On Friday, I participated in an important meeting near the White House featuring representatives from the DC Deputy Mayor's office and the Washington DC Creative Economy Partnership (WDCEP). As part of a new Task Force convened to work with local government to elevate the DC Music both in the region and nationally, I was excited to see so many music community leaders present, discussing the various issues and opportunities before us.
The primary focus was on a pressing need - how to curate and promote a lineup of the best musicians and bands representing DC area music that will perform at an official DC showcase at SXSW in the Spring.
Several points of view were discussed - some felt we should be giving rising stars the national exposure as well as create a "home away from home" for festival attendees from DC, while others felt we needed bigger names, artists with DC roots who may no longer be based in the area (like Trouble Funk or Dave Grohl), in order to draw a more diverse crowd.
It brought up a larger issue, in that we need an infrastructure in the DC area that supports and nurtures musical talent, and allows them to stay here even after they've achieved national or international success. My thoughts on staying local and investing the local music ecosystem were publicized in a recently article written by Nicole Belanus for the Songwriters' Association of Washington (SAW). You can read the article
here.
I'm confident, with a Task Force comprised of artists, forward-thinking venue owners, community organizers, producers, managers, and more - all working in partnership with the DC government, we can assemble a fantastic group of artists and bands to play SXSW. More challenging, however, will be tackling the broader concerns about how government can help facilitate public and private sector support (financial and otherwise) for the local music economy - one in which the high cost of living and transient population make it challenging for music professionals.
Another challenge: teaching musicians to becoming astute businesspeople - learning how to maximize their potential from all available revenue streams and advocate for fair, but more favorable deals with venues as well as corporate partnerships. In the meeting, I offered to find a way to take elements of the
Music Business Strategy I provide my clients and offer them to the public as a government resource. Business education is key for musicians to achieve greater exposure and attract outside investment.
Also, we need to continue building the local music infrastructure - creating synergies amongst music creators, supporting industries, local government, and private companies - in order to build a more thriving music economy in the DC area - and keep the talent here!
One of the attendees suggested doing a SWOT Analysis (look it up if you don't know what it is). It got a few chuckles, but for some time, I have had all my consulting clients do this type of analysis from the artist perspective. We highlighted some of the challenges facing local musicians, and I asked the DC Deputy Mayor's committee if it would be willing to help remove some of the barriers facing the music community today - parking restrictions outside venues, noise ordinances, official festivals that don't pay musicians, busking restrictions on the Metro, etc. I didn't get a real response, but it was just our initial meeting, and these things will take time to sort through and address.
Overall, I'm optimistic about how this group might be able to foster a better local music economy. It has to be based on a win-win scenario - the recognition that arts (and not just fine arts a la the Smithsonian, but an indie music scene) are a proven driver for the economy, but we cannot pay lip service to the musicians driving it - there must be real, tangible investment in the music scene if this is to work.
