Sonic City: The Evolving Economic Geography of the Music Industry

Our research tracks the location of musicians and music establishments in U.S. regions from 1970 to 2004. We find that the music industry has become significantly more concentrated over time. New York and Los Angeles remain dominant locations, with Nashville emerging as a third major center. This re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of planning education and research 2010-03, Vol.29 (3), p.310-321
Main Authors: Florida, Richard, Jackson, Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Distributing
Economic geography
Economics
Education
Geography
Human capital
Location
Los Angeles, California
Markets
Music
Music industry
Musicians
Nashville, Tennessee
New York, New York
Position (location)
Social influence
Sonics
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Summary:Our research tracks the location of musicians and music establishments in U.S. regions from 1970 to 2004. We find that the music industry has become significantly more concentrated over time. New York and Los Angeles remain dominant locations, with Nashville emerging as a third major center. This reflects the economic and artistic advantages of large markets. We also find evidence of the persistence of musicians and music scenes in some smaller locations throughout the United States. This reflects demand for music in some small locations with more affluent, higher-human capital populations, location-specific assets, and technological changes that have lowered the costs for producing, distributing, and consuming music across locations.
ISSN:0739-456X
1552-6577
DOI:10.1177/0739456X09354453