The Landscape of Music Festivals in Australia.docx

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TheLandscapeofMusicFestivalsinAustralia

18381035450TheLandscapeofMusicFestivalsinAustralia

B.McCarthy（*）

SchoolofBusiness,JamesCookUniversityTownsville,DouglasCampus,Townsville,QLD4811,

Australia

e-mail:

breda.mccarthy@jcu.edu.au

P.Tschmucketal.（eds.）,MusicBusinessandtheExperienceEconomy,

DOI10.1007/978-3-642-27898-3_8,#Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2013

AbstractThelandscapeoffestivalsinAustraliaisadiverseone,rangingfrom

largeurbanfestivalstosmall,community-basedruralfestivals.Music,inallits

forms,hasthepotentialtocontributesocial,financialandartisticcapitaltoa

community.Thischapterseekstoexplorethehumanneedsfulfilledbymusicand

understandwhysuchfestivalsandeventshavebecomesopopularwithpolicy

makersandresearchersalike.Thechapterisorganisedasfollows.Firstly,the

universalappealofmusicisexplainedbydrawingonacademicconceptsof

emotion,authenticity,experientialconsumption,fandom,subculturesandidentity.

Secondlytheconceptofafestivalisexplored,theirculturalvalueishighlightedand

aprofileofmusicfestivalsinAustralasiaisgiven.Recentstudiesstronglysuggest

thatthenumber,diversity,andpopularityoffestivalshavegrownspectacularly

overthepastseveraldecades.Thirdly,thecommodificationofmusicinmodern

timesisdescribedandtheramificationsoffestivalsforlocaleconomies,tourism

developmentandthenaturalenvironmentareexplored.Finally,conclusionsare

drawnaboutthefutureofmusicfestivalsinthelightofthedigitalage.

1Introduction

ThelandscapeoffestivalsinAustraliaisadiverseone,rangingfromlargeurban

festivalstosmall,community-basedruralfestivals.Music,inallitsforms,hasthe

potentialtocontributesocial,financialandartisticcapitaltoacommunity.This

chapterseekstoexplorethehumanneedsfulfilledbymusicandunderstandwhy

suchfestivalsandeventshavebecomesopopularwithpolicymakersand

MusicAppreciation:

TheUniversalAppealofMusic

Musictouchesnearlyallaspectsofdailylife.Moderntechnologyhastakenmusic

consumptionintothehomes,cars,andworkplacesofmostcitizensofindustrialized

nationsviarecordedmusic（Konecni1982）.Masscommunicationadvanceshave

causedaglobalizationofmusic.Globalizationisevidencedbytheriseofsuperstars

andimagesofpopsingerssuchasBeyonceandBritneySpearsbeingunderstood

worldwide,aswellasthespreadofrealityTVshowssuchasPopIdolandtheX

Factoraroundtheworld.Whilstbeingaproductinitself,musichasaninputintoa

numberofotherproducts,industriesandsectors,includingeducation,film,televi-

sion,radio,advertising,retailing,gamesandmobiletelephony.Musicisaback-

groundfeatureingyms,nightclubs,pubsandrestaurantsaroundtheworld.Music

isimportantinallculturesandalmosteveryoneappreciatesorrespondstomusicin

someway.Somedevelopacareercreatingitandothersspendtheirliveslisteningto

itandappreciatingit.Musicissodeeplyembeddedindailylifethatifmusicwereto

disappear,theworldasweknowitwouldbeapoorerplace.

Musichasbeenstudiedindiversedisciplinesincludinganthropology,psychol-

ogy,sociologyandmusictheory.Musicperformancehasapsychologicaleffectand

caninduceemotions,ahappyorsadmood,inlisteners.Becausemusichas,asyet,

noknownsurvivalbenefits,researchersinmanydisciplineshaveposedquestions–

Whatisthepurposeofmusic?

Whydoesithaveuniversalappeal?

Theideathat

musicistheprecursortohumanlanguagehasbeenproposedincognitivepsychol-

ogy（Pinker1994）.Mithen（2005）inhisbook,theSingingNeanderthals,arguesthat

musicsharesmanycharacteristicswithhumanlanguageandthatmusicanddance

aremoresophisticatedversionsofprimatecommunications,inotherwords,the

callsandgesturesoftheNeanderthal.

Emotioniscentraltoourunderstandingofmusic.Lacher（1989）,inareviewof

thepsychologyandmusiceducationliteratures,foundthatmusicarousesfourtypes

ofresponsesinthelistener,whicharedescribedassensorial:

thisresponseis

typifiedbysomephysicalmovement,fromswayingorthesimpletappingoftoes

todancingtothemusic;imaginal（orassociative）:

theimages,memoriesor

situationsthatmusicevokes;emotional:

thefeelingsoneexperienceswhen

120B.McCarthylisteningtomusic,suchasjoy,rage,sadness;analytical:

listeningtomusicrequires

attentiontoitsvariouselements,suchasharmony,rhythmandtempo.

Moreandmorescholarsdescribetheexperiencesocietyinwhichindividualsare

seekingauthenticityandimmediacythroughevents,whicharelive,havea‘here-

and-now’presenceandinvolvesocialinteraction（Holt2010）.AccordingtoFrith

（2007）livemusicisthetruestformofmusicalexpression,thesettinginwhich

musiciansandtheirlistenersalikecanjudgewhetherwhattheydois‘real’;

authenticityisacentralvalueingenressuchasrock,folkandjazzmusic（see

Moore2002）.Scholarsarewritingaboutthegrowthofthe‘experience-based

economy’（PineandGilmore1999）the‘symboliceconomy’（LashandUrry

1994）and‘experientialmarketing’（CarandCova2003;Schmitt1999）.Music

festivalsoftentakeplaceinnaturalenvironments,bethatclassical（e.g.,Operain

theOutback,OperaintheVines,OperainthePark）orcontemporary（folkmusic

festivalsinthebush,mountainsorforests）,sothereisastrongconnectionbetween

theselfandnature.Connectingtothenaturalenvironmentthroughmusicisa

commonthemeinmarketingcampaignsthatisusedtoattractnewaudiences.

Creatinganexperienceisimportantforfestivalorganisers,whichisdefinedas

somethingthatchangespeopleinacertainwaysothattheyarenolongerthesame

afterhavingtriedit.Anexperienceissomethingthatwillberememberedovertime.

GibsonandConnell（2003:

29）notethatmusicperformedoutdoorscontributesto

“primitivistfantasiesoftranquillity,timelessnessandhumaninteractionwith

nature.”Thelaunchofnichefestivals,whichcombinesmusicwithfood,comedy

orpolitics,showsthemulti-sensoryaspectsoffestivals.NimbinMardiGrasfestival

whichtakesplaceinNimbin,NewSouthWales,ishometomanyalternativelife-

stylersandanannualrallyunitingcannabislawreformactivistsisstagedeachyear.

Musicfulfilsbasicsocialneedswhenitbringspeopletogether.Therehasbeen

scholarlyinterestinthephenomenonoffans.Theexistenceoffansisanimportant

culturalphenomenonandhasbeenpartofoursocietysincemassmediawasfirst

developed.Subculturesofconsumptionareadistinctgroupofsocietythatself-

selectsonthebasisofasharedcommitmenttoaparticularproductclass,brandor

consumptionactivity,e.g.,basedaroundmusic,sportsor“highculture”（Schouten

andAlexander1995）.Livemusichasbeenvalorisedandromanticised（Thornton

1995）andlivegigsandvenuesareessentialtothemythologyofrock,folk,jazzand

countrymusicfans.Musicisperhapsthemostdirectlysocialofallofthe

performingarts.Musicisinherentlymulti-sensoryandcreatesstrongeremotional

reactionthanotherformsofentertainment（Curtis2003;Jacobsonetal.2007）.

AccordingtoPaleoandWijnberg（2006）,musiceventsareoftenvivid,uniqueand

unpredictableandofferaudiencememberscloseproximitytotheperformers.To

paraphraseBale（1989）,musiclikesport,hasitsallureandafestivalisparallelto

theexperienceofthehistoricreligiouspilgrimage.Attendeesareoffereda‘oncein

alifetime’experience.Festivalsareexperientialproductswhichofferparticipants

funandemotionthroughsharedsocialexperiences（Agrusaetal.2008）.

Despitetheubiquityofpopularmusic,ithasbeenlargelyignoredbythe

marketingacademyasaproduct（Lacher1989）.Alimitednumberofstudiesof

theroleofadvertisinginmusicexist（Scott1990）.Musicisanaestheticproduct,not

TheLandscapeofMusicFestivalsinAustralia121apurposeful,commercialinventiondesignedtosatisfyhumanneedsforprofit.

Aestheticproductssuchasliterature,visualarts,dramaandmusicareespecially

challengingtoconsumerresearchers,becausetheyareappreciatedbyconsumers

primarilyfortheirownsake,asobjectsinthemselves,apartfromanyutilitarian

functionsperformed,ortangiblebenefitsgainedthroughproductuse（Hirschman

andHolbrook1982）.Shankar（2000）arguesthatpopularmusichelpsusmakesense

ofoureverydaylivesandexperiences,andcanhelpusconstructourownidentityor

senseofself.AccordingtoLacher（1989）,musicmaybepurchasedasmuchforits

socialstatusasitsownintrinsicvalue.A‘yuppie’maybuyassortedclassicalworks

toimpresshis/hersuperiors,somusicaffirmsone’sclass.InthewordsofFrith

（2007:

10）,“wethereforemakebothanewdemandonmusic（tomeetourpersonal

needs）andanewcommitmenttoit,asasymbolofourindividuality.”Musichas

longbeenusedasaprotestagainstdominantsocialforcesinsociety,asiteof

resistance,suchas“theanti-whitetoneofradicalAfrican-AmericanRapmusic”or

the“anti-capitalist,empoweringandemancipatingtoneofreggaemusic”（Shankar

2000:

34）.Theroleandsignificanceofmusicalperformanceinthereproductionof

nationalidentitieshaslongbeenexploredinthemusicologyliterature（Wood

2012）.

Therearesomeinterestingstudiesontheformationofmusictastes（Holbrook

1995;HolbrookandSchindler1989）.Findingsrevealthatpreferencesforpopular

musicalstylesdevelopduringlateadolescenceorearlyadulthoodandtendto

prevailfortherestofone’slife.Thisreflectsextrinsicfactorssuchaspeergroup

pressure,groupnorms,