For the last decade we have been engaged in the study of the history,
economics, and sociology of live music in Britain. In this article we
will consider the value of “ecology” as an analytic concept (rather than
just a buzzword) and compare an ecological account of the setting in
which music happens to the use of previous spatial metaphors, from
Durkheim’s milieus to Straw’s scenes. To illustrate our argument, we
present case studies of three Scottish concerts: one in a small-scale
venue (Glasgow’s King Tut’s), one in a mid-size venue (Edinburgh’s
Queen’s Hall), and one in a large-scale venue, the 12,000-seater SSE
Hydro.