Cities and Regions as Drivers of European Music Development

Europe’s music ecosystem is often discussed at a strategic level - in policies, funding lines, and frameworks designed to operate across borders. Yet the ecosystem itself does not exist on paper. It exists in places. In cities, towns, and regions where artists develop, venues anchor cultural life, and policy decisions are felt immediately.

This reality shaped Music Cities Network’s full-day programme at Eurosonic Noorderslag 2026 in Groningen. As part of the 8th Music Moves Europe Dialogue, MCN convened a public panel and a closed, invitation-only workshop to explore one central question:

How can Europe unlock local potential to build a stronger, more connected music ecosystem?

What followed was not a theoretical discussion about “scaling”, but a grounded, practice-based exchange about what works locally, what remains structurally blocked, and what European policy needs to do differently to support sustainable ecosystem development.

Cities and regions as drivers, not beneficiaries

The opening panel, Scaling up the European music ecosystem: Regions and cities as drivers of European music development, set a clear tone from the start. 

Across perspectives, panelists consistently described cities and regions not as passive beneficiaries of European policy, but as primary implementation levels of the music ecosystem.

When cities and regions are overlooked, European ambition risks remaining abstract. When they are integrated as implementation partners, policy becomes actionable.

As one recurring idea from the panel made clear:

“If policies do not work at the city and regional level, they do not work at all.”

Cities are where:

• artists develop careers

• venues and stages sustain cultural life

• education, planning, nightlife, and community intersect

• the effects of policy decisions are felt immediately

If strategies do not function at this level, they do not function at all.

What place-based approaches make possible

Concrete examples from Groningen and Sunderland illustrated how place-based approaches can connect music policy with broader urban and regional agendas.

In Groningen, music was described as a space for experimentation - a “kitchen” where ideas can be tested, mixed, and refined. This kind of experimentation depends on trust, continuity, and policy frameworks that allow room to try, fail, and learn over time.

In Sunderland, music has been positioned as a driver of identity, regeneration, and civic pride. By embedding music into wider city strategy - including unexpected alliances with sectors such as sport and urban development - Sunderland demonstrated how culture can support long-term transformation in post-industrial contexts.

These examples shared a common insight: music delivers its strongest impact when it is embedded across education, planning, community development, and economic strategy, rather than treated as a stand-alone cultural issue.

Beyond cities: the urban–rural connection

The panel also made clear that Europe’s music ecosystem cannot be understood through an urban lens alone.

Rural and non-metropolitan areas face specific structural challenges, but they also offer unique strengths that are essential to artistic creation and ecosystem resilience: space, time, affordability, and deep community engagement. Many forms of experimentation, incubation, and long-term artistic development are only possible in these contexts.

What remains missing is stronger, more continuous urban–rural connectivity. Without it, ecosystems remain fragmented and uneven. With it, cities and regions can complement each other,  enabling balanced development and circulation of talent.

Networks as ecosystem infrastructure

One theme returned repeatedly and very concretely throughout the panel: the role of networks.

Networks were not described as optional platforms for exchange, but as critical infrastructure for the music ecosystem. Virgo Sillamaa referred to networks as living systems and memory structures - carrying knowledge, relationships, and experience over time.

In practical terms, networks:

• enable peer-to-peer learning between cities and regions

• reduce fragmentation and duplication of efforts

• prevent the same challenges from being addressed repeatedly in isolation

• connect local practice to regional, national, and European policy levels

Without networks, learning does not accumulate. Ecosystem development resets instead of compounding.

From dialogue to action: the afternoon workshop

Building on the panel, MCN and Live DMA facilitated a closed, invitation-only workshop later that afternoon. Over 30 experts from across Europe - representing cities, regions, networks, grassroots organisations, industry, research, and rights holders - took part in a structured co-creation process.

The workshop was designed to translate shared understanding into policy-relevant outcomes for the European Commission. Participants worked in rotating group rounds on three core questions:

• What concrete actions and policy interventions are needed at city and regional level to support local music ecosystems across Europe?

• What partnerships and collaboration models are required to connect regional music ecosystems more effectively?

• What shared tools, infrastructures, and conditions do cities and regions need to build a resilient and innovative European music ecosystem?

What emerged, consistently

1. Cities and regions should be recognised as system integrators in music policy

Cities and regions play a unique role in aligning cultural, social, educational and economic policy domains. Music policy is most effective when governance frameworks acknowledge this integrative function and support place-based coordination rather than isolated interventions.

2. Coordination capacity is a key enabling condition for impact

The panel highlighted the urgent need to recognise coordination capacity – including facilitation, stakeholder mapping, data collection and translation between policy and practice - as a core public function, not an ancillary activity. Sustainable impact depends on investing in the people and structures that maintain and connect ecosystems over time.

3. Project-based funding alone is insufficient

While pilot projects and innovation remain important, the panel identified a structural mismatch between project-driven funding models and the long-term nature of ecosystem development. Policy frameworks should better balance outputs with support for continuity, learning and ecosystem stewardship.

4. Cities and regions have complementary roles that require multi-level cooperation

Cities function as spaces for experimentation and proximity-based engagement, while regions are essential for scaling, continuity and alignment with education and funding systems. Effective music policy requires intentional cooperation across governance levels.

5. Networks function as ecosystem infrastructure

Transnational, regional, and city-based networks enable knowledge-sharing, peer learning, and institutional memory. They are essential for reducing fragmentation and aligning local practice with European objectives.

6. Rural areas are integral to ecosystem resilience

Rural and non-metropolitan contexts play a crucial role in creation, incubation, and experimentation. Stronger connections between rural and urban ecosystems are needed to ensure balanced development and circulation of talent.

7. Equity and access must be embedded as design principles

Without intentional governance design, music policies risk reproducing existing power imbalances and geographic disparities. Equity, representation and access should be integrated from the outset as structural criteria rather than treated as secondary objectives.

8. Music should be understood as civic infrastructure

The panel reinforced the view of music as a strategic public resource contributing to resilience, inclusion, wellbeing and democratic participation. Unlocking this potential requires governance frameworks that reflect music’s cross-sectoral nature and long-term societal value.

Why this matters for Europe

The dialogue in Groningen showed that Europe’s music ecosystem does not lack creativity, it’s already rich, diverse, and innovative. What it lacks is continuity, connection, and coherence across levels.

European policy can only translate into sustainable impact if cities and regions are recognised as strategic implementation partners, supported by long-term frameworks that prioritise capacity, learning, and collaboration over short-term interventions.

Networks like Music Cities Network are central to this work by connecting local action horizontally across territories and vertically across governance levels.

Looking ahead

The outcomes of this full day at ESNS will feed directly into ongoing dialogue with the European Commission, future Music Moves Europe discussions, and MCN’s long-term policy and advocacy work.

Because Europe’s music ecosystem does not scale from the top down.

It grows strongest when it grows from the ground up - and stays connected.