‘Musiconomy’: A Framework for the Socio-Economic Development of a Rural South African Context

Abstract

Local or regional socio-economic development is a buzzword that has gained prominence in recent times. The primary aim of adoption of the concept is to stimulate economic activity in a region or locality by creating new jobs and improving living standards. There are several theoretical lenses through which the concept can be viewed. The thesis statement for the current study is that in accordance with endogenous theory of development, effective economic growth hence socio economic development of a region or locality is possible through the use of its local resource. In this study, the focus is on musiconomy, where music is seen as the local resource (fulcrum) of local or regional socio-economic development. The study was aimed at developing an integrated framework that makes music a tool for socio-economic development in the South African rural context, focussing specifically on the Northern Cape Province. The study was exploratory descriptive, using qualitative methods for data collection and analysis. The major finding was that although literature supports the notion that local music talent can enhance the socio-economic emancipation of regions and musical talent abounds in the study area, this potential is not optimally exploited to the economic benefit of the area. It is, therefore, possible to enhance the musiconomy of the region through the proposed framework. The paper provides a novel framework that makes local musical talent a tool for the socio-economic development in the rural South African context. Critics can point to the apparent shortcomings inherent in case studies and qualitative studies. However, the study lays a solid foundation for wider scale studies that incorporate quantitative approaches as well.