After holding the County Music Assocation Awards in New York last year, the CMA is moving them back to Nashville for the 40th anniversary of the awards. The challenge is how to stay visible in major markets when country stations are being eliminated.
Show's back here, but CMA still savors Big Apple - Wednesday, 08/30/06: "The CMA Songwriter Series at Joe's Pub also has kept country artists and writers in front of New York audiences: Tuesday night's edition of that series featured Jon Randall, Lori McKenna, Jamie O'Neal and Jo Dee Messina.
"Despite — or maybe because of — the fact that New York still doesn't have a major FM radio station devoted to the country format, the CMA continues to develop East Coast media contacts that were sparked by last year's show....
"'We're going to beef up our marketing and advertising in New York and in Los Angeles because we don't have the normal outlet of communicating to country fans, which is radio,' [Country Music Association chief Tammy] Genovese said.
"L.A. country station KZLA recently switched formats, meaning that three of the nation's prime markets — New York, L.A. and San Francisco — have no major country station.
"'We hate that,' Genovese said. 'It's devastating to our format. L.A. and New York are top sales markets for our music, and it's astonishing that corporations would make the decision not to feature this music.'"
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Venues are the key
The future of the music business is live music. You can't pirate it.
But to get people to come to shows, you have to give them a memorable experience.
I think venues are the key to that experience. Unfortunately, many venues fold because of poor business practices.
I've been looking for some online resources on venue operation. There's not too much out there, but here is one.
How To Start A Coffeehouse
But to get people to come to shows, you have to give them a memorable experience.
I think venues are the key to that experience. Unfortunately, many venues fold because of poor business practices.
I've been looking for some online resources on venue operation. There's not too much out there, but here is one.
How To Start A Coffeehouse
Monday, August 28, 2006
A Destination Marketing Resource
Destination marketing is marketing a place/city/location to attract tourists and visitors. Both Austin, Texas and Branson, Missouri have used music as a primary element in their branding compaigns.
Here's a white paper on best practices in destination marketing.
Here's a white paper on best practices in destination marketing.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Branding a location
This article points out the challenge for any location-based group hoping to market itself. Often the people involved have different agendas and therefore can't agree upon a brand, theme, or project.
Mapping a Country's Future: "Professor Nicolas Papadopoulos of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University in Ottawa, believes the most important challenges currently facing place branding are 'lack of unity of purpose, difficulty in establishing actionable and measurable objectives, lack of authority over inputs and control over outputs, restricted flexibility, and relative lack of marketing know-how.' Consider the following examples:
"- Place marketing involves multiple stakeholders, often with competing interests. Trying to market a country to tourists as a mountain hideaway inhabited by rustic peasants may not serve the interests of those wishing to promote the country’s budding industrial infrastructure to foreign investors.
"- Measuring the effectiveness of place marketing is fraught with difficulties. The decision of a multinational firm to locate a plant in an offshore country may have little or nothing to do with promotional activities by members of the host country. Likewise, trying to measure success in meeting broad objectives, not to mention identifying the separate contributions to marketing outcome, can be a nightmare.
"- Unlike product branding, place branding is seldom under the control of a central authority. Government or industry associations are rarely in a position to dictate policy to stakeholders.
"- Marketers have far less control over place brands than over product brands. Besides country marketing campaigns, people may learn about a country in school; from media sources (including newspapers, books, TV and movies); from purchases; and from trips abroad or from contact with citizens or former residents."
Mapping a Country's Future: "Professor Nicolas Papadopoulos of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University in Ottawa, believes the most important challenges currently facing place branding are 'lack of unity of purpose, difficulty in establishing actionable and measurable objectives, lack of authority over inputs and control over outputs, restricted flexibility, and relative lack of marketing know-how.' Consider the following examples:
"- Place marketing involves multiple stakeholders, often with competing interests. Trying to market a country to tourists as a mountain hideaway inhabited by rustic peasants may not serve the interests of those wishing to promote the country’s budding industrial infrastructure to foreign investors.
"- Measuring the effectiveness of place marketing is fraught with difficulties. The decision of a multinational firm to locate a plant in an offshore country may have little or nothing to do with promotional activities by members of the host country. Likewise, trying to measure success in meeting broad objectives, not to mention identifying the separate contributions to marketing outcome, can be a nightmare.
"- Unlike product branding, place branding is seldom under the control of a central authority. Government or industry associations are rarely in a position to dictate policy to stakeholders.
"- Marketers have far less control over place brands than over product brands. Besides country marketing campaigns, people may learn about a country in school; from media sources (including newspapers, books, TV and movies); from purchases; and from trips abroad or from contact with citizens or former residents."
One small town's successful music festival
The South Park Music Festival is happening this year from September 7-10. Just three years old, it's already quite successful in terms of industry support, press coverage, and band applications. Here's an article from last year giving some history of the festival and some of the challenges to putting it on.
I'll be doing my own interview with founder/executive director Matt Fecher very soon.
PopMatters Music Feature | Rocky Mountain High Hopes: South Park Music Festival 2005: "As a financial lure, festivals of any stripe offer a quick infusion of out-of-town cash and tourism opportunities into the local economy, and help cement a town's reputation as a worthwhile destination in the future. The problem Fairplay faces is that it's hardly a vacation hotspot in its natural state. A small, sleepy town in the vast open valley of Park County (an area roughly the size of Delaware), it doesn't have the one key ingredient critical to big mountain bucks: a ski resort."
I'll be doing my own interview with founder/executive director Matt Fecher very soon.
PopMatters Music Feature | Rocky Mountain High Hopes: South Park Music Festival 2005: "As a financial lure, festivals of any stripe offer a quick infusion of out-of-town cash and tourism opportunities into the local economy, and help cement a town's reputation as a worthwhile destination in the future. The problem Fairplay faces is that it's hardly a vacation hotspot in its natural state. A small, sleepy town in the vast open valley of Park County (an area roughly the size of Delaware), it doesn't have the one key ingredient critical to big mountain bucks: a ski resort."
Thursday, August 24, 2006
A great guide on podcasting
Podcasting still has a limited market and may never be the best way to promote an event or local music scene. But if you're thinking about using it as one of your tools, here's the best guide I have seen on the subject.
MarketingSherpa > SPECIAL REPORT: MarketingSherpa's Practical Podcasting Guide for Marketers: "Podcasting is about to celebrate its second birthday and we don't know of a marketer out there who isn't at least mulling over the possibilities.
Here's our handy guide, including:
o Surprising data on listener demographics
o 3 Mistakes to avoid
o 5 Rules for podcast content
o 4 Tips to create commercials that get results
Plus, loads of handy hotlinks for vendors, blogs and info:"
MarketingSherpa > SPECIAL REPORT: MarketingSherpa's Practical Podcasting Guide for Marketers: "Podcasting is about to celebrate its second birthday and we don't know of a marketer out there who isn't at least mulling over the possibilities.
Here's our handy guide, including:
o Surprising data on listener demographics
o 3 Mistakes to avoid
o 5 Rules for podcast content
o 4 Tips to create commercials that get results
Plus, loads of handy hotlinks for vendors, blogs and info:"
The American Folk Festival
Bangor Daily News, 8/24/06 - Folk fest organizers optimistic: "The American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront is a three-year commitment on the part of the city, and while everyone agrees that it's 'here to stay,' no one encourages seeing the festival as a 'sure thing.'
"As Ryder pointed out, it takes work.
"Three full-time staff members are employed throughout the year, and 750 volunteers help at the festival, which has a budget of about $1 million.
"'Once the festival changes from a novelty to part of the fabric of the community, it has reached a new level of permanence, at least in our expectations,' said Heather McCarthy, executive director of the American. 'If people know to count on us, it can be a positive thing. But they need to realize that we don't need to raise the money once. We need to raise it every year. If people assume it will happen, they may not step forward to make it happen.'
"McCarthy said she keeps her eye on three possible plateaus that could level off in the course of time: attendance, enthusiasm and funding."
"As Ryder pointed out, it takes work.
"Three full-time staff members are employed throughout the year, and 750 volunteers help at the festival, which has a budget of about $1 million.
"'Once the festival changes from a novelty to part of the fabric of the community, it has reached a new level of permanence, at least in our expectations,' said Heather McCarthy, executive director of the American. 'If people know to count on us, it can be a positive thing. But they need to realize that we don't need to raise the money once. We need to raise it every year. If people assume it will happen, they may not step forward to make it happen.'
"McCarthy said she keeps her eye on three possible plateaus that could level off in the course of time: attendance, enthusiasm and funding."
Creating the right live music experience
This article has an interesting take on how to use entertainment to reinforce your brand.
Applying these concepts to location-based marketing, think about what makes your city or location unique and then tailor your local music events to match.
How to Create Effective Brand-Driven Entertainment Content for the Web: "Some people confuse the concepts of brand-driven entertainment and 'branded' entertainment. To me, branded entertainment means you've created something that's fun, then you put your brand on it, not unlike painting a logo on a racecar. This could work fine for sponsoring a race, but it doesn't make sense as an interactive Web experience; it's too obvious and superficial.
"True brand-driven Web entertainment involves focusing on the core elements that define a brand, then designing the whole experience from scratch to reinforce the brand in fun yet subtle ways.
"To do this right, boil down your brand essence to three or four key points, and use them as a kind of filter for all your creative brainstorming."
Applying these concepts to location-based marketing, think about what makes your city or location unique and then tailor your local music events to match.
How to Create Effective Brand-Driven Entertainment Content for the Web: "Some people confuse the concepts of brand-driven entertainment and 'branded' entertainment. To me, branded entertainment means you've created something that's fun, then you put your brand on it, not unlike painting a logo on a racecar. This could work fine for sponsoring a race, but it doesn't make sense as an interactive Web experience; it's too obvious and superficial.
"True brand-driven Web entertainment involves focusing on the core elements that define a brand, then designing the whole experience from scratch to reinforce the brand in fun yet subtle ways.
"To do this right, boil down your brand essence to three or four key points, and use them as a kind of filter for all your creative brainstorming."
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Live music as an experience
The key to developing strong local music scenes will be, more than ever, giving people unique experiences which cannot be found at home or in other leisure time activities.
TIME Europe Magazine: Jun. 26, 2006 -- Bands and Brands: "...at a time when technology is forcing the recorded sector to rethink the fundamentals of how music is produced, consumed and paid for, increasingly it's the communal experience of a concert that consumers are willing to splurge on — and companies want to be associated with. As lead sponsors of the Academy Music Group's eight medium-sized venues across Britain and a giant duel-sited rock festival, Carling is in the right place at the right time. As the biggest single investor in British live music, Carling spends around $13 million a year promoting it. 'Live music in the U.K. is in an absolutely strong place,' says Martin Coyle, head of sponsorship for Coors. 'Three million people are going through the venues each year, and the Carling Weekend sold out within a day.' "
TIME Europe Magazine: Jun. 26, 2006 -- Bands and Brands: "...at a time when technology is forcing the recorded sector to rethink the fundamentals of how music is produced, consumed and paid for, increasingly it's the communal experience of a concert that consumers are willing to splurge on — and companies want to be associated with. As lead sponsors of the Academy Music Group's eight medium-sized venues across Britain and a giant duel-sited rock festival, Carling is in the right place at the right time. As the biggest single investor in British live music, Carling spends around $13 million a year promoting it. 'Live music in the U.K. is in an absolutely strong place,' says Martin Coyle, head of sponsorship for Coors. 'Three million people are going through the venues each year, and the Carling Weekend sold out within a day.' "
Applying for a grant
Here's a helpful guide about raising event/concert money through grants and similar fundraising operations.
Music Network - Factsheets for Promoters, Writing a Successful Funding Application
Music Network - Factsheets for Promoters, Writing a Successful Funding Application
Pricing and selling tickets
Here's a great resource with tips on how to price and sell tickets to music events.
Music Network - Factsheets for Promoters, Tickets - Selling and Pricing
Music Network - Factsheets for Promoters, Tickets - Selling and Pricing
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Why mobile technology is youth-focused
This study explains why some companies are so gung-ho about developing mobile products and content for kids and teens. It's not so much about what they are buying today as it is about what they might buy over a lifetime. If you accept this, then your mobile content will skew young.
Wasn't that the thinking behind the Joe Camel campaign? Get them while they are young.
Report: Youth Are Key To Mobile Growth - Research & Tools News by InformationWeek: "The average 10-year-old will spend almost $30,000 on mobile services in a lifetime and the youth market is shaping mobile technology markets, according to an annual study recently released by Wireless World Forum.
The 2006 Mobile Youth report argues that the relationship between young people and mobile technology is critical but often overlooked. Young consumers are driving innovations like text messaging, mobile music and mobile radio, according to the study, which states that new data services are the most important factor in reversing long-term declines in mature mobile markets like North America and Northeast Asia."
Wasn't that the thinking behind the Joe Camel campaign? Get them while they are young.
Report: Youth Are Key To Mobile Growth - Research & Tools News by InformationWeek: "The average 10-year-old will spend almost $30,000 on mobile services in a lifetime and the youth market is shaping mobile technology markets, according to an annual study recently released by Wireless World Forum.
The 2006 Mobile Youth report argues that the relationship between young people and mobile technology is critical but often overlooked. Young consumers are driving innovations like text messaging, mobile music and mobile radio, according to the study, which states that new data services are the most important factor in reversing long-term declines in mature mobile markets like North America and Northeast Asia."
Have advertisers promote your music scene for you
Toyota featured "tours" of Austin and Los Angeles as part of its advertising.
MediaPost Publications - Cross-Media Case Study: Culture Club - 08/22/2006: "The Yaris microsite provides more reasons to spend time with the brand: music downloads, virtual tours in a Yaris of hot neighborhoods in Austin and Los Angeles, buddy icons, and screensavers.
"'The goal was to provide consumers with a virtual test drive to some of the coolest streets of major U.S. cities, calling out upbeat indie venues along the way,' says Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight. Consumers can interact with vehicle demonstrations, download tracks from local artists, and get guides to cool spots in every city. Toyota dedicated 12 percent of the Yaris media buy to interactive media."
MediaPost Publications - Cross-Media Case Study: Culture Club - 08/22/2006: "The Yaris microsite provides more reasons to spend time with the brand: music downloads, virtual tours in a Yaris of hot neighborhoods in Austin and Los Angeles, buddy icons, and screensavers.
"'The goal was to provide consumers with a virtual test drive to some of the coolest streets of major U.S. cities, calling out upbeat indie venues along the way,' says Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight. Consumers can interact with vehicle demonstrations, download tracks from local artists, and get guides to cool spots in every city. Toyota dedicated 12 percent of the Yaris media buy to interactive media."
Monday, August 21, 2006
New media still has limited reach
This Advertising Age article summarizes a number of recent studies which say that the majority of people still get most of their news and brand information from traditional sources rather than new media. If you want to reach a wide group of people, don't depend on new media alone, although some online or mobile campaigns generated enough buzz that they get picked up by newspapers, magazines, television, etc.
Advertising Age, 8/20/06 - Marketing Reality Check: Blogs, Pods, RSS: "Consider: According to Jupiter Research, 7% of American adults write blogs and 22% read them; about 8% listen to podcasts and 5% use RSS feeds. According to a separate study by WorkPlace Print Media, 88% of the at-work audience doesn't even know what RSS is. And recent data from word-of-mouth research group Keller Fay indicate 92% of brand conversations were taking place offline -- far more than the commonly assumed rate of 80%.
"'We understand that while they're powerful new tools, the bulk of human interaction is still high-touch rather than high-tech,' said Brad Fay, chief operating officer at Keller Fay."
Advertising Age, 8/20/06 - Marketing Reality Check: Blogs, Pods, RSS: "Consider: According to Jupiter Research, 7% of American adults write blogs and 22% read them; about 8% listen to podcasts and 5% use RSS feeds. According to a separate study by WorkPlace Print Media, 88% of the at-work audience doesn't even know what RSS is. And recent data from word-of-mouth research group Keller Fay indicate 92% of brand conversations were taking place offline -- far more than the commonly assumed rate of 80%.
"'We understand that while they're powerful new tools, the bulk of human interaction is still high-touch rather than high-tech,' said Brad Fay, chief operating officer at Keller Fay."
Thursday, August 17, 2006
A recommended local music podcast
Bostonist: Wednesday Webcast Review: Band In Boston: "The Band In Boston podcast is a podcast, of course, about music. What this podcast does is provide the listener with suggestions of local music to check out in the upcoming week. In addition, they will often play selections of music from the artists which they are recommending that week. ... They will also feature exclusive live performances from their living room. These live performances definitely provide the frosting on the oh-so-delicious cake.
"Like we said, the show is all about Boston. It doesn't get any better than that. Well, actually it does, as the hosts, Andy and Jen, are fantastic as well. They are extremely knowledgeable of the local music scene and provide many amusing moments in addition to sharing all that musical wisdom. The show does slant towards the indie-rock scene, but having some focus is not a bad thing at all. We just hope more 'casts like this spring up for other musical genres. The Hip-Hip In Boston podcast would be great. Any takers?
"If you haven't guessed it, we are completely enamored with this podcast. We wish all podcasts could provide us with this amount of joy. If you enjoy supporting local music acts and venues, then you need this podcast. Yes, we said need. And with that, we say, 'Thank you Andy and Jen, Boston needed this podcast.'"
"Like we said, the show is all about Boston. It doesn't get any better than that. Well, actually it does, as the hosts, Andy and Jen, are fantastic as well. They are extremely knowledgeable of the local music scene and provide many amusing moments in addition to sharing all that musical wisdom. The show does slant towards the indie-rock scene, but having some focus is not a bad thing at all. We just hope more 'casts like this spring up for other musical genres. The Hip-Hip In Boston podcast would be great. Any takers?
"If you haven't guessed it, we are completely enamored with this podcast. We wish all podcasts could provide us with this amount of joy. If you enjoy supporting local music acts and venues, then you need this podcast. Yes, we said need. And with that, we say, 'Thank you Andy and Jen, Boston needed this podcast.'"
MyCityRocks
Marketing to the MySpace Generation: "In October 2003, I created something called Houston Rocks! as an experiment in promoting the Houston art and music scene and in building a new kind of community on top of an Internet-based social network. The Houston Rocks! experiment became a huge success in the Houston area, but I realized that as a single-city endeavor it was limited in potential. So, in 2005, I expanded the concept into the development of the MyCityRocks testbed, with multiple objectives."
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Blogging to promote tourism
"Doing Indy," is a weekly video podcast produced for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association as a way to reach 25- to 40-year-olds. While this article doesn't mention local music, something along these lines could be developed to promote local music scenes.
Indystar.com, 8/16/06 - Tourism podcast: the joke's on us "[Seth] Hancock's podcasts are growing in popularity. More than 7,200 people watched episodes of 'Doing Indy' in July, a nearly fourfold increase from downloads of the first four episodes, which hit the Web site in April.
"The show is helping the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association reach out to a younger, hipper demographic.
"'We're extending the city to an audience that might traditionally not pick up a brochure or request a visitor's guide but are tuned in to where to go this weekend, what to do,' said Bob Schultz, a spokesman for the visitors association.
"'Doing Indy' was a finalist in the travel category at the People's Choice Podcast Awards, a second-year contest seeking out the most promising talent in the new and emerging field of online video distribution."
Indystar.com, 8/16/06 - Tourism podcast: the joke's on us "[Seth] Hancock's podcasts are growing in popularity. More than 7,200 people watched episodes of 'Doing Indy' in July, a nearly fourfold increase from downloads of the first four episodes, which hit the Web site in April.
"The show is helping the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association reach out to a younger, hipper demographic.
"'We're extending the city to an audience that might traditionally not pick up a brochure or request a visitor's guide but are tuned in to where to go this weekend, what to do,' said Bob Schultz, a spokesman for the visitors association.
"'Doing Indy' was a finalist in the travel category at the People's Choice Podcast Awards, a second-year contest seeking out the most promising talent in the new and emerging field of online video distribution."
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Sometimes starting from scratch can be hugely successful
Nashville Scene - What’s So Funny ’Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?: "Bonnaroo is the largest-grossing music festival in the U.S., raking in a whopping $13.4 million last year. ...
"Russ Bennett describes himself as kind of a city planner. Except the city he and his cohorts are planning has been built and torn down annually for the last four years—and they’re currently constructing it, more or less from scratch, for the fifth time. With the exception of a few roads, fresh water pipes and a fountain, there’s nothing but trees and grass at 1560 New Bushy Branch Road in Manchester, Tenn., when Bennett arrives each May.
"But those 700-plus acres will become the temporary home for 80,000 people during the four days of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. The empty pastures off I-24 will turn into the sixth largest city in Tennessee—a makeshift community of street performers, hippies, hitchhiking students, families in Winnebagos, and music fans of most every stripe, whether they pledge allegiance to Southern rock, world beat or the P-Funk Nation."
"Russ Bennett describes himself as kind of a city planner. Except the city he and his cohorts are planning has been built and torn down annually for the last four years—and they’re currently constructing it, more or less from scratch, for the fifth time. With the exception of a few roads, fresh water pipes and a fountain, there’s nothing but trees and grass at 1560 New Bushy Branch Road in Manchester, Tenn., when Bennett arrives each May.
"But those 700-plus acres will become the temporary home for 80,000 people during the four days of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. The empty pastures off I-24 will turn into the sixth largest city in Tennessee—a makeshift community of street performers, hippies, hitchhiking students, families in Winnebagos, and music fans of most every stripe, whether they pledge allegiance to Southern rock, world beat or the P-Funk Nation."
Monday, August 14, 2006
More about Laurel Canyon as a music scene
LA Weekly - Back to the Garden: "Laurel Canyon scenesters found a regular hangout in The Troubadour, which opened as a folk club in 1957. 'It was like the clubhouse,' says the scene’s unofficial photographer, Henry Diltz, who also played on its stage with his band the Modern Folk Quartet. 'It was a place you would go and all your friends would be there. You knew all the groups that were playing, you had affairs with the waitresses, and Harry Dean Stanton would be sitting at the bar.' For ambitious singer-songwriters, this was also the only game in town; multi-night runs bestowed instant stardom on both Joni Mitchell and Elton John. And for the period of time that the scene was small and new enough to be contained inside the club’s doors, the Canyon’s idyllic feel was carried down into Hollywood."
Sunday, August 13, 2006
How to Improve Lollapalooza
Here's a list of ways to improve this (and I am sure other) festivals:
Chicago Sun Times, 8/13/06 - How to improve Lollapalooza: "In the days following last weekend's second fest, I interviewed 13 local concert promoters, club bookers, band managers and music industry professionals, all of whom attended the fest. ... The following represents their comments and my own."
The suggestions:
1. Fix the sound problems
2. Make it easier to catch back-to-back sets on far-flung stages
3. Consider fewer stages
4. Place some limits on the corporate sponsors
5. Lollapalooza needs to become part of the Chicago community
Chicago Sun Times, 8/13/06 - How to improve Lollapalooza: "In the days following last weekend's second fest, I interviewed 13 local concert promoters, club bookers, band managers and music industry professionals, all of whom attended the fest. ... The following represents their comments and my own."
The suggestions:
1. Fix the sound problems
2. Make it easier to catch back-to-back sets on far-flung stages
3. Consider fewer stages
4. Place some limits on the corporate sponsors
5. Lollapalooza needs to become part of the Chicago community
Saturday, August 12, 2006
A local music scene in LA in the 1960s that still influences music today
A review of two books which document a particularly creative musical community located in LA in the 1960s. Among those who were a part of that scene: Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, The Mamas and The Papas, The Byrds, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, The Eagles, Carole King, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, The Turtles, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac, Little Feat, Warren Zevon, J.D. Souther, and Gram Parsons.
How do scenes like this develop? From what I have seen over the years in the arts or technology, it takes:
1. A critical mass of talented people, often brought together by some sort of place to create (e.g., a university or research facility for scientists, a foundry for sculptors, a recording studio for musicians).
2. Either financial resources to pay creative types or low-cost living so that they can afford to live there.
3. Some way to spread the word about the creations (e.g., links to people outside the community; a person recording and publishing what's happening there; a patron or development program to launch creative ideas or art).
4. A community spirit that encourages and supports experimentation.
5. Places for people to exchange ideas (e.g., club, bars, or coffee shops; community centers; office meeting rooms; private homes where people "hang" out.)
Some examples that come to mind:
1. Silicon Valley, which grew out of work done at Stanford University and a number of research and think tanks which located there.
2. Boulder, which got a major arts infusion when the Buddhist school Naropa was established here and became a second home to many of the Beat Generation.
3. Loveland, Colorado, which has become home to many sculptors, some of whom originally moved there to be close to several bronze founderies.
4. Black Mountain College, a North Carolina school which existed from the 1930s to the 1950s, attracted such famous artists, architects, thinkers, and scientists as Walter Gropius, Jacob Lawrence, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, John Cage, Alfred Kazin, Merce Cunningham, Paul Goodman, and Buckminster Fuller.
Canada.com, 7/29/06 - Making music in the flower-power era: "It isn't clear why two competing books on the same narrow topic and with the same cast of characters would appear simultaneously more than 30 years after the fact, but Hoskyns's Hotel California and Walker's Laurel Canyon ... both tell essentially the same story of a remarkable period when the hub of popular late-1960s and '70s North American music was in and around the idyllic Los Angeles-area community of Laurel Canyon."
How do scenes like this develop? From what I have seen over the years in the arts or technology, it takes:
1. A critical mass of talented people, often brought together by some sort of place to create (e.g., a university or research facility for scientists, a foundry for sculptors, a recording studio for musicians).
2. Either financial resources to pay creative types or low-cost living so that they can afford to live there.
3. Some way to spread the word about the creations (e.g., links to people outside the community; a person recording and publishing what's happening there; a patron or development program to launch creative ideas or art).
4. A community spirit that encourages and supports experimentation.
5. Places for people to exchange ideas (e.g., club, bars, or coffee shops; community centers; office meeting rooms; private homes where people "hang" out.)
Some examples that come to mind:
1. Silicon Valley, which grew out of work done at Stanford University and a number of research and think tanks which located there.
2. Boulder, which got a major arts infusion when the Buddhist school Naropa was established here and became a second home to many of the Beat Generation.
3. Loveland, Colorado, which has become home to many sculptors, some of whom originally moved there to be close to several bronze founderies.
4. Black Mountain College, a North Carolina school which existed from the 1930s to the 1950s, attracted such famous artists, architects, thinkers, and scientists as Walter Gropius, Jacob Lawrence, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, John Cage, Alfred Kazin, Merce Cunningham, Paul Goodman, and Buckminster Fuller.
Canada.com, 7/29/06 - Making music in the flower-power era: "It isn't clear why two competing books on the same narrow topic and with the same cast of characters would appear simultaneously more than 30 years after the fact, but Hoskyns's Hotel California and Walker's Laurel Canyon ... both tell essentially the same story of a remarkable period when the hub of popular late-1960s and '70s North American music was in and around the idyllic Los Angeles-area community of Laurel Canyon."
Marketing festivals in the interactive age
An article about how Lollapalooza uses online reviews and sponsorships to enhance its image and make money.
Hartford Courant, 8/13/2006: "Giving media passes to bloggers also meant a better chance of positive, fanzine-style reviews of bands playing the festival, instead of risking more critical coverage.
"Lollapalooza was 'a good idea 16 years ago, grown bland, boring and distressingly mainstream, but with lingering pretensions to greatness it no longer has much right to claim,' critic Jim DeRogatis wrote in last week's Chicago Sun-Times, where he also lamented the overwhelmingly white audiences attending sets by Chicago rappers Common and Kanye West, who are both black, and the absence of the city's R&B and hip-hop radio stations as sponsors.
"By contrast, a blog called Stereogum wrote, 'this ain't your grunge-era 'palooza. But the new (and improved?) Lolla is a relatively well-run, music-first festival. And if there wasn't something for everyone (Bonnaroo was much more diverse), there was more than enough for Stereogum.'...
"Interactivity is also a boon for advertisers. It wasn't out of the kindness of its heart that AT&T offered webcasts of Lollapalooza or offered the air-conditioned tent there. They actually paid for the privilege. The Sun-Times reported that AT&T and other companies, including beer and apparel businesses, paid as much as $100,000 for the chance to spend three days marketing to 50,000 people wandering around a finite space plastered with corporate logos. As a bonus, many of those people are part of the coveted 18-to-34 age demographic."
Hartford Courant, 8/13/2006: "Giving media passes to bloggers also meant a better chance of positive, fanzine-style reviews of bands playing the festival, instead of risking more critical coverage.
"Lollapalooza was 'a good idea 16 years ago, grown bland, boring and distressingly mainstream, but with lingering pretensions to greatness it no longer has much right to claim,' critic Jim DeRogatis wrote in last week's Chicago Sun-Times, where he also lamented the overwhelmingly white audiences attending sets by Chicago rappers Common and Kanye West, who are both black, and the absence of the city's R&B and hip-hop radio stations as sponsors.
"By contrast, a blog called Stereogum wrote, 'this ain't your grunge-era 'palooza. But the new (and improved?) Lolla is a relatively well-run, music-first festival. And if there wasn't something for everyone (Bonnaroo was much more diverse), there was more than enough for Stereogum.'...
"Interactivity is also a boon for advertisers. It wasn't out of the kindness of its heart that AT&T offered webcasts of Lollapalooza or offered the air-conditioned tent there. They actually paid for the privilege. The Sun-Times reported that AT&T and other companies, including beer and apparel businesses, paid as much as $100,000 for the chance to spend three days marketing to 50,000 people wandering around a finite space plastered with corporate logos. As a bonus, many of those people are part of the coveted 18-to-34 age demographic."
One man created a movement and a scene
How a event grew out of one musician's need to create an alternative place to play:
How Does It Feel, Antifolkies, to Have a Home, Not Be Unknown? - New York Times, 8/11/06: "IN 1983 a young singer-songwriter known as Lach showed up at the storied Greenwich Village club Folk City looking to play. The club’s booker turned him down, saying that his music was too punk. Lach responded by opening an after-hours club on the Lower East Side the following year, naming it the Fort.
"His first event started during the week of the New York Folk Festival, and so he labeled it the New York Antifolk Festival. The folk festival hasn’t been held for years, but Lach’s festival is still going strong: tomorrow at noon it will begin its latest edition with a parade and an outdoor concert at Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, followed by a week of shows at the Antifolk headquarters, the Sidewalk Café on Avenue A....
"From its beginnings at the Fort, antifolk has reached far and wide, and seems to be granted more respect overseas than here at home. There is a festival in London, a zine chronicling the community called Urban Folk (also at urbanfolk.org), various record labels, a book (in German) chronicling the movement and a documentary in the works. During Lach’s recent 10-city tour of Britain, Time Out London called him 'NYC’s living legend.' Mostly, though, there are more and more new participants; the sign-up for the Antihoot now regularly approaches 100."
How Does It Feel, Antifolkies, to Have a Home, Not Be Unknown? - New York Times, 8/11/06: "IN 1983 a young singer-songwriter known as Lach showed up at the storied Greenwich Village club Folk City looking to play. The club’s booker turned him down, saying that his music was too punk. Lach responded by opening an after-hours club on the Lower East Side the following year, naming it the Fort.
"His first event started during the week of the New York Folk Festival, and so he labeled it the New York Antifolk Festival. The folk festival hasn’t been held for years, but Lach’s festival is still going strong: tomorrow at noon it will begin its latest edition with a parade and an outdoor concert at Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, followed by a week of shows at the Antifolk headquarters, the Sidewalk Café on Avenue A....
"From its beginnings at the Fort, antifolk has reached far and wide, and seems to be granted more respect overseas than here at home. There is a festival in London, a zine chronicling the community called Urban Folk (also at urbanfolk.org), various record labels, a book (in German) chronicling the movement and a documentary in the works. During Lach’s recent 10-city tour of Britain, Time Out London called him 'NYC’s living legend.' Mostly, though, there are more and more new participants; the sign-up for the Antihoot now regularly approaches 100."
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Live Music Doesn't Draw in Nashville
This 6/08/2006 article offers reasons why Nashville clubs don't attract more local fans.
Nashville Scene - Wish You Were Here: "Rick Whetsel of Great Big Shows, which owns Exit/In and also books acts at other area clubs, says his company doesn’t compete with other live venues for crowds; it competes with movies, television and living rooms across the city. Terry Cantrell, who ran Cantrell’s back in the ’80s and currently manages Springwater, says audiences in Nashville are so accustomed to live music that they’ve gotten spoiled and now expect it without paying for it. Bruce Fitzpatrick, who has booked rock and punk bands in Nashville for over 20 years, says people are just apathetic, that the spirit of musical discovery isn’t what it used to be."
Nashville Scene - Wish You Were Here: "Rick Whetsel of Great Big Shows, which owns Exit/In and also books acts at other area clubs, says his company doesn’t compete with other live venues for crowds; it competes with movies, television and living rooms across the city. Terry Cantrell, who ran Cantrell’s back in the ’80s and currently manages Springwater, says audiences in Nashville are so accustomed to live music that they’ve gotten spoiled and now expect it without paying for it. Bruce Fitzpatrick, who has booked rock and punk bands in Nashville for over 20 years, says people are just apathetic, that the spirit of musical discovery isn’t what it used to be."
Portland's Thriving Music Scene
A July 27, 2006 article in The Oregonian on why Portland has a great music scene.
Reasons include:
* More than two dozen independent music stores, with loyal fans who use them as gathering spots.
* Lots of musicians. And a wealth of local clubs for them to play.
* A culture that supports entrepreneurs.
* Inexpensive housing.
* Several Portland-based international music distribution businesses, like CD Baby, that support independent artists.
Our own tune: "Singing, recording, selling, promoting . . . Portland's DIY ethic is creating an indie music capital"
Reasons include:
* More than two dozen independent music stores, with loyal fans who use them as gathering spots.
* Lots of musicians. And a wealth of local clubs for them to play.
* A culture that supports entrepreneurs.
* Inexpensive housing.
* Several Portland-based international music distribution businesses, like CD Baby, that support independent artists.
Our own tune: "Singing, recording, selling, promoting . . . Portland's DIY ethic is creating an indie music capital"
Monday, August 07, 2006
Resource on creating vibrant cities
This website/blog is full of ideas on how to create towns with thriving arts and cultural scenes.
CoolTown Studios: "The goal is to develop creative, sustainable, profitable urban buildings and destinations that serve as both a model and anchor for future surrounding development designed to attract creative, entrepreneurial markets that significantly impact the local economy and quality of life."
CoolTown Studios: "The goal is to develop creative, sustainable, profitable urban buildings and destinations that serve as both a model and anchor for future surrounding development designed to attract creative, entrepreneurial markets that significantly impact the local economy and quality of life."
When an event takes over your town
Once a year the town of Sturgis, South Dakota, goes from 6,500 to over 500,000. That's when the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally takes over the town. As the article below indicates, it's become the main economic driver of the community.
The event has also become a massive music festival, Rock'N The Rally. This year's performers at the Festival and at the Buffalo Chip include:
Sammy Hagar, Big and Rich With Cowboy Troy, Keith Urban, Shooter Jennings, Steve Miller Band, Cheap Trick, Nickelback, Black Crowes, Gin Blossoms, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Joe Cocker, Georgia Satellites, REO Speedwagon, 38 Special, John Kay, Steppenwolf. Joe Walsh and the rest of the original James Gang, Edgar Winter, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Montgomery Gentry, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gretchen Wilson, Kid Rock, Blue Oyster Cult, Ted Nugent, Alice in Chains, and David Lee Roth.
Kansas City Star, 8/6/06: Legions of bikers thunder into Sturgis
"This is the 66th year of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally...
"The bikers’ annual pilgrimage offers such a powerful financial charge that catering to the full-throttle crowd for a few weeks each year hollows out the town through all other seasons. Tiny storefronts in the not particularly scenic town can fetch nearly $1 million — and stand empty more than 11 months a year....
"The mayor, chiropractor and rally booster, Mark Zeigler, said the rally defines Sturgis. Mostly it’s a tremendous boon, but he concedes the drawbacks and the imperfect development that the rally leaves on Sturgis.
“'We tolerate a lot of inconvenience here,' he said. 'We look forward to the rally, but we’re glad when it’s over.'
"... the modern rally only became supersized in the past 20 years — growing from barely 30,000 bikers in the late 1980s to more than 500,000 scattered across the Black Hills this week.
"... In 1979, nine vendors set up booths for the rally. This year more than 900 are on hand. They’ll pay over $300,000 in fees to the city."
The event has also become a massive music festival, Rock'N The Rally. This year's performers at the Festival and at the Buffalo Chip include:
Sammy Hagar, Big and Rich With Cowboy Troy, Keith Urban, Shooter Jennings, Steve Miller Band, Cheap Trick, Nickelback, Black Crowes, Gin Blossoms, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Joe Cocker, Georgia Satellites, REO Speedwagon, 38 Special, John Kay, Steppenwolf. Joe Walsh and the rest of the original James Gang, Edgar Winter, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Montgomery Gentry, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gretchen Wilson, Kid Rock, Blue Oyster Cult, Ted Nugent, Alice in Chains, and David Lee Roth.
Kansas City Star, 8/6/06: Legions of bikers thunder into Sturgis
"This is the 66th year of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally...
"The bikers’ annual pilgrimage offers such a powerful financial charge that catering to the full-throttle crowd for a few weeks each year hollows out the town through all other seasons. Tiny storefronts in the not particularly scenic town can fetch nearly $1 million — and stand empty more than 11 months a year....
"The mayor, chiropractor and rally booster, Mark Zeigler, said the rally defines Sturgis. Mostly it’s a tremendous boon, but he concedes the drawbacks and the imperfect development that the rally leaves on Sturgis.
“'We tolerate a lot of inconvenience here,' he said. 'We look forward to the rally, but we’re glad when it’s over.'
"... the modern rally only became supersized in the past 20 years — growing from barely 30,000 bikers in the late 1980s to more than 500,000 scattered across the Black Hills this week.
"... In 1979, nine vendors set up booths for the rally. This year more than 900 are on hand. They’ll pay over $300,000 in fees to the city."
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Austin as a creative economy
Here are three resources from the March 14, 2003 Austin Chronicle News.
The Entertainment Economy: As the scene becomes a 'cluster,' Austin looks for industrial-strength creativity
Austin Music: A $616 Million Industry
Jobs in Austin's Entertainment Industry
Here's an economic study which will provide more numbers:
Music in the Austin Economy: "Presented to the City of Austin 9/25/01"
The Entertainment Economy: As the scene becomes a 'cluster,' Austin looks for industrial-strength creativity
Austin Music: A $616 Million Industry
Jobs in Austin's Entertainment Industry
Here's an economic study which will provide more numbers:
Music in the Austin Economy: "Presented to the City of Austin 9/25/01"
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Pick your demographic
Here's an article about the "Radio Disney Totally Ten Birthday Concert" at the Arrowhead Pond arena in Anaheim.
What is to be learned from this? Pick a demographic you want to attract to your location and then build events to fit. Too much of local music promotion is random. If you try to be everything to everyone, you tend to dilute both the experience and the message. Set goals first, and then work backward.
Washington Post, 8/6/2006, In the Concert Hall, It Smells Like Tween Spirit: "Meet smart, savvy Disney, the hydra-headed entertainment colossus. This is how it works: Young actor-singer-dancer stars are promoted via the company's television channels, podcasts, Web sites, movies, theme parks, DVDs, record labels, radio stations, products and concerts....
"It is the textbook definition of synergistic vertical media-marketing integration. And there's more! 'The four-legged consumer' [this is the mother/child combo that you reach when marketing to kids]. The advertisements on Radio Disney plug games and DVDs and CDs -- but also minivans, pharmaceuticals and lending services. Why? Because 10-year-olds don't drive.
"Mom drives, and she's (trapped) listening. Or as Jennifer Kobashi, Radio Disney director of brand marketing, put it in an article in CMO magazine ('the resource for the marketing executive'): 'We know that for every three kids listening to us, we've got about one mom. We let advertisers know our station is for moms and kids in a car as they're driving. We're the last medium and the last message they hear before they step out to make that purchase.'"
What is to be learned from this? Pick a demographic you want to attract to your location and then build events to fit. Too much of local music promotion is random. If you try to be everything to everyone, you tend to dilute both the experience and the message. Set goals first, and then work backward.
Washington Post, 8/6/2006, In the Concert Hall, It Smells Like Tween Spirit: "Meet smart, savvy Disney, the hydra-headed entertainment colossus. This is how it works: Young actor-singer-dancer stars are promoted via the company's television channels, podcasts, Web sites, movies, theme parks, DVDs, record labels, radio stations, products and concerts....
"It is the textbook definition of synergistic vertical media-marketing integration. And there's more! 'The four-legged consumer' [this is the mother/child combo that you reach when marketing to kids]. The advertisements on Radio Disney plug games and DVDs and CDs -- but also minivans, pharmaceuticals and lending services. Why? Because 10-year-olds don't drive.
"Mom drives, and she's (trapped) listening. Or as Jennifer Kobashi, Radio Disney director of brand marketing, put it in an article in CMO magazine ('the resource for the marketing executive'): 'We know that for every three kids listening to us, we've got about one mom. We let advertisers know our station is for moms and kids in a car as they're driving. We're the last medium and the last message they hear before they step out to make that purchase.'"
Using events to deliver traffic in the off-season
This article isn't about music events, per se, but it does talk about an organization responsible for creating or attracting events to fill calendar gaps. It's a strategy worth considering for other locations: When do you most need to attract visitors and can you create an event which accomplishes this?
Q and A Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events, 8/4/2006:
Q "Your organization works directly with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to bring special events to Southern Nevada and to sponsor some of those events. What is the criteria for sponsorship?"
A "I think the most important thing is the time of year. We also focus on a more adult-oriented audience. Sometimes what we'll do during the summer — for instance with our basketball events — when occupancy is a little lower, we will shift a little bit. We currently have 1,100 basketball teams in town, close to 20,000 visitors with all their followers. But for the most part, the National Finals Rodeo, the World Cup Finals, we produce the fireworks on New Year's Eve, so we're looking at a time of year, especially in December — we're involved with the Las Vegas Marathon now — where we can bring an event that is going to drive incremental guests. That's the major criteria, pick a time of the year that we need it (visitors), that it's an adult-oriented audience, but we also look at co-branding, like the NBA All-Star Game and the USA Basketball game. Those have such great co-branding promotional value for the market."
Q and A Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events, 8/4/2006:
Q "Your organization works directly with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to bring special events to Southern Nevada and to sponsor some of those events. What is the criteria for sponsorship?"
A "I think the most important thing is the time of year. We also focus on a more adult-oriented audience. Sometimes what we'll do during the summer — for instance with our basketball events — when occupancy is a little lower, we will shift a little bit. We currently have 1,100 basketball teams in town, close to 20,000 visitors with all their followers. But for the most part, the National Finals Rodeo, the World Cup Finals, we produce the fireworks on New Year's Eve, so we're looking at a time of year, especially in December — we're involved with the Las Vegas Marathon now — where we can bring an event that is going to drive incremental guests. That's the major criteria, pick a time of the year that we need it (visitors), that it's an adult-oriented audience, but we also look at co-branding, like the NBA All-Star Game and the USA Basketball game. Those have such great co-branding promotional value for the market."
Country Music in NYC
In November, the Country Music Association brought its awards ceremony to NYC for move visibility and to promote Nashville. (See my blog entry on July 23, 2006.)
Here is an article talking about the homegrown country music scene in NYC and the challenges of maintaining it without a local country music radio station.
village voice > music > by Kurt Gottschalk 11/08/2005: "When the country music industry touches down in New York this week for the 39th Annual Country Music Association Awards, Nashville execs might well be smirking as they arrive in a town never known as a haven for the genre. They'll find carefully orchestrated events designed to make New York Dixie-friendly, but what they're not likely to see is the vibrant, if small, local scenes....
"But anyone who looks between the cracks of this temporary official hoopla will find small but thriving pockets of homegrown country. The last two weeks in July saw the Second Annual Brooklyn Country Music Festival, a homegrown affair at Park Slope and Prospect Heights saloons. September 16 and 17 marked the Eighth Annual Park Slope Bluegrass Jamboree. On top of that, Yankee hayseeds can check Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers every Sunday at Hank's Saloon (along with Freddy's Backroom, the country HQ in the Borough of Churches), open bluegrass jams every Monday at the Parkside Lounge and Wednesday at the Baggot Inn, the 'CasHank' Johnny Cash/Hank Williams open mic at Buttermilk in Park Slope, as well as frequent gigs at Lillie's in Red Hook, Lakeside Lounge and Old Devil Moon in the East Village, and Rodeo Bar in Murray Hill. (In other words, don't look in Williamsburg.)"
Here is an article talking about the homegrown country music scene in NYC and the challenges of maintaining it without a local country music radio station.
village voice > music > by Kurt Gottschalk 11/08/2005: "When the country music industry touches down in New York this week for the 39th Annual Country Music Association Awards, Nashville execs might well be smirking as they arrive in a town never known as a haven for the genre. They'll find carefully orchestrated events designed to make New York Dixie-friendly, but what they're not likely to see is the vibrant, if small, local scenes....
"But anyone who looks between the cracks of this temporary official hoopla will find small but thriving pockets of homegrown country. The last two weeks in July saw the Second Annual Brooklyn Country Music Festival, a homegrown affair at Park Slope and Prospect Heights saloons. September 16 and 17 marked the Eighth Annual Park Slope Bluegrass Jamboree. On top of that, Yankee hayseeds can check Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers every Sunday at Hank's Saloon (along with Freddy's Backroom, the country HQ in the Borough of Churches), open bluegrass jams every Monday at the Parkside Lounge and Wednesday at the Baggot Inn, the 'CasHank' Johnny Cash/Hank Williams open mic at Buttermilk in Park Slope, as well as frequent gigs at Lillie's in Red Hook, Lakeside Lounge and Old Devil Moon in the East Village, and Rodeo Bar in Murray Hill. (In other words, don't look in Williamsburg.)"
Thursday, August 03, 2006
What makes a good festival?
This author shares his thoughts on why the Montreal Jazz Festival is so good, and what the SF Jazz Festival might do to improve.
ContraCostaTimes.com | 07/30/2006 | How cities can jazz up music festivals: "What makes Montreal such an adrenaline-inducing experience is the way that the festival grabs hold of the city's imagination, becoming the dominant cultural story for a huge metropolitan region of more than 3 million people. With more than 150 performances by a staggering range of musicians, many only tangentially related to jazz, the most exciting part of the festival is discovering musicians you've never heard before. For music fans, it can be an almost overwhelming experience.
"With a typically Canadian embrace of sensible urban planning, Montreal has developed the ideal infrastructure for throwing a huge, multi-venue event. The festival takes over the heart of the city's cultural district, turning several major streets into car-free zones while transforming the plaza in front of the Contemporary Art Museum into a vast outdoor party, with refreshments, food stalls and multiple bandstands offering free concerts.
"The festival's eight indoor venues, which offer ticketed concerts, are either on the plaza or within a few blocks."
ContraCostaTimes.com | 07/30/2006 | How cities can jazz up music festivals: "What makes Montreal such an adrenaline-inducing experience is the way that the festival grabs hold of the city's imagination, becoming the dominant cultural story for a huge metropolitan region of more than 3 million people. With more than 150 performances by a staggering range of musicians, many only tangentially related to jazz, the most exciting part of the festival is discovering musicians you've never heard before. For music fans, it can be an almost overwhelming experience.
"With a typically Canadian embrace of sensible urban planning, Montreal has developed the ideal infrastructure for throwing a huge, multi-venue event. The festival takes over the heart of the city's cultural district, turning several major streets into car-free zones while transforming the plaza in front of the Contemporary Art Museum into a vast outdoor party, with refreshments, food stalls and multiple bandstands offering free concerts.
"The festival's eight indoor venues, which offer ticketed concerts, are either on the plaza or within a few blocks."
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Mixing Boomers and Gen Y
Here's another example of venues that are finding ways to appeal to both younger and older fans.
Baltimore's Young Music Fans Move from Hip Hop to Jazz | BaltimoreChronicle.com, 7/12/06: "Small Baltimore jazz clubs are experiencing a resurgence in attendance among an under-30 demographic and have welcomed such diversity....
"Many of Baltimore’s young music lovers prefer to visit jazz establishments over other nightlife venue options. The relaxed atmosphere has most frequently been cited as the main reason many prefer jazz clubs to the rowdier scene of hip hop clubs or sports pubs. The level of talent displayed by jazz artists is another reason why Baltimore’s young people are flocking to local jazz clubs."
Baltimore's Young Music Fans Move from Hip Hop to Jazz | BaltimoreChronicle.com, 7/12/06: "Small Baltimore jazz clubs are experiencing a resurgence in attendance among an under-30 demographic and have welcomed such diversity....
"Many of Baltimore’s young music lovers prefer to visit jazz establishments over other nightlife venue options. The relaxed atmosphere has most frequently been cited as the main reason many prefer jazz clubs to the rowdier scene of hip hop clubs or sports pubs. The level of talent displayed by jazz artists is another reason why Baltimore’s young people are flocking to local jazz clubs."
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