Announcements

Music Policy Forum Summit 2019

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Music Policy Forum Summit Returns to Georgetown University
Global Conference Announces 2019 Summit Schedule

WASHINGTON, DC — Twenty-five presenters from a dozen cities throughout North America will highlight the 2019 Music Policy Forum Summit on October 26, 2019, at Lohrfink Auditorium on the campus of Georgetown University. This annual event is a highlight for public officials, researchers, musicians, music industry leaders, technologists, educators and others interested in provocative explorations of the opportunities and challenges facing local music ecosystems.

This year’s conference will feature an update on the Music Census project announced last year by Georgetown University and OCTFME. Additionally, experts from outside the Washington region will share their perspectives on key priority issues, including:

  • Lessons learned from developing and implementing music strategies
  • Best practices in sound management and safe venues
  • What the music community can learn from the local food movement
  • Inclusivity in local music scenes
  • Music as a tool to support youth engagement
  • Public radio’s role in audience development and breaking new artists

Because the Summit is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all members of the music community, registration is $10 and lunch is provided.

“Georgetown University is committed to our local music ecosystem. We have been proud to host conferences focusing on music communities at all levels – local, regional, national and global. And we are thrilled to explore the census process and where this conversation needs to go for DC’s music community” said Georgetown University music professor and Music Policy Forum (MPF) board member Anna Celenza.

“There is enormous power in coming together as a community to be informed, inspired and challenged by our colleagues here and throughout North America,” MPF co-founder Michael Bracy said. “We are grateful to the support from Georgetown University and OCTFME to ensure these world-class presenters are accessible to the widest possible audience.”

The Summit was curated by Music Policy Forum board members Kate Becker (Seattle), Michael Bracy (Washington DC), Anna Celenza (Washington DC), Kwende Kefentse (Ottawa), Ashley Keaton (New Orleans) and Amy Terrill (Toronto).

Please see below for the full Summit agenda. Registration details and other information is available at the event’s website: www.musicpolicyforumsummit.org.

Music Policy Forum Summit

October 26, 2019

9:30 Welcome

  • Anna Celenza, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
  • Michael Bracy, Music Policy Forum co-founder, Washington, DC

10:00 Update on the Music Census Project
In 2018 Georgetown University and OCTFME announced the first regional music census. In this session, we’ll give an update on the project, which involved over 2600 respondents, and we’ll talk with an all-star panel of local music stakeholders about next steps in strengthening the local music scene.

12:00 Networking lunch

1:15 Roundtable: What we wish we had known then: Reflections on developing and implementing music strategies

  • Kwende Kefenste, City of Ottawa
  • Amy Terrill, Music Policy Forum co-founder, Toronto, CA
  • Abby Goldstein, Public Radio Program Directors Association, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Bryce Merrill, Bohemian Foundation, Fort Collins, CO

2:00 Sounding Off: Noise vs Music in the Urban Landscape
Our cities are getting louder. More traffic, more construction, more machines. Each year, the median decibel levels grow higher. Many cities have committed to fighting the rise of noise pollution. But there’s a problem — too often the first step in lessening the “noise” has been a silencing of local music. This roundtable discussion confronts the issue head on. We’ll explore how cities across the US have taken on this issue of noise ordinances and discuss strategies for protecting local music scenes.

  • Anna Celenza, Georgetown University
  • Don Pitts, Sound Music Cities, Austin, TX
  • Ashlye Keaton, Ella Project, New Orleans, LA
  • Alison Martin, Indiana University

2:45 Creating Safer Spaces
Music and nightlife civic leaders from New Orleans, Denver and Seattle will discuss best practices in addressing issues around public safety. When should nightlife industry leaders be involved? When should government be involved? Hear about some of the challenges, threats and successes these civic leaders have been involved with, and what they are seeing trending nationally in the field.

  • Kate Becker, King County, Washington
  • Kristin Palmer, City Councilmember, New Orleans
  • Lisa Gedgaudas, Create Denver

3:30 MPF Global Showcase: Ideas, Initiatives and Strategies to benefit local Music Ecosystems

  • Learning from other sectors: Catherine Moore on local food scenes
  • Strategic Engagement: Youth on Record reflects on a decade of amplifying the voices of Denver’s youth and local musicians (Jami Duffy and Stephen Brackett)
  • Leveraging Local Assets: The power of noncommercial radio (Joni Lupovitz)
  • Aligning capital with musicians: Black Fret’s expansion (Colin Kendrick)
  • Music Portland: Independent Together (Music Portland Executive Director Meara McLaughlin)
  • Interrupting Cultural Erasure through Policy (Reese Tanimura, Managing Director, Northwest Folklife)

5:30 Wrap up and close

Organization Contacts:
Anna Celenza: ahc27@georgetown.edu
Michael Bracy: mbracy@bracytuckerbrown.com

Media Contact:
Claire Krawsczyn: musicpolicyforum@gmail.com