ABSTRACT
The interaction of music, business and peace is an emerging research topic among a small number of enterprising scholars. It largely seeks to combine the work being done in all three academic areas that might interconnect. In practice, the interrelationship between music (and the arts more generally), business and peace is perhaps best exemplified by the role of music in the Oslo Business for Peace Awards ceremony (OBPA). By examining the use of music at the OBPA, we can see elements of the existing theories of music, business and peace and their potential for other opportunities in practice.
This chapter will proceed as follows. A brief overview of the relevant business and peace literature will be presented in addition to that of some of the emerging literature about music, business and peace. Then, the Oslo Business for Peace Awards, award winners (called “Honorees”), and the role of music in the ceremony will be discussed, with a special focus on the Honorees. This examination will follow a case study methodology and is based on interviews with the relevant organizers of the OBPA ceremony and at the Business for Peace Foundation, a review of the past five OBPA ceremonies, interviews with some of the past OBPA honorees, a review of the relevant press coverage of the ceremony, and public documentation from the Business for Peace Foundation about the OPBA and the ceremony itself. The next section will highlight the relevant aspects of the emerging music, business and peace literature that emerge from the use of music at the OBPA ceremony. This chapter concludes with some thoughts on how the lessons of the OBPA ceremony might be applied in other contexts and ideas for future research.
