SWOT Analysis of Community Music

Strengths

• Its ordinariness.
• Its power.
• Its biological underpinning (everybody wants to do it).
• Its ease of implementation (virtually no resources required).

Weaknesses

• No commonly held sense of identity or purpose.
• Confusion / argument about what it ‘is’.
• ‘Fear of judgment’ – many have been convinced that they can’t do it.
• Loss of a common repertoire.

Opportunities

• Development of public policy in the areas of health promotion (wellbeing) and social inclusion (belonging).
• Shift in education perspectives (multiple intelligences, civics, community engagement).
• Scientific research (particularly neuroscience).
• DIY-type attitudes.

Threats

• Commodification.
• Trivialisation / marginalisation.
• Invisibility.
• Public outcome fetishism.
• Appropriation.
• ‘Expertism’ (& public policy focus on professionalisation).
• ‘Excellence’ obsession.

Author

Jon Hawkes