Music
Cities

A music city is broadly defined as a place with a vibrant music economy which delivers economic, employment, cultural and social benefits.

There is no one single model for what a music city looks like but there are many common elements. IFPI works on an international Music Cities campaign, building on the work of its Canadian national group. Music Canada previously undertook a project that would reach out to the broader music community to pursue a common goal.

The result of their Music Cities project was to build a broader music coalition in Canada, secure real economic benefits for the wider community and facilitate greater engagement with governments on issues of critical importance to record labels and the music community. IFPI works to internationalise that successful work in order to connect with the wider music community, deliver benefits for record companies, and offer tools for its National Groups to do the same.

At the start of the campaign, IFPI and Music Canada undertook research to show how the Music Cities approach can work in other countries and released a study in summer 2015, a report called ‘The Mastering of a Music City’. It provides a roadmap for a more vibrant and successful music economy including strategies in music and music friendly policies, music offices and advisory boards, spaces and places, audience development and music tourism.

Since then, Music Cities initiatives have been rolled out in cities around the world. For more information about Music Cities and IFPI’s work in this area please contact the IFPI Communications team (press@ifpi.org).