «palaces of culture» and concert halls of the city to the central squares of the city, open spaces outside the cities and villages. In the 60s, favorable conditions for the development of the music industry were formed. Philharmonic music programs turn into mass celebrations, and then into regional festivals of professional, folk and amateur art. These events covered all audiences - schoolchildren, young people, factory workers and agricultural workers, the intelligentsia. Festivals acquired names, received vivid coverage in periodicals. Sometimes preparations for such celebrations took 1–2 years, and the festivals themselves could “travel” by train or car to regional cities and large villages during the whole jubilee year. By the 70s, the Ural music festivals reached the All-Union level, and also acquired international cultural ties. Special attention is paid to the forms of education, the repertoire of groups, geography and the organization of festivals. These festivals are considered by the authors as an instrument of popularizing and educating the “right” values among the people; they were supposed to activate mass practical activities. Ideas that sounded in musical-verbal and visual form from the stadiums, the stage of theaters during the festivals for a long time will be significant and memorable for a whole generation of people in our country. Therefore, a music festival can be considered not just a form of bringing people to the world musical heritage and educating people, but also an effective way to preserve the cultural memory of a people. The article uses archival materials, including those not previously introduced into scientific circulation, which help to understand the significance of these festivals for the regional culture of the Soviet period.

scholarly journals From headliners to hangovers: Digital media communication in the British rock music festival experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa E Brown ◽  
Keith Donne ◽  
Paul Fallon ◽  
Richard Sharpley
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Rock Music ◽  
Online Activity ◽  
Media Communication ◽  
Time Activity ◽  
Music Festivals ◽  
Music Festival ◽  
Space And Time

Extant tourist experience literature focuses on ‘live’ space and time activity, while pre- and post-components are often neglected despite the opportunities offered by increasing use of digital media communication (DMC). Focusing especially on the pre-festival experience but also addressing peri- and post-phases, this study examines the role of DMC in tourists’ experiences at British rock music festivals. Interviews with festivalgoers revealed three core and inter-related themes: information, emotional response and communitas. Initial engagement with DMC enabled planning, generated feelings of anticipatory excitement and created a sense of communitas. Online activity reduced peri-festival but continued to enhance the live event experience, while the virtual communitas was extended at the post-festival phase.

scholarly journals Spatially organized «vertical city» as a synthesis of tall buildings and airships

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 01002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Gagulina ◽  
Sergei Matovnikov
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Tall Buildings ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Internal Space ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Compact City ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
High Rise ◽  
City Space

The paper explores the compact city concept based on the «spatial» urban development principles and describes the prerequisites and possible methods to move from «horizontal» planning to «vertical» urban environments. It highlights the close connection between urban space, high-rise city landscape and conveyance options and sets out the ideas for upgrading the existing architectural and urban planning principles. It also conceptualizes the use of airships to create additional spatial connections between urban structure elements and high-rise buildings. Functional changes are considered in creating both urban environment and internal space of tall buildings, and the environmental aspects of the new spatial model are brought to light. The paper delineates the prospects for making a truly «spatial» multidimensional city space.

scholarly journals Street Cries and the urban ritornelle

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80
Author(s):  
Jacob Kreutzfeldt
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Sound Studies ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Felix Guattari ◽  
Northern European ◽  
The Social ◽  
Environmental Relations ◽  
The City ◽  
Fertile Area

Street cries, though rarely heard in Northern European cities today, testify to ways in which audible practices shape and structure urban spaces. Paradigmatic for what Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari call ‘the refrain’, the ritualised and stylised practice of street cries may point at the dynamics of space-making, through which the social and territorial construction of urban space is performed. The article draws on historical material, documenting and describing street cries, particularly in Copenhagen in the years 1929 to 1935. Most notably, the composer Vang Holmboe and the architect Steen Eiler Rasmussen have investigated Danish street cries as a musical and a spatial phenomenon, respectably. Such studies – from their individual perspectives – can be said to explore the aesthetics of urban environments, since street calls are developed and heard specifically in the context of the city. Investigating the different methods employed in the two studies and presenting Deleuze and Guattari’s theory of the refrain as a framework for further studies in the field, this article seeks to outline a fertile area of study for sound studies: the investigation of everyday refrains and the environmental relations they express and perform. Today changed sensibilities and technologies have rendered street crying obsolete in Northern Europe, but new urban ritornells may have taken their place.

scholarly journals Economic assessment of urban space and blue-green infrastructure in Singapore

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mabel Lim ◽  
Stefanos Xenarios
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Greenery

Abstract The urban conglomeration has accentuated the role of urban greenery as a determinant factor for sustainable living, especially in highly dense cities. The country of Singapore has consistently attempted to develop and rehabilitate urban greenery by attempting to align the green space policy with the pursuit of better life quality. In this study, we assess the benefits arising from the rehabilitated Bishan-Ang Mo Kio (AMK) Park in north Singapore and the effects on economic welfare. The Bishan-AMK Park was initially constructed in the late 70 s as a drainage area for the avoidance of flooding incidents. In 2012, a pilot project was introduced to create a blue-green infrastructure (BGI) space for the provision of drainage and flood prevention but also for recreational and environmental improvement in the area. Yet, the benefits emerging from BGI are not well explored and still underestimated. To this extent, we evaluate selected services related to recreational, socio-cultural and tourism-related values by indicating the economic benefits from the introduction of BGI in condensed urban environments like Singapore. The findings indicate that the benefits deriving from the selected services could be within the range of US$100 million to US$220 million with a mean value of US$160 million per year by substantially contributing to human well-being. The assessment of environmental services can raise the awareness of residents and local authorities on the contribution of urban greenery to livelihoods and economic development in Singapore and similar densely populated areas.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Germaine R. Halegoua
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Careful Attention ◽  
Digital City ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Cautionary Tales

This chapter provides an overview of the territory and arguments that The Digital City explores. In recent work on digital and mobile media technologies, scholarly perspectives have broadened to recognize positive associations between digital media and experiences of place. Humans and machines are no longer readily perceived as mutually exclusive categories, nor are they treated as separate considerations for designers of everyday experience. People work with technologies to move through and experience places. This book aims to illustrate and analyze the ways actors are actually using digital technologies and practices to re-embed themselves within urban space and to create a sense of place for themselves and others. Although there are copious cautionary tales around the potential for digital media to dissociate or liberate us from the confines of physical locations, we’ve lacked careful attention to the ways people actually use digital media to become placemakers. Creating and controlling a sense of place is still the primary way that we connect with our environments, interact with others, and express our identities. The Digital City offers a new theoretical framework for thinking about our relationship to digital media by reconceptualizing common, everyday interactions with digital media as placemaking activities.

Live Music and Festivals

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr Daragh O’Reilly ◽  
Dr Gretchen Larsen ◽  
Dr Krzysztof Kubacki
Keyword(s):  
Social Situations ◽  
Music Festivals ◽  
Music Festival ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Live Music ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Music Venues ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
And Function ◽  
Important Variant

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the importance of live music, music venues, music festivals and live music promotion in the production and consumption of music. As shown in Chapter 3, music is a complex product which can be enjoyed in a wide range of social situations, from listening to music in one’s own home or car, through enjoying a concert in a large music venue like an opera house or stadium, to spending several days at a music festival attended by over a million people. This chapter therefore begins with an attempt to provide an understanding of some of the historical developments of live music, its main characteristics, and the reasons behind its growing popularity. Music festivals are an important variant of live music, and the chapter also includes a discussion of the nature, form and function of music festivals, their multiple impacts and the marketing issues which they present.

Reframing culture: Stuart Cunningham's legacies

2021 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2110438
Author(s):  
Julian Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Film History ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
Industry Practice ◽  
Research Initiatives

This essay offers an appreciation of Stuart Cunningham's substantial and diverse contributions to ‘reframing culture’ in Australian research, policy and industry practice, from his early reformulations of Australian film history to his recent work on digital media disruption. The essay discusses the range of Cunningham's institutional and intellectual legacies, suggesting that his advocacy for cultural policy and the creative industries together with his leadership of major collaborative research initiatives in the humanities and social sciences have been especially important for media and cultural studies in Australia. Further, his approach to the project of ‘reframing culture’ is likely to remain a critical task.

Knowledge and event leadership (Jane Tattersall)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Tattersall
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Music Festivals ◽  
Music Festival ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Business Setting ◽  
Technology Competition

The aim of this chapter is to explain the value and management of different types of knowledge in an events or music festival business setting, where its potential to maximise profit and help an organisation to outperform its rivals has received less attention in academic literature than other sectors such as manufacturing or information technology. Competition in the events and festivals sectors has increased considerably as more companies join the market, and the nature and scope of events has widened to satisfy consumer appetites for more diverse and engaging experiences. Leaders that nurture, recognise, manage and employ knowledge effectively are more likely to be innovative and successful in their sector. Throughout the chapter, knowledge is explored mostly through the lens of music festivals, although the points made are easily applicable to the wider events, tourism and leisure sectors.

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