Source: Wonkblog, Washington Post
Richmond is no one’s idea of a cultural trend setter. I often joke that the last cultural innovation that originated in my fair city and spread beyond its borders was the festival flag (an adornment whose allure has long since peaked and faded). Perhaps I could add the Geico Gecko and Cave Man commercials that emanate from the creative geniuses at the Martin Agency.
But it turns out that Richmond registers on the map of independent music, a sign of its emergence as a regional center of artistic creativity. (See “Art as Richmond’s Future.“) A new paper, “The Geographic Flow of Music,” tracks which cities around the world have the most influence over musical trends by analyzing listening habits on Last.fm, a musical website that pinpoints users by geography. By this measure, as shown in the graphic above, Richmond ranks fifth — right below L.A. and Boston — in influencing the indie music world.
Carbon Leaf, one of Richmond's best known indie bands.
Sums up Brad Plumer at the Washington Post: ” The largest cities aren’t always the most influential adopters of new music (or snubbers of stale music). New York and Los Angeles don’t appear to have nearly as much influence over listening trends as, say, Montreal, even though those areas are presumably home to many more local bands and musical groups.”
Too bad the Post didn’t take note of the awesomeness of Washington’s smaller, neighbor to the south. That’s OK, the people who live in Richmond know what we’ve got. And many welcome the transformation of this old southern town focused on the past into a vibrant creative center with an eye to the future.
Meanwhile, notes the Times-Dispatch, the Chamber of Commerce is leading a delegation of 150 business, government and civic leaders to Boston to learn what they can from that city’s success. The message from Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino: It’s all about public-private partnerships.
Dudes, it’s the 21st century. Top-down doesn’t work any more. Bottom-up does work. Forget copying other cities and see how you can stimulate the creativity that’s already here. There’s lots of it, if you know where to look.
Hat tip to “FreeDem.”
— JAB
