"An affluent music scene keeps the city alive": Helsinki Live Music Census 2024 Report

In October 2024 we conducted the first ever live music census in Helsinki, as one of the five European Live Music Censuses, conducted by the OpenMusE research project and taking place simultaneously across European cities. We set up this report with an illustrative objective in order to provide an evaluation of the current health of the live music ‘ecology’ in Helsinki. The report sets out the Helsinki Census database figures and key findings, including a step-by-step depiction of the semi-localised methodological process conducted in Helsinki. Our methodology followed the template provided by UK’s first ever national live music census in 2017. In order to bridge an existing knowledge gap around the Helsinki live music ecology, the report draws mainly on survey data, both quantitative and qualitative, focusing on the relationships between the cultural and economic value of live music on the one hand and the current challenges facing the live music sector in Helsinki on the other. During a 24-hour snapshot period on 11 October a group of 13 volunteers and the two researchers working on the Helsinki Census collected data to map out different sectors of the live music scene in the city - from open mics to pub gigs, concert halls and theatres. Additionally, three online surveys were made available for venues and audiences in October 2024, before and after the snapshot date.