School of Culture and Communication - Research Publications

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Start date: 2020 × End date: 2022 × Author: De Beukelaer, Christiaan × Type: Journal Article ×

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    Friction in the Creative City
    De Beukelaer, C (DE GRUYTER POLAND SP Z O O, 2021-06-02)
    The Indonesian city of Bandung presents itself as an “emerging creative city.” This raises the question of how an “emerging” creative city can attain realisation: when and where is the creative city accomplished? The formalisation of the creative city creates friction – to borrow the term from Tsing. This friction manifests in two ways. First, through its ontological opacity (what is the creative city?), Mould contrasts the “Creative City” (the mainstream understanding of the term) with the lowercase “creative city” (the more grounded, subversive understanding of the term). Second, through political contestation (how and for whom is the creative city?) which Peck and Theodore question through the notion of “fast policy,” in dialogue with the notion of “slow policy.” However, rather than being a dead end, this article argues that “friction” can repoliticise the creative city by challenging the depoliticisation that occurred through its formalisation.
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    Mobilising African music: how mobile telecommunications and technology firms are transforming African music sectors
    De Beukelaer, C ; Eisenberg, AJ (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2020-04-02)
    This paper explores the role of mobile telecommunication and technology firms (MTTs) in the distribution of recorded music in Ghana and Kenya. These countries both have vibrant music markets with weak formal distribution networks. Limited enforcement of copyright regimes and weak market regulation created new entrepreneurial business models. While ‘big tech’ dominates this space elsewhere, in African contexts the main players are mobile service providers (e.g. MTN, Vodafone, Tigo) and digital content firms (e.g. Liberty Afrika, MTech, Cellulant). These transnational players cater to fast-growing consumer markets that do not have easy access to major music distribution platforms such as iTunes and Spotify (which tend to provide very limited access to ‘local’ content, in any case). Despite their particular and increasingly significant roles, very little empirical attention has been paid to the activities of mobile telecommunication and technology firms (MTTs) in music sectors. This paper takes stock of why and how MTTs have entered into the business of recorded music distribution in Ghana and Kenya, and assesses the ramifications of their entry for the music sectors in these and other African countries as part of broader global shifts in the production, distribution and marketing of recorded music.