Together with Popcoalitie, a partnership of several affiliated organisations in the Dutch pop sector, researchers from Inholland University of Applied Sciences, have drawn up a new research and innovation agenda for the pop-music industry. In it, the most pressing themes and issues that need research or innovation, are being mapped out. This new agenda was presented to the organisations affiliated with the Popcoalitie on 12 April. The next step is to be a matchmaking meeting that will be held on 6 June. Organised with the support of CLICKNL, the aim of the meeting is to form cooperatives that want to start up research or innovation projects.

Post-COVID impulse
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the music industry was clearly in need of a fresh impulse. The shutting down of live pop music during the pandemic had major repercussions for creatives, organisations and employees in the sector. It also highlighted issues that had been ongoing for some time before the pandemic, such as fair compensation for creatives, the vulnerable employment situation faced by employees and their irregular working hours. At the same time, the pandemic also forced the industry to experiment with new revenue models, such as hybrid and online performances. With the venues, clubs and festivals once again open, the industry is now having to contend with serious staff shortages, and this has further increased the already high workload on employees. And all this against the continuing backdrop of social issues, such as inclusion, diversity, climate change and digital developments.

Setting an example for other sectors
Koos Zwaan, Associate Professor of Innovation in the International Music Industry at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, feels strongly that the social impact that music has on the pop sector serves as an example for other sectors. ‘Music has the power to connect and visualise and for many people it even plays a key role in their identity,’ he insists. ‘Exploiting the power of this connection and visualisation so that it impacts social issues calls for smart collaboration initiatives between the pop sector and knowledge partners, such as higher vocational education institutions and universities. And this can be achieved through research and innovation projects that provide an impulse to innovation and collaboration in the industry.’ In the International Music Industry Lab, which is actually led by Koos Zwaan, Inholland is working with partners from the field on projects exactly like these.

Research and innovation themes
Themes in the research and innovation agenda have been developed with input collected from representatives across the whole pop sector during various working sessions. Input was also harvested from visitors at the Congress Podia Festivals Evenementen (in September 2022), No Man’s Land (December 2022) and Eurosonic Noorderslag (January 2023).
Its main themes are: talent development, professionalisation, inclusion & diversity, new digital technology & business models, mental & physical well-being, the societal impact of pop music, climate impact and internationalisation. The full agenda can be downloaded from the website. 

Speaking on behalf of the day-to-day management of Popcoalitie, Martijn Kramers says that its agenda offers opportunities for innovative solutions that will strengthen the industry and underscore a healthy and sustainable music ecosystem. ‘You need look no further, for example, than fair practices for all stakeholders, inclusivity for employees and the sustainability of activities. In fact, everything that forms part of the value chain of the Netherlands’ pop-music sector.’

Matchmaking
The next step is to bring together parties from the broader field of pop music, researchers from other universities and universities of applied sciences, as well as parties that can finance collaborative projects. To this end, Inholland and the Popcoalitie, supported by CLICKNL, are organising a matchmaking meeting. The objective of this meeting is to form partnerships that will focus on questions from the agenda and that will initiate further research and develop and implement innovations for, and with, the pop sector. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, 6 June, 2023 in the A-lab in Amsterdam.

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