Liverpool, Music City? - Report

This project is intended to present
fundamental and incisive questions to
Liverpool’s music community, paving
the way for a new form of sector-led
leadership around music policy in the
city.
But first, as a community we need
to ask some searching questions; is
Liverpool a global music city? What
does music really mean to Liverpool
as we move into 2018, 10 years on
from 2008’s Capital of Culture
celebrations? How is music valued?
How healthy is Liverpool’s music
ecology? Is Liverpool’s Music Tourism
offer truly world-class and what role
does new music play within it? In
terms of its policies around noise,
planning and the role of music in the
built environment, does Liverpool
have a global music city outlook?
How good are we at developing the
next wave of artists in the city?
Is Liverpool an international hub
for music business? How joined up is
the city’s music industry and music
education offer?
We want to challenge our city’s
music community to come together and
develop a shared, collective vision
of a music future for our city.
Liverpool has a deep and unique
relationship with music. Few cities
in the world have music at the heart
of their city’s being, their people’s
identity and their economy in the
way Liverpool does. Music represents
a huge opportunity to reimagine what
Liverpool may be in the future,
both for the city itself and for our
relationship with the world.
For observers outside of the inner
workings of Liverpool’s music
community the sector could seem
somewhat impenetrable; a web of
complex entangled relationships,
a mesh of freelancers and small
organisations, a tension between
commerce and creativity, a hotchpotch
of vested interests, a fallback
position of ‘us versus them’.
Historically, such observations
would not have been without base;
entrenched divisions and internal
politics have in the past stifled
collaboration and collective action.
But, things have changed:
1) The traditional music industry has
collapsed.
2) Rampant gentrification and
development has changed the face of
the city, presenting huge challenges
to live music in the city.
3) Local authority budgets have been
slashed.
At the same time, the global Music
Cities movement is placing music
centre stage as forward-thinking
cities embed music at the centre of
their civic futures.
Currently, Liverpool is way behind.
We believe that Liverpool can forge
a new future by understanding,
prioritising, supporting and
galvanising its music sector. But,
the music community needs to be at
the heart of the process. The top
down approach has failed. A new era
of collaboration between the city,
city-region, universities and the
music community – from the grassroots
DIY venue to the international artist
manager – is needed.