Tallinn
Estonia’s capital Tallinn is one of the cultural centres of the Baltic Sea region. Tallinn’s accessible and cosmopolitan musical identity developed since the Middle Ages when Tallinn was a part of the Hanseatic League. Music has always played an important role in Estonian identity with an emphasis on revolutionary, inspirational songs. Tallinn carried out a music sector mapping study, completed in December 2020, which found that the music sector represents an important sector in terms of employment and turnover. In the city, over 1,500 organizations and companies in the music sector have been registered with the total employment of almost 2,500 people. In 2018, the music sector’s overall annual turnover was over USD 173 million and profits over USD 11.12 million. Tallinn accounts thus for approximately 70% of the entire national music sector. Tallinn is home to a number of world class music institutions such as Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, National Opera, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, as well as festivals including Song and Dance Celebration, Tallinn Music Week, Birgitta Festival, Jazzkaar, Estonian Music Days, and others. Tallinn has also left its mark on the world of music through talented musicians from classical to jazz, from pop to metal, from folk to rock.
As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important: • Strengthening cooperation in the field of music with other UCCN member cities and supporting international mobility of musicians and other music professionals; • Integrating culture and creativity, and particularly music into the city´s development strategies and making music more accessible and available for all people; • Encouraging children’s and youth’s participation in music culture, recognizing and supporting talent and creating opportunities for a new generation of musicians and music lovers; • Developing music entrepreneurship and supporting digital innovation in the music industry; and • Actively contributing to and participating in initiatives of other member cities and proactively becoming a recognized platform for music industry sustainability discourse globally.
