Is London living up to its UNESCO music designation? Some say the city's out of tune

Kendra Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: May 09, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Nearly 4 years aft London was named a UNESCO City of Music, immoderate of the city's euphony insiders accidental determination needs to beryllium a bigger propulsion to pull and clasp talent.

However, they accidental the effort needs to travel from radical extracurricular of the section euphony scene, including the City of London, the provincial authorities and different section businesses.

"I deliberation we are missing immoderate governmental will," said Graham Henderson, the president of the London Chamber of Commerce connected CBC's London Morning this week.

"Most of these cities of civilization are treated similar gems by the jurisdictions successful which they reside, and cities astir the satellite person leveraged this designation to get tons of backing to enactment it," said Henderson, who was the erstwhile president of Music Canada. 

London was named Canada's archetypal and lone UNESCO euphony metropolis successful 2021, joining 74 different cities worldwide, including Salvador, Spain, and Daegu, Korea.

Embracing the City of Music designation volition assistance London's economical development, assemblage engagement, occupation creation, endowment retention and municipality growth, Henderson said, which successful crook tin assistance marque the city.

"It's astir the enactment of an ecosystem," said Cory Crossman, the manager of the London Music Office. "Music is the catalyst that we usage to interruption unfastened the doorway for each the originative industries."

In bid for the euphony manufacture to thrive, Fanshawe College Music Industry Arts (MIA) programme coordinator Dan Brodbeck said municipal, provincial and national governments request to enactment it financially done grants and peculiar projects. 

"You request wealth to bash worldly similar this," said Brodbeck. "It takes people, government, etc., wanting to invest."

"Investing successful the metropolis is what you're doing," helium said. "Art funds the city, it brings radical to the city, it keeps radical successful the city."

Keeping artists in London

When applying to beryllium a City of Music, cities person to item the acquisition opportunities, large events, applicable venues, peculiar projects and cardinal communities that already lend to the section scene, according to the latest UNESCO Creative Cities Network application. They besides request to outline goals they would similar to implicit astatine some a metropolis and planetary level.

Some of London's goals see supporting pupil euphony talent, moving with the movie industry, participating successful planetary exchanges and hosting large euphony conferences. 

Despite those initiatives, Brodbeck said galore artists who started retired successful London are leaving.

"The centre of the euphony manufacture itself is successful Toronto. That's conscionable reality," Brodbeck said. "That utilized to beryllium the lone way backmost successful the aged days, and I deliberation that's wherefore truthful galore radical travel done the [MIA] programme and instantly permission because…they'll say, 'I've got to spell wherever it takes me.'"

Crossman said determination is simply a quality betwixt being a UNESCO City of Music and a fashionable euphony destination, utilizing chap euphony metropolis Hannover, Germany, arsenic an example. 

"The epicentre of the German manufacture is successful Berlin, but Hannover is utilizing the designation arsenic a commitment," helium said. "It isn't the centre of the euphony industry, but they're playing an incredibly important relation successful processing that euphony individuality and the euphony system for Germany."

The aforesaid tin beryllium said for London successful examination to Toronto, Crossman said, with London's relation arsenic a post-secondary euphony acquisition hub and a portion wherever musicians are paid to beryllium portion of city-run festivals and campaigns. 

Brodbeck said amplifying these and different artist-focused initiatives tin support endowment successful the city, particularly successful a clip erstwhile distant enactment opportunities and at-home signaling is much accessible.

Improved venue 'ladder' could support local, bring planetary artists to town

Henderson said the metropolis needs much spaces to execute and foster music, including a superior hub successful the downtown core.

"A hub brings radical together," Henderson said. "So it's a buzzy spot wherever determination would beryllium signaling studios, rehearsal spaces, show places and truthful forth."

He said a mid-size metropolis similar London needs to person a venue "ladder" to entice antithetic levels of artists to travel through. 

That's presently a situation for Jones Entertainment Group (JEG) president Brad Jones erstwhile it comes to booking big-name planetary artists successful the city, who lone privation to play to ample crowds.

JEG is partnering with the London International Airport and the Western University Students' Council to big a caller 25,000-person capableness festival astatine the airdrome successful September, arsenic 1 solution.

"It conscionable gives america an accidental to bring successful larger entertainers for radical present successful Southwestern Ontario," helium said.

Jones said the metropolis besides needs to upkeep the downtown area, arsenic larger artists person the accidental to bring performance goers from retired of town.

"I deliberation we tin showcase ourselves, but we conscionable request to enactment the clip and effort into cleaning up," Jones said.