“Bollywood” and “Broadway” are examples of creative districts with strong brand equity. This paper reflects on the possibility that place brands are local externalities. It postulates that branding power is highest in markets for symbolically-differentiated goods including agriculture, wine and creative products. A theory of place brands as “judgement devices” (Karpik, 2010) is offered, whereby the place brand serves to facilitate the ranking of products that are not fundamentally comparable. This theory is considered in the context of a digital music market, an area where transaction costs to consumption are presumed to be higher. Results indicate that artists who use place brands are more successful, but the benefits of branding may be most profound for already successful musicians.