OpenMusE

On October 11^th, 2024 the first-ever European Live Music Census was conducted in six major European cities: Vilnius, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Helsinki and Lviv. The initiative aimed to measure the state of the European live music scene and to eventually inform future policies.

The European live music scene is enjoying a vibrant revival in the wake of the pandemic, with a packed calendar of festivals and concerts lined up for 2024 and beyond. Against this backdrop, researchers from the Horizon Europe project OpenMusE conducted the first-ever European Live Music Census on October 11, 2024.

The initiative documented a wide range of performances — from grassroots gigs and church choirs to pub shows and large-scale concerts — offering a comprehensive snapshot of live music across several cities. The Census also seeked to evaluate the economic and cultural value of live music and to identify the challenges faced by artists and venues – insights essential to paving the way for a thriving music ecosystem.

European cities collaborate in pioneering Live Music Census

“Five major European cities took part in this groundbreaking study: Heidelberg and Mannheim (Germany), Helsinki (Finland, in partnership with LiveFIN), Vilnius (Lithuania), and Lviv (Ukraine). In Lviv, Music Export Ukraine led research focused on how the city’s live music scene adapts amid the challenges of war. Despite these difficulties, Lviv’s live music culture has thrived through innovative security measures and cultural resilience, with venues like the Lower Hall of the Puppet Theater and FESTrepublic playing a key role in maintaining the city’s creative spirit and supporting local artists and audiences.

The Census is led by the OpenMusE project, with contributions from researchers at the University of Turku (Finland), the SINUS-Institute (Germany), Music Export Ukraine, and the Music Export Fund (Lithuania).

Running from January 2023 to December 2025, OpenMusE aims to strengthen the European music industry by fostering competitiveness, fairness, sustainability, and transparency. The project brings together stakeholders and researchers from 10 EU countries and Ukraine to develop tools for assessing the value of music and ensuring equitable compensation for creators.

Mapping live music’s impact: Data-driven approach to shaping Europe’s music future

Project coordinator James Rhys Edwards highlights the significance of this initiative: “Whether viewed through an economic or sociocultural lens, the live music sector is vital for everyone in the music ecosystem. Yet, a lack of data has made its impact challenging to quantify. This marks the first attempt to map live music activity across major European cities on a single day. The insights gained will guide policy decisions across Europe for years to come.”

The Census operated for 24 hours, starting at noon on October 11, 2024, collecting data on key aspects of live music, such as audience motivations, the importance of venues, spending habits, and travel distances. Inspired by the success of the 2017 UK Live Music Census, this European initiative aims to further support and develop a sustainable live music environment. An Aftermovie on the Live Music Census gives an insight into the music scenes of each city and can be viewed on the project website.

Links

Live Music Census Aftermovie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG4paNuWkp0&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.openmuse.eu%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.openmuse.eu&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE

How Lviv’s Live Music Scene Adapts Under Fire

https://www.openmuse.eu/how-lvivs-live-music-scene-adapts-under-fire/

Keywords

European Live Music Census, music ecosystem, post-pandemic music scene