Abstract:
Place branding, more specifically city branding has become a contemporary fixture in urban policy. With this has come ‘creative city’ policy that emphasises culture and the commodification of it as a means of selling place. Parallel to these shifts has also been
the development of the Creative Cities Network by the United Nations, a means of creating networks for collaboration and knowledge share, but also ultimately, as a means of branding. This study uses Auckland, New Zealand’s UNESCO city of music title as a starting point from which to attain a more authentic conception of Auckland as a city of music, one that is not based on ‘creative city’ initiatives. Using a value based approach to authenticity allows a heterotopic understanding of Auckland as a cyber-city of music, one that is globally connected through the internet and informed at all times by the subsequent local/global tensions. This blurring of geographic boundaries is ultimately pivotal in informing future policy direction in urban music policy.