Pacey Foster

My research focuses on the connections among social, economic and regional dynamics in creative industries. I am particularly interested in how networks at one level of analysis (e.g., among individuals) affect the structure of networks at higher levels of analysis (e.g., among organizations and industry sectors). My early research identified how nightclub talent buyers use their social networks to manage the uncertainties and risks associated with booking bands. I wrote the first academic history of Boston hip-hop and conduced a benchmark study on the local film and television industry which was funded by a Creative Economy Initiatives Grant from the University of Massachusetts. In 2014, I launched the Massachusetts Hip Hop archive with the Special Collections at UMass Boston and worked with the Massachusetts Cultural Council on an evaluation of the Adams Arts Program.