Music, Culture and Society: Shane Homan
7 March 2008
Pop in the City: Industries, Governance and Night-Time Economies
Shane Homan
Popular music plays an important role in the cultural life of many cities, as a key commercial entertainment option for residents and tourists, and as a particularly powerful means by which cities claim a competitive foothold in the ‘selling’ of a vibrant nightlife._ _The suburban or inner city rock pub, jazz restaurant or dance nightclub has always played an important role not just in the lives and careers of individual musicians, but in the life of cities. In the particularly Australian context that I will discuss here, live rock, blues and jazz venues have similarly assumed local and national importance as sites where communities are formed, performance skills tested, and reputations earned.
In this paper I consider the recent history of debates about the role of popular music in reconfigurations of the ‘civilised’ and ‘sophisticated’ city and the challenges in ensuring a diversity of nightlife and entertainment. Drawing on my recent involvement in music venue and liquor law reform in NSW, this paper also reflects on the ongoing politics of ‘cultural’ or ‘creative precinct’ conceptualisations of city music-making, and the desire for popular music to be contained within more orderly (gentrified) constructions of the night-time economy.
Shane Homan is a Senior Lecturer in the School of English, Communications and Performance Studies at Monash University. A rock drummer, he is the author of The Mayor’s A Square: Live Music and Law and Order in Sydney (Local Consumption Publications, 2003) and editor of Access All Eras: Tribute Bands and Global Pop Culture_ (Open University Press, 2006). He is co-editor with Tony Mitchell of the forthcoming anthology Sounds of Then, Sounds of Now: Popular Music in Australia (Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies, Hobart). He has engaged in a variety of Australian music industry and policy work, including the regulation of music venues and night-time economies.
Questions for all participants were taken at the end of this session. Download the questions in MP4 format or in MP3 format.