The meaning venue owners and managers of nightclubs ascribe to their experiences of music curationThe meaning venue owners and managers of nightclubs ascribe to their experiences of music curation

Abstract

Music curation is an increasingly prominent theme in contemporary literature. Curators and intermediaries make it easier for consumers to navigate a saturated marketplace while also creating brands through their unique selections of goods. Curation has become a popular field for interpretation of today's cultural market, especially in relation to music. However, the processes whereby venues such as nightclubs, for which music is indispensable, curate their unique musical assemblage remains unclear. This case study explored the meanings venue owners and managers (VOMs) of nightclubs ascribed to their experiences of music curation for their establishments. Curation processes that musically shape six nightclubs in a South African student town, Noka, were examined. Popular and scholarly studies of music often underestimate the role that venues such as nightclubs play in creating and maintaining specific music scenes. An emic account of VOMs' curatorial decisions elucidated features of the performance context for which they are curating. This research comprised a qualitative inquiry to address this knowledge gap. In this case study, I determined how the participants' experiences and strategies, in the context for which they curate music, shaped their musical curation processes. Open-ended interviews formed the basis for the data collection process. An emergent research design was followed, and findings were interpreted with the aid of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software, Atlas.ti 22. The study revealed that nightclubs are intrinsically embedded in their surrounding community's culture. VOMs have subjective approaches to musical curation that tend to rely on their instincts. Many people and technologies are involved in musical curation. Music scenes are valued by VOMs during curation and used as a tool to understand their patrons' culture. VOMs in Noka discerned between two groups of students, namely, the alternative and the commercial. This study emphasised the importance of keeping abreast of trends as a VOM. Despite a symbiotic relationship among nightclubs in Noka, there is competition for patronage among venues. Nightclubs are fundamentally businesses that must remain financially viable and the curation processes of VOMs are shaped by this principle.