The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana · A5

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The city of Indianapolis, Visit Indy and the Central Indiana Community Foundation are joining Indy Chamber in paying for a site visit this month by re- searchers from Sound Diplomacy, a London-based music policy consulting firm. There’s more than artistic pride at stake, Rawlinson said. The payoff for becoming known as a “music city” ar- rives when people want to live in the area and have reasons to stick around. Sound Diplomacy, a company that has worked with about a dozen U.S. cit- ies and regions, spotlights music’s abil- ity to generate economic growth, in- crease tax revenues, attract talent and improve quality of life. Sound Diploma- cy made its first visit to Indianapolis in May 2018, when it presented a Music Cities Forum in Fountain Square. A question of identity Among midsize cities, Indianapolis competes for industry, conventions and tourism dollars against Nashville, Ten- nessee; Austin, Texas; Denver; Colum- bus, Ohio; and Charlotte, North Caroli- na. Music fans will recognize two of these cities as having iconic identities. Nashville is the “country music capital of the world.” Austin is the “live music capital of the world.” Azucena Micó, who is visiting Indi- anapolis in the role of Sound Diploma- cy’s senior project manager, said she believes every city has a musical identi- ty, “but it needs to be explained.” Micó didn’t know about the towering jazz legacy of Indiana Avenue and mu- sicians such as Wes Montgomery, Fred- die Hubbard and J.J. Johnson before ar- riving here. “I think a lot of storytelling needs to be done in the city to support the music strategy,” she said. “I was surprised to learn of all the jazz history, for instance. It’s not that it’s hidden, but it’s not ex- plained.” Micó also complimented Fountain Square as a neighborhood where music is embraced and celebrated instead of being viewed as a nuisance. Although Rawlinson acknowledged the perception of music lagging behind the city’s dining scene and craft beer ex- plosion, he expressed optimism about closing the gap. “We have a strong artist community,” he said. “We have a great music audi- ence.” Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center in Hamilton County ranked No. 1 in the world for concert tickets sold (588,023) at amphitheaters in 2018, Pollstar mag- azine reported. In 2017, Pollstar ranked Bankers Life Fieldhouse as the No. 57 arena in the world (351,368 tickets sold). Rawlinson said it would be signifi- cant if a fraction of people who check out national acts at those venues gave local acts a try at spots such as the Hi-Fi, State Street Pub, Healer, the Mousetrap, the Jazz Kitchen and the Vogue. Crunching the numbers Through the collection of data, Sound Diplomacy intends to map the city’s ecosystem of performance spaces, recording studios, record stores and similar entities. Micó spent this week moderating roundtable discussions of music stake- holders, and an upcoming public survey will harvest more information about the music community. Sign up for the sur- vey at sounddiplomacy.com/Indianapolis. Additional private-donor funding of $50,000 is needed to complete Indy Music Strategy’s work before 2020. The final phase includes an economic im- pact report, marketing and tourism strategy and implementation recom- mendations. “What we really want to do is get the best understanding of what’s going on here and then use that,” Rawlinson said. “You can impose a marketing strategy onto anything, but it won’t be authentic or successful if we don’t have the data to back it up.” The city’s music landscape is evolv- ing. A new permanent stage is coming to the Farm Bureau Lawn at White River State Park next summer. Renovation plans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse likely will knock out summer concerts at the venue from 2020 to 2022. Blueprints for the Bottleworks Dis- trict on Mass Ave. include a perfor- mance area in the food hall. The city’s roster of vibrant grassroots music festivals added Woo Grl in April and the first Buzz/Cut Queer Music Fest will happen in September. Infrastructure addition Soundspace, a “music co-working” business, will open this fall at the Circle City Industrial Complex northeast of Bottleworks. Co-founded by Richard Anderson III and Aaron Hogan, Soundspace is offer- ing three levels of monthly member- ships — connect, rehearse and record — as an alternative for musicians who oth- erwise rent rehearsal spaces or buy time at recording studios. “We’re building out something that’s lowering the barriers for entry for mu- sicians locally,” Anderson said. Anderson grew up in Erie, Pennsyl- vania, and he studied neuroscience and biotechnology at Indiana University- Purdue University Indianapolis. He cul- tivated an entrepreneurial approach while studying at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. “I fell in love with Indianapolis and a lot of the things going on here,” Ander- son said. “It feels like things are happening left and right. For somebody who is up and coming or wants to really start some- thing or grow something, I think it pro- vides a lot of fertile ground.” Call IndyStar reporter David Lind- quist at 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist. Music Continued from Page 1A “I think a lot of storytelling needs to be done in the city to support the music strategy. I was surprised to learn of all the jazz history, for instance. It’s not that it’s hidden, but it’s not explained.” Azucena Micó Sound Diplomacy’s senior project manager