The New Mu$ic Capitol? / Chicago Music Commission: Panel Discussion

If you are a part of the creative community in Chicago, this should be of great interest to you. This Thursday, the Chicago Music Commission (CMC) is hosting a panel discussion focusing on the recent study, "Chicago: Music City" [PDF], released by CMC and University of Chicago. If you are not familiar with the CMC, they hold monthly panels dealing with a wide range of subject matter, as it pertains to musicians and the business of entertainment. They have several of their past panel discussions available for download and there is vast amounts of actionable knowledge right off the bat.


THIS EVENT IS FREE TO ATTEND.

Hope to see you there.

Below you will find more info pulled from their newsletter.
---------------------------------------------

Chicago: The New Mu$ic Capitol?

CHICAGO MUSIC COMMISSION TO PRESENT
LANDMARK PANEL OF CHICAGO MUSIC MOVERS AND SHAKERS
---------------------------------------------

On Thursday, January 24, the Chicago Music Commission will convene a diverse panel of experts for a groundbreaking public conversation on the economic opportunities being generated by Chicago¹s growing music industry. The event will take place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance at Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Street at 6 p.m., and is open to the public and free of charge. Never before has a panel of such caliber come together in public to discuss Chicago¹smusic industry, its future, and its impact on Chicago¹s economy at large.

The CMC is convening the panel in response to publicity surrounding the recent publication of the CMC¹s groundbreaking economic impact study "Chicago: Music City" [PDF] , conducted by the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago. The study exposes the strengths and weaknesses of Chicago¹s music industry in comparison with those of other North American cities. Along with co-authors Dan Silve and Sarah Lee, Lawrence Rothfield, faculty director of the Cultural Policy Center, will summarize the study¹s findings to open the event and the panelists will address the steps Chicago must take to be recognized as a world-class music city.

The panel of experts will include industry leaders representing many facets of Chicago¹s music economy, including media, promoters, venues, performers, educators, government, urban planners, record label owners, trade associations, recording studio executives and music industry unions.


Confirmed panelists to date include:
------------------------------------

Shala Akintunde
The Movement Worldwide (Producer and Performing Artist)

Martin Atkins
Invisible Records, Columbia College

Julie Burros
City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs

Laura Chmielewski
City of Chicago, Department of Tourism

Kenard Karter
WGCI Radio

Rita Lee
Nu Face Entertainment

Gary Matts
President, Chicago Federation of Musicians

Jerry Mickelson
Jam Productions

David Miranda
Univision Radio

Rich Moskal
Chicago Film Office

Shawn Murphy
ASCAP

Paul Natkin
Photo Reserve, Inc.

Heather M. Nelson-Beverly
Entertainment Attorney

Henry Perritt, Jr.
Co-Chair, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Task Force ³The Global Edge: An Agenda for Chicago's Future²

Lawrence Rothfield
Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago

Alan Salzenstein
DePaul Music Business School

Chris Schneider
Pressure Point Recording Studios

Michael Yerke
Live Nation, House of Blues

Dan Lurie of the CMC will moderate the discussion.

-------------------------

³Chicago: Music City² is the first serious comparative study of music industries and music communities in the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. The study provides an accurate portrait of music¹s power in influencing Chicago¹s economic health and will serve as a benchmark for measuring the future growth of the city¹s music community. The authors found that Chicago¹s music community is a significant economic engine:

-more-

· Chicago has the third largest number of music businesses among its peer national competitors

· Chicago has the third largest music-related workforce, with over 53,000 people generating over $1 billion in payroll

· Chicago¹s live music scene generates $80 million in revenues‹dwarfing better known scenes such as Austin (known as the ³Live Music Capital of America²)

· It is an ³omnivore¹s paradise² with affordable and diverse music offerings, and an aggregate concert capacity larger than any other city besides Los Angeles

-------------------------

The Chicago Music Commission is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation
founded in 2005 by a group of concerned Chicagoans dedicated to heightening the local, national and international visibility of Chicago music; nurturing Chicago¹s vibrant music community; and organizing and advocating independently on behalf of the Chicago music community in the government and private sectors.

The Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago was founded in
1999as a joint initiative of the Harris School of Public Policy Studies and the Division of Humanities. The Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago is an interdisciplinary research center and nationally recognizedleader in the emerging field of cultural policy research and education. Its mission is to provide research and inform policy that affects the arts, humanities and cultural heritage.