Sharing Music in Public Spaces: Social Insights from the Musikiosk Project (Montreal, CA)

We argue for a reconsideration of the role of public sharing of music and technology in urban settings, based on the results of research involving an interactive sound installation.While current legislation prevents playing amplified music in public, with the support of a Montreal borough, we developed and installed a free, public sound system (Musikiosk) allowing users to play music into a pocket park off a busy commercial street. The park and system usage were systematically researched in an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods study. It combined observations, questionnaires and interviews with park users and residents, with audio recordings on site.Results indicate that users and non-users of the system evaluate Musikiosk as appropriate for the park and overall suitable for various types of urban public spaces. Respondents evaluate the possibilities for interaction that Musikiosk offers (as part of the music sharing process) as an essential advantage of the system, extending the range of park functions and encouraging different forms of social dynamics by also attracting new users. The positive reactions to Musikiosk show the need for a reevaluation of existing norms and regulations on public space use, particularly in relation to new forms of publicness through the sharing of music and technology.