Music City status and what it could mean for Sunderland
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Sunderland is bidding to become one of the planet's Music Cities and the benefits could be considerable. The bid will be officially launched on World Music Day, Friday June 21.
Should Music City status be attained it could be a significant boost, not just to Sunderland but to the entire region, much like the forthcoming Crown Works Studios.
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Hide AdAs with the studios, it would be wise for the region as a whole to get behind the bid.
But what are Music Cities and what's so good about them?
Making the bid is the citywide Sunderland Music City Partnership led by the Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture (MAC) Trust.
The partnership aims to brand Sunderland as a Music City and ultimately become a globally recognised music hub in a worldwide network of Music Cities.
To achieve this it will use music, musicians, audiences and venues to build on the city’s proud musical heritage and:
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Hide Ad:: Change people’s cultural experience in the city and the region.
:: Change cultural expectations, aspirations and ambition and make Sunderland a place where musical talent wants to study, live and thrive; and in so doing...
:: ... change Sunderland, making it more vibrant, creative and recognised for its music.
It's very ambitious - and why not?


What's a Music City?
An organisation called Music Canada has produced a handbook on how to become a Music City called The Mastering of a Music City.
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Hide AdIt says: "A Music City is a community of any size with a vibrant music economy. Beginning with artists and musicians, Music Cities are home to a broad range of professionals who support artist entrepreneurs in their career development.
"They contain spaces for education, rehearsal, recording and performance, and foster a live scene with an engaged and passionate audience that provides artists with a fertile ground for developing their craft.
"The report finds that successful Music Cities with vibrant music economics generate a wide array of benefits for cities, from economic growth, job creation, and increased spending to greater tax revenues and cultural development."
The first Music City was Nashville and it was so-named by a radio announcer in 1950 - and it stuck. A musical migration to Nashville ensued and it was the Music City; until along came Austin, Texas.
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Hide AdAustin's official motto is "Live Music Capital of the World" and it's where they started the music festival South By Southwest in 1987, when they thought about 170 people would come along. Seven hundred actually turned up and by 2023 there was almost 400,000 over 10 days.
The festival is the biggest non-sporting event in the world. Directly and indirectly, it creates almost a third of Austin's income.
Two routes to becoming a Music City
Currently, there are 59 UNESCO Cities of Music and most British people will be unfamiliar with the majority of them. These include: Llíria, Veszprém, Praia, Xlapa (we don’t have the space, so you’ll have to look 'em up). More familiar names include Kansas City, Bogotá, Adelaide, Auckland and Abu Dhabi.
One particularly interesting member is London, Ontario, population about 420,000 and named as Canada's first UNESCO City of Music in 2021.
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Hide AdLondon now employs an estimated 1,000 people in the music industry and is where culture contributes hundreds of millions of Canadian dollars into the economy.
Another grouping, separate from UNESCO, is the European Music Cities Network. (Like the Eurovision Song Contest) Australia is admitted and Sydney is a member alongside other large cities like Berlin and Manchester.
However, size isn't everything.
Paul Callaghan, chair of the MAC Trust, said: "There are Music Cities of comparable size to Sunderland: Aarhus in Denmark and Groningen in the Netherlands. Relatively small cities who decided that this could be an important part of their civic development."
Like Sunderland, Aarhus is a Tall Ships port. It is also keen to bang its own drum about all the partners they have, including venues and music funders.
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Hide AdAll being well, Sunderland will soon be banging its own drum too.


‘But Sunderland isn't Nashville.’
Well spotted. But joining the club does not depend on size or having an instantly recognisable name.
Paul Callaghan said: "In 2005 UNESCO created the Creative Cities Network and they had seven categories: art, literature, film, design, media arts, gastronomy - and music.
"Every two years countries around the world bid to become a UNESCO City of Music. The next one is 2025.
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Hide Ad"It's not just the capital cities or the big cities. For instance in Belgium it's Ghent. In Sweden it's Norrköping. Quite often it's a city which says 'Music is very important to us. We have a thriving scene. We'd like to develop that'. There are 65 at the moment.”
In the UK, UNESCO Cities of Music are Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast. Hull are about to apply.
Timescale
:: 2024. Launch Music City bid on June 21, establish the music office, the music officer and music advisory board with a music strategy by Christmas which will be realistic and deliverable.
:: 2025. Apply to join the European Music Cities Network. Sunderland will be assessed and the city's strategy and ambition looked at and hopefully become a member by autumn 2025.
:: 2026. To be Sunderland's Year of Music.
The benefits
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Hide AdThe potential economic benefits we have mentioned. But it goes further and could be particularly helpful to children from tough backgrounds.
The MAC Trust is in contact with an organisation called Sound Diplomacy headed by Shain Shapiro PhD, whose earlier efforts to involve Sunderland were spoiled by covid, but is now ready again.
The trust has secured funding for Culture Start, to bring culture to kids who might otherwise miss out, with £1.2m from the Arts Council and another £350,000 from elsewhere. It's up and running and the next step is Music City status.


Please get involved
This isn't a gimmick. Being a Music City would involve people with no musical background, but who still have something to offer the industry. Venues and events need many trades and skills to operate.
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Hide AdIt would also incorporate all styles of music: classical, jazz, rock, folk, choral - the lot really. Featured events would be from children's music lessons to the stadium gigs of world famous artists; such as the recent roaring success that was the Bruce Springsteen concert.
Just about any venue in and around the city could come into play. In the last 15 years or so the Empire Theatre has been transformed to host major shows. The Stadium of Light held its first mega-concert in 2009.
The 800-capacity Fire Station Auditorium has been built and there is Pop Recs, Independent, Arts Centre Washington, The Peacock... the bandstands of Sunderland’s beautiful parks, while The Glasshouse in Gateshead could be incorporated.
There is momentum and hope is turning to belief. The positive minority of Wearside can and is making things happen. Again.
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Hide AdOf course there will be naysayers and sneerers; most recently heard naysaying and sneering just three months ago about the Sunderland film studios that would "never happen". Wrong or what?
If you’re old enough you may also recall that the Stadium of Light and Nissan would never happen either.
This article only scratches the surface of what is possible and, if you’re interested in joining the Sunderland Music City Partnership, go to www.MusicCity.uk.
In three words, let’s do it.
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