In conclusion, we shall offer two examples of contemporary Danish policies that explicitly address network relations and clustering.
The first example is the newly established Music Management education programs offered in the Rhythmical Conservatories in Copenhagen and Aarhus. This policy, which is funded nationally, is the first educational initiative related to the music industry that does not focus narrowly upon upgrading artistic competences, but rather upon educating persons who, while not being experts, are able to
coordinate experts, i.e., agents and firms in possession of different (artistic and “humdrum”)
competences. The programs, initiated in 2002 and 2003, respectively, are partly a result of a initiative taken by the conservatories themselves to expand upon their portfolio of activities at a time when the music industry enjoys increased national policy attention and, consequently, funding opportunities. Partly, the programs are also a result of a demand pull from the Danish record companies for better educated staff (as these companies offer only few in-job courses themselves). The programs are designed in cooperation with representatives from The Danish industrial body IFPI (representing the largest record companies), and with various concert arrangers. The programs are nested at the conservatories, and teaching is undertaken by their own staff; staff from the Business Schools in Copenhagen and Aarhus; plus industry representatives. Whereas the three-year full-time program offered in Copenhagen is a bachelor program aimed at introducing newcomers to the music industry, the two-year part-time program offered in Aarhus is a diploma program aimed at upgrading skills of persons already working within the industry. The primary outlets for those completing the programs are record companies (e.g., in A&R functions), or, to a lesser extent, concert arrangers (e.g., in music booking functions in clubs or festivals). Hence, these policy initiatives mainly address clustered network relations related to CD production and performance, as they aim at improve directly upon coordination between music marketing/distribution and song-writing/music performance in the Copenhagen and Aarhus clusters. Focusing upon teaching the skills to coordinate competencies of different agents, the Music Management programs are bound to have a larger positive effect upon networks and coordination than other educational initiatives related to the music industry, as these focus upon creating narrow artistic competencies. Nevertheless, the programs may be expected to have a limited impact for the music industry generally, as they are relevant mostly for a small industry
segment - the record companies (and predominantly for the major companies which can afford to
employ those with a bachelor degree or diploma in Music Management) -, and take in very few
students (6 in Copenhagen and 7 in Aarhus). Increasing the number of students, addressing a broader range of coordination problems related to the music industry in the courses, and supplementing with entrepreneurship training (increasing the spin-off potential of the programs) would arguably increase the future positive impacts of the Music Management educational programs.
The second example of Danish policies addressing networks and clusters is the Musicon Valley cluster initiative in Roskilde. Rather than targeting musical content and artistic activities in a narrow sense, this initiative is directed at the humdrum activities and supporting industries surrounding them. Created in 2001 as an alliance between local entrepreneurs originating from the Roskilde Festival, Roskilde county, Roskilde municipality, and local banks and educational institutions (notably, Roskilde University and Roskilde Technical School), the initiative spans broadly. It has four main pillars of activity. The first is establishing education related to the music industry, mainly, through a new media course at Roskilde University). The second is boosting local music industry, through offering courses, seminars, and technological services in collaboration with the local institutions CAT Science Park, Roskilde University, and Risø National Laboratory; and stimulating entrepreneurship through courses and the establishment of a local incubator for the music industry and related creative industries. The third pillar is propagating the development of Roskilde as a tourist attraction related to music, in collaboration with e.g. Roskilde Festival and Roskilde Museum. The last pillar of activity of Musicon Valley is raising the general level of cultural services in the Roskilde region, increasing the quality of music education at all levels and supporting concert venues, thus putting music “in the air”. Raising local funds and coordinating local firms and other agents, the Musicon Valley initiatives clearly aims at creating “cluster effects” within the music industry. The number of local artists as well as firms within the music industry, such as record companies or equipment producers is very limited, the Roskilde Festival being the major local player. Consequently, the impact of Musicon Valley upon clustered network relations is still, at this very early stage of development, modest. However, the initiative has already succeeded in influencing non-clustered (national) network relations positively: It has mediated a network relation between a non-local leading Danish producer of stage equipment (Martin, specialized in lighting and localized in Aarhus), the local Roskilde Festival, and the local Risø National Laboratory. The Musicon Valley secretariat attracted the interest of Martin on account of the participation of both the Festival (being a main national critical customer of stage equipment) and Risø (a leading research institution, with relevant competencies in e.g. optics and materials technology). Hence, it was the ability to mediate a network relation within the local cluster that made Musicon Valley able to create a national network relation with great commercial potential. Contrary to other Danish cluster initiatives targeting the creative industries (such as Louiz in Copenhagen), Musicon Valley hence facilitates national-level coordination between firms within the supporting industries, rather than addressing only the interface between artistic and “humdrum” activities. It should be noted, however, that where Musicon Valley does address this coordination interface between artistic competencies (the Festival) and non-artistic competencies (Risø), the network relation, depending upon clustering, is still local. While still in its infancy, the Musicon Valley initiative thus addresses network relations directly, and paradoxically, its impact may not only be local, but also national in scope, because it, apart from local network relations, also addresses networks that do not predominantly cluster.