What is a cluster? Geographies and practices in the experimental music scene in Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Cluster theories, and particularly theories on creative clustering, have assumed a highly static, self-contained and idealized idea of the Í€˜localÍ€™. Based on empirical evidence, and following a review of the arguments in favor and against this idea of the Í€˜localÍ€™, the article explores the experimental music scene in Santiago de Chile, as a case of a creative industry structured around an alternative spatiality. Specifically, we argue that under certain productive, cultural and urban conditions, creative industries can unfold around multiple, mobile and eventual spatialities without losing the expected cluster effeects. Finally, and only speculatively, we propose a new spatial structure for understanding the process of economic clustering in developing cities.

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