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Why venues and festivals should not primarily focus on digitising their offerings

In a digitalising world, pop venues and festivals face the task of whether and how to adapt to this development. During the pandemic, some venues invested heavily in equipment to livestream performances, and during those years there were even voices that livestreams and holograms could eventually replace traditional live offerings. However, based on the POPLIVE publication ‘I was There!’, that view can be disputed. One of the main conclusions from this study is that physical copresence, being there, is the key element of concert experience, something that can not be perfectly simulated in a digital context. Therefore, the primary focus of venues and festivals in the post-pandemic era should not be at digitising their offerings.

Read the article “The value of being there” that was published in the magazine UNCOVER – The Future of Leisure here.

POPLIVE at International Music Business Research Days 2023

From 1-3 November 2023, the 14th International Music Business Research Days took place at University of Agder in Kristainsand, Norway. Two POPLIVE researchers presented their recent work at the conference. This conference is commissioned by the International Music Business Research Association (IMBRA). 

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Staging Popular Music: Researching Sustainable Live Music Ecologies for Artists, Music Venues and Cities

POPLIVE is a large-scale research project on live music at the Erasmus University and the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, in collaboration with the VNPF and MOJO Concerts. The project is funded by the NWO as part of the Topsector Creative Industries.

The project is focused on how local live music ecologies can contribute to value creation in the careers of pop musicians, the position of music venues and festivals, and the local (urban) society in general. What is the role of live music ecologies in skill and talent development of young artists? What is a healthy balance between structural and temporary live music infrastructure? What is the value of live music ecologies for cities? In the project a mixed approach is used of both extensive quantitative, and intensive qualitative information.

On this website you can learn more about the POPLIVE project, the latest news, the team, partners and publications. Furthermore, we are more than interested to hear your opinion. So if you have any ideas, suggestions, comments or questions about the POPLIVE project, do not hesitate to contact us!


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Research Team