We would like to thank everyone that that was able to take time to discuss our ideas for the Memphis Music Magnet. We look forward to working with many of you in the future as we strive to make our city a better place for our local musicians and residents. To download a copy of the discussion presentation click on the image above. Knowing that small advantages can become huge economic advantage, what should Memphis be keying on?
Around the same time, the Commercial Appeal had a similar question for readers in the viewpoints section: What is Memphis’ single greatest asset?
These questions were the catalyst for a process that consisted of gathering my own ragged thoughts, engaging in enlightening discussions with my Economics of Cities class, and reflecting on past class discussions of how to operationalize a city’s quest to tap into and capture the “creative class.”
For context, my reply to the Smart City post follows:
I think there’s reason to believe that we must have some small advantage in some subcategory of the broad term “music.” Maybe it’s a combination of musical heritage, music industry infrastructure, musically inspiring urban decay (in a good way?), and general affordability. (That would make a great Chamber of Commerce Slogan.) I’m not sure what the exact advantage is, or how Memphis might capitalize on it, but consider this piece about how Portland has become America’s Indie rock Mecca. Portlander Taylor Clark shares his thoughts on why a growing number of successful musicians who got their start in other places have chosen to settle in the Rose City. Read it if you have the time, but I’ve tried to distill his theories to four main reasons here:
Nothing earth shattering there. Maybe this kind of success needs to happen “organically,” but if it is possible to create it, why not here? Laid back weirdness? Well, we’ve got laid back, and we’ve got weirdness, so why not “laid back weirdness?” Housing is affordable in Portland? No, it’s not. I spent four years there not too long ago. Housing is affordable in Memphis. And we’ve got plenty of mortals for gods to walk among. Better still, here they can walk among mortals along streets that some of their gods walked back in the day. As for the enthusiastic rock crowds, I haven’t been in a real rock crowd since my daughter was born more than 4 years ago, but I’d imagine Memphis could muster up a mosh pit (or whatever rock crowds do now) with the best of them, right?
Going back to my earlier point about the musical inspiration of life in a gritty city, consider this comment on Taylor piece by Slate reader “Anse”:
“I remember Tom Waits once said the reason he preferred to stay in cheap hotels when he was on tour wasn't just because he could save money; lower-class neighborhoods had more stories. Luxury was an obstacle to getting to the root of things.”
Post Post: From Thoughts to Action (or at least toward more organized thoughts about possible actions)
The importance of harnessing creativity in cities has been made abundantly clear in both academic literature and popular press. And there is reason to believe that music is both an important “heritage industry” that we should fight to hold onto in Memphis, as well as a toehold we can use to climb into the new creative economy. That opinion has been expressed from the top policymakers down to the common man on the street. The MemphisED economic development plan (part of the larger Memphis Fast Forward framework) identifies music/film as a key industry for the future. Fifteen of the seventeen printed responses to the Commercial Appeal’s viewpoints question mentioned arts and/or music.
In light of all these thoughts, a group of graduate students studying city planning have set out to explore what might be done. This semester (in a class with the less-than-inspiring title "Special Topics: Applications of Community Development Finance") we will explore tools and concepts related to creating community development and neighborhood revitalization through promoting creativity, arts, and culture. The course will focus on applying such tools in a community-based project, with a specific focus on attracting and supporting musicians and the music industry in Memphis. (This is the project we are now calling the Memphis Music Magnet.) We will examine successful arts-based revitalization programs like Paducah, Kentucky’s “Artist Relocation Program” (the only tangible, policy-based approach to attracting the creative class that I know of) to determine the feasibility of creating neighborhood level change in Memphis through “musician relocation incentives.” We will also study the composition of the music industry in Memphis to determine the broader economic development impacts of such a program.
This blog will serve as both a forum for the exchange of information and a sounding board for us to share ideas with Memphis musicians and the broader community.
Questions Abound
After just a few early discussions and self reflection, a considerable number of questions have emerged about our approach. Does the fact that so many people have identified music as a Memphis asset mean it’s true? Or are we building a myth – partly out of nostalgia, and partly out of an effort to find the “right answer” (i.e., we know creativity is important, so our best asset has to be something related to our creativity)? Is there anything left to hold on to here, or would efforts to bolster the Memphis music industry amount to starting from scratch? (We’ve heard it said the Memphis has plenty of music, but no music industry. Preliminary research indicates that things are clearly not what they used to be, and that our industry infrastructure pales in comparison to other so-called music cities.) But how much does it matter whether the traditional infrastructure is in place? The makeup of the industry is changing, and isn’t the approach more about creating an atmosphere, cultivating creativity, supporting artists, and changing perceptions of place? If so, can creativity be really created, or does it need to be organic? Are we trying to create creativity or are we simply removing barriers that impede organic development and success?
These are the conceptual questions we’ll grapple with along with the practical over the next few months. Stay tuned.
