About the mcn
The MCN was initiated by the cities of Aarhus, Hamburg, and Sydney in 2016 & spun off as an independent non-profit association in 2021 after five years under the umbrella and with the support of Hamburg Music.
Current members are Aalborg (DK), Aarhus (DK), Berlin (DE), Brussels (BE), Düsseldorf (DE), Edinburgh (UK), Gothenburg (SWE), Groningen (NL), Hamburg (de), Manchester (UK), Reykjavik (IS), Sunderland (UK), Sydney (AUS), Valencia (ES), and Vilnius (LT).
our mission &
vision
The music industry faces growing pressures: rising costs, loss of affordable space, unequal routes for artists to reach audiences abroad, and too little recognition of music in how cities plan their future. A future-proof music industry needs to be more diverse, fairer and healthier. Cities are where this change happens, and they are stronger when they learn from each other.
We are a member-based network that actively designs hands-on solutions to bridge the gaps between all music city stakeholders: artists, music entrepreneurs, city marketing strategists, and music policymakers. The actions aim toward MCN's vision to get decision-makers and politicians to sustainably acknowledge music as an integrated part of city development.
"With the MCN, we have a network with a holistic approach to tackle current and future challenges faced by music cities and thereby facilitate exchange and projects to foster the local music ecosystems. To be able to contribute to creating sustainable change for a better and more diverse music industry gives me hope and I am very excited to develop this unique network further together with my inspiring colleagues in the future."
