Everyone Loves Live Music: A Theory of Performance Institutions (Big Issues in Music)

Every year, millions of music fans come from far and wide to swarm parks and fields to hear their favorite bands at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Coachella, and Glastonbury. How did these and countless other festivals across the globe evolve into glamorous pop culture events, and how are they changing our relationship to music, leisure, and public culture? In __Everyone Loves Live Music__, Fabian Holt looks beyond the marketing hype to show how festivals and other institutions of musical performance have evolved in recent decades, as sites that were once meaningful sources of community and culture are increasingly subsumed by corporate giants. Examining a diverse range of cases across Europe and the United States, Holt upends commonly-held ideas of live music and introduces a pioneering theory of performance institutions. He explores the fascinating history of the club and the festival in San Francisco and New York, as well as a number of European cities. This book also explores the social forces shaping live music as small, independent venues become corporatized and as festivals transform to promote mainstream Anglophone culture and its consumerist trappings. Holt introduces a pioneering theory of performance institutions, providing insight into the broader relationship between culture and community in the twenty-first century. An engaging read for fans, industry professionals, and scholars alike, __Everyone Loves Live Music__ reveals how our contemporary enthusiasm for live music is much more fraught than we would like to think. For decades, millions of music fans have gathered every summer in parks and fields to hear their favorite bands at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Coachella, and Glastonbury. How did these and countless other festivals across the globe evolve into glamorous pop culture events, and how are they changing our relationship to music, leisure, and public culture? In Everyone Loves Live Music , Fabian Holt looks beyond the marketing hype to show how festivals and other institutions of musical performance have evolved in recent decades, as sites that were once meaningful sources of community and culture are increasingly subsumed by corporate giants. Examining a diverse range of cases across Europe and the United States, Holt upends commonly-held ideas of live music and introduces a pioneering theory of performance institutions. He explores the fascinating history of the club and the festival in San Francisco and New York, as well as a number of European cities. This book also explores the social forces shaping live music as small, independent venues become corporatized and as festivals transform to promote mainstream Anglophone culture and its consumerist trappings. The book further provides insight into the broader relationship between culture and community in the twenty-first century. An engaging read for fans, industry professionals, and scholars alike, Everyone Loves Live Music reveals how our contemporary enthusiasm for live music is more fraught than we would like to think. "In Everyone Loves Live Music, Fabian Holt takes us through transformations in musical performance culture that explain how live music became the wildly popular industry it is today--and what these changes mean for fans. Holt looks at two realms of live music subject to the same commercializing trends: rock clubs, a feature of everyday life in major American and European cities and blowout musical festivals, venues for over-the-top experiences. As both clubs and festivals are being bought up and managed by a shrinking number of corporate entities such as Live Nation, they are becoming increasingly homogenous, showcasing a narrow roster of mostly Anglophone musicians. While many of the clubs and festivals Holt studies began as highly local scenes, they have fallen prey to media conglomerates, affecting the social worlds not only of fans, but of the cities and neighborhoods that are home to these musical cultures. As a result, Holt shows, our social worlds are transforming as particular forms of music, place, lifestyle, and leisure come to dominate our cultural lives"-- Provided by publisher Every year, millions of music fans come from far and wide to swarm parks and arenas to hear their favorite bands at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Coachella, and Glastonbury. How did these and countless other festivals across the globe evolve into glamorous pop culture events and create powerful ideas about music and public culture? In this book, Fabian Holt looks beyond the slick marketing images to show how festivals and other institutions of musical performance have evolved in recent decades, as part of broader changes in society. Adopting a critical approach, Holt upends commonly-held ideas of live music and introduces a pioneering theory of performance institutions. He explores the fascinating history of the club and the festival in San Francisco and New York, as well as a number of European cities Introduction. The Social Study of Musical Performance Institutions -- Conceptualizing Musical Performance Culture Clubs in Everyday Urban Life -- The Social Study of Music in Cities -- The Commercial Institutionalization of Rock Clubs in New York -- How Did Institutionalization Evolve in Europe? : Music Festivals in the Summer Season -- A Worldview History of Music Festivals -- The Evolution of Anglophone Global Culture -- Three Industry Evolutions That Changed Festival Culture -- New Media, New Festival Worlds