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Be More Like London, NY or Sydney: Sound Diplomacy Publishes Guide For Cities That Want To Step Up Their Nighttime Game
Sound Diplomacy – A Guide to Managing Your Night Time Economy
There are night owls in every town and city
Sound Diplomacy created a report that highlights the benefits for cities that decide to dedicate time and resources to their nighttime economies (NTE).
The report was written with mayors and their advisors, economic development professionals, tourism agencies, cultural bodies and nighttime professionals, including owners, operators, artists and managers in mind. “It is also meant for planners, licensing professionals, police, environmental health agencies, chambers of commerce, business improvement districts and cultural quarters,” the report’s introduction states.
It emphasises that “a thriving evening and nighttime economy does not mean a bar or music venue on every corner. It means a regulated, planned and strategic offer that respects both those who want quiet and those who like to go out. Knowing what not to do is as important as what to do.”
Sound Diplomacy combined various research and studies to highlight the worth of the nighttime economy (NTE) in various territories. The UK’s NTE, for instance, creates an average of £66 billion ($88 billion) per year in revenue.
The Australian NTE was worth A$102 billion ($78 billion) in 2012, up 13 percent in a three‐year period. Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, doubled its income generation between 2010 and 2014, and New York City’s NTE is estimated to contribute $10 billion to the city’s economy.
The report highlights that a city’s NTE was a job driver, a tool to improve public health and develop one’s tourism and cultural offering, as well as “an engine that fuels artistic and cultural industries.”
The report was co-written in partnership with Harvard PhD candidate and nighttime economy academic Andreina Seijas. It features interviews with Amy Lamé (London’s Night Czar), Mirik Milan (Former Night Mayor, Amsterdam), Jocelyn Kane (Former Executive Director, San Francisco Entertainment Commission), Juan Carlos Gonzále (Nocturnal Delegate Of Valparaiso, Chile) and others.
It claims to provide tested examples of how cities around the world have managed supported and developed their nighttime economy in various ways.
Mirik Milan, the former night mayor of Amsterdam and co-founder of Vibe Lab, said: “We’re on the forefront of a global movement in nighttime management. This guide will inspire many cities because it shows the limitless possibilities for improvement the night brings. Cities benefit from having a vibrant nighttime from social cultural and economic perspective. This Night Time Guide can be the first step for many cities to become thriving 24h cultural and economic hotspots.”
Ariel Palitz, senior executive director at the Office of Nightlife in New York City, added: “I have been given the awesome responsibility to not only create a new Office of Nightlife, but also to promote an economically and culturally vibrant nightlife industry, while serving the best interests of the city and residents of New York.
Plaits said the Sound Diplomacy guide helped “clarify the many facets of nighttime economies around the globe, as well as illuminating strategies for managing nightlife that have been successfully implemented in some of the world’s greatest cities. It is an honour to be part of the community of such visionary nightlife directors, and to have the opportunity to learn from them through resources like this excellent guide.”
In the most general terms, Sound Diplomacy is dedicated to convincing policy and other decision makers of music’s value. Pollstar spoke with the company’s founder, Dr. Shain Shapiro, last year, to find out more about his philosophy.
“I can spend my entire life trying to save a venue. Or I can meet the person who owns the land, convince them that a music venue is valuable,” he said, adding that the music industry was sometimes over-obsessed with copyright.
“We’re obsessed with how much people are paying for our stuff, rather than how music’s ubiquity can be used to increase the value of our business for all of us, up and down the value chain,” Shapiro said.