Shain Shapiro, PhD

Shain Shapiro is a globally recognised thought leader at the convergence of music, culture and urban policy. This is showcased in his debut book, This Must Be The Place: How Music Can Make Your City Better, due out on Repeater Books in September 2023.

Shain has defined a new way to think about the value of music in cities and places and through it, influenced over 120 cities and places to invest in music and culture as founder and executive chairman of Sound Diplomacy and founder and executive director of the not-for-profit global Center for Music Ecosystems.

He has authored authoritative reports on the role of music in cities, tourism, the night time economy, real estate and recovery, including the most extensive guide to music and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ever written, in partnership with the United Nations. He has spoken at hundreds of global conventions, such as SXSW and the UN World Urban Forum and delivered the first ever TEDx talk on music’s role in cities. He is also the recipient of Folk Alliance International’s Spirit of Folk Award in 2022.

Shain holds a PhD from the University of London and lives in East London, and is leading a module on music policy at the Harvard-affiliated Global Leaders Institute. He has also authored a course with Berklee College of Music on international music export, and helped create the Momentum Music Fund in England.