“City of Music” is a designation given by UNESCO to a number of cities around the world "that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development," to promote cooperation among them and to help establish further music-related activities in the cities. The International Jazz Relay is a UNESCO Cities of Music project that celebrates the International Day of Jazz.

The Cities of Music network is a sub-network of the wider UNESCO Creative Cities Network, or UCCN. The UCCN launched in 2004, and has member cities in seven creative fields. The other fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, and Media Arts.