The rise of #MusicCities and how Philly is failing Musicnomics

A new bill from Philly City Councilman Mark Squilla would require owners of nightclubs, cabarets, bars and restaurants in the city to collect the names, addresses, and phone numbers of entertainers — bands, rappers and DJs — in a registry, and to share that personal information with police upon request. Billy Penn

The idea that music is on the economic bus, is new for many City Planners and Gov' officials (Austin, Seattle we know you've been on it for a while) and now there is even a very detail report from the data-suits called Mastering of the Music City and here are few of the highlights. 

• In Melbourne, live music alone generates over 116,000 jobs and more than AU$1 billion in spending at small venues, concerts, and festivals.
• The Rock al Parque music festival in Bogotá attracted 400,000 attendees to the city in 2014, making it one of the largest music festivals in South America. Since its inauguration in 1995, it has attracted more than 3.8 million attendees.
• Music tourism in Austin accounts for almost half of their US$1.6 billion economic output and contributes US$38 million in tax revenue to the city.
• In Berlin, the intermingling of music and technology businesses in the city has demonstrated the way that a successful music economy can attract and retain talent in other industries.
• And in South Africa, organizations like the SAMRO Foundation have sought to use music to bring people together under a unified cultural banner.

Click here for the 106 Page report in PDF. 

To show the grown of this and the re-emergence of music as the more than a passenger on the bus, in some it's recognized as the driver of it. Take Mayor Brown's  State of London address to the London Chamber of Commerce, The Mayor stated:  “We set a goal to become a Music City and this began to take shape in a big way this year,” said Brown. “To lead the way, the City of London developed a Music Strategy that will make London a Music City and a music attraction.”

Even the Feds have been getting in on it via the Our Town grants program, which I strongly encouge any #MusicCities ambassadors to take a look gander. 

OUR TOWN: Introduction

The Our Town grant program supports creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places with the arts at their core. Creative placemaking is when artists, arts organizations, and community development practitioners deliberately integrate arts and culture into community revitalization work - placing arts at the table with land-use, transportation, economic development, education, housing, infrastructure, and public safety strategies. This funding supports local efforts to enhance quality of life and opportunity for existing residents, increase creative activity, and create a distinct sense of place.

- See more at: https://www.arts.gov/grants-organizations/our-town/introduction#sthash.ezrWOYpc.dpuf

So it seems, that despite the best efforts of the overtechnated to STEM-roll our towns into factories of apps & widget makers -- Music Cities --are something that just is a part of each of these towns. And, that why each of our USA Music Cities needs to start to adopt and work on the Best Music Cities practices.

Well! then there's Philly. According to the sponsor of the bill  “Giving performers’ information to police when requested enables them to review past performances to see if there were any public safety issues during their events,' Councilman Mark Squilla told Billy Penn via email."  There is clearly work to do and that is the reason why I started the CityMusicDeal (TM) and let it be know the  PhiladephiaMusicDeal.com  is coming to help with the stakeholders the overall Musicnomics of Local Music. 

PS While all music sales were down for week ending 1/28, it interesting to note that digital fell another point behind physical.