Author(s)

Qinbei Xiao ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Department of Musicology, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Shanghai, 200032, China

Corresponding Author

Qinbei Xiao

ABSTRACT

Building on the increasingly topic of soundscape research in urban ethnomusicology, this article focuses on the city of Shanghai, China, as a case study to explore the cultural formation of "Shanghai-ness". Through extensive fieldwork and the analysis of two representative cases, including the spatial distribution of subcultural music venues and the institutional regulation of street performers, this study investigates how musical practices reflect broader urban dynamics. It argues that Shanghai's soundscape is shaped by a complex and evolving cultural tension involving both mainstream recognition and marginal creativity, as well as structured governance and grassroots expression. Rather than viewing these tensions as contradictions, the study interprets them as part of a dynamic cultural ecology that supports the city's vitality during ongoing social transformation. In conclusion, the article suggests that "Shanghai-ness" is not a fixed identity but a continuously negotiated process formed through the interaction of space, sound, and power within the urban context.

KEYWORDS

Soundscape; Shanhai-Ness; Subculture Music; Street Performer; Urban Ethnomusicology

CITE THIS PAPER

Qinbei Xiao, The Sonic Construction of 'Shanghai-Ness': Subcultural Music Venues and the Regulation of Street Performers. Art and Performance Letters (2025) Vol. 6: 1-8. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/artpl.2025.060301.

REFERENCES

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[2] Xue, Y. B. (2008) The Flowing Soundscape-A New Exploration of the Methodology of Music Geography. Journal of the Central Conservatory of Music, 1, 83-88. DOI:10.16504/j.cnki.cn11-1183/j.2008.01.009.
[3] Zhang, X. H. (2019) Place, Politics, and Soundscape: The Dissemination and Evolution of Northern Shaanxi Folk Songs in Modern Times. Journal of Yunnan University (Social Sciences Edition), 18(2), 37-46.
[4] Liu, Y. T., & Jiang, Y. W. (2022) The City in the Bell Sounds: The Role Transition and Place Attachment of the Hankow Customs Soundscape. Theoretical Monthly, 1, 79-87. DOI:10.14180/j.cnki.1004-0544.2022.01.009.
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[6] Luo, Q. (2021) On the "Four-Dimensional" Theory and Practice of Urban Music Research—Reinterpreting the Connotation and Extension of "Music Shanghai Studies". Music Art (Journal of Shanghai Conservatory of Music), 4, 6-25+4. DOI:10.19359/j.cn31-1004/j.2021.04.001.
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