From Gigs to Giggs: politics, law and live music

This paper explores what it means to talk of live music as a right. It does so by looking at the ways in which courts and other actors constitute music as a political entity to which such rights might be attached. It considers two case studies. The first is the cancellation of a tour by the UK grime artist Giggs; the second is the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Drawing upon the work ofPaul Chevigny, the article argues that in both instances we can see music being constituted as ‘‘political’’, where this entails the recognition or denial of particular rights claims.