New Cuyahoga County Music Task Force to Work on Building Local Scene, Explore Possible Music Commission

Sean Watterson and Cindy Barber at the debut of the Greater Cleveland Music Census data last week. Credit: Mark Oprea

Last year, 2,768 Northeast Ohio musicians and other industry members voiced their opinions on the state of the local music scene in a lengthy, comprehensive Music Census.

The city needs more medium-sized concert venues, many said. Working musicians need better-paying gigs. Venues need more help finding the audience to keep their doors open.

Three out of four of survey takers thought that, like in Nashville and Austin, a Cleveland Music Commission would be the body to make such a wishlist actually grow into reality.

On Tuesday, Cleveland stepped an inch closer to that goal when county officials announced the creation of Cuyahoga LIVE!, a task force now faced with the question of how to bring resources and support to the region to marshall growth in the local scene.

County Executive Chris Ronayne, who’s long dreamt of erecting a commission-style group on the county level, said that Cuyahoga LIVE! will be comprised of five separate committees—audience development, workforce development, culture and belonging, artist support and industry support—that will report to the county with there findings over the next nine months.

The idea, it seems, is to segue the trunk of data earned from the Cleveland Music Census and use it to build the bones of a something like a music commission by early next year.

“Live music isn’t just entertainment; it’s an industry that deserves real support,” Ronayne said via a press release. With Cuyahoga LIVE!, “we’re bringing together the best minds in the public and private sectors to help us create a successful and sustainable live music environment.”

Ronayne’s getting input from venue owners and Music Census guides Sean Watterson and Cindy Barber, who told Scene in interviews on Tuesday that the a future commission’s structure is truly up in the air, subject to influence on an international scope.

Maybe something like New Orleans’ Office of Nightlife? Or Texas’ statewide Music Office? Or the Emilia-Romagna Music Commission in Central Italy?

“Those are all models to look at,” Watterson, who’s owned the Happy Dog in Gordon Square since 2008, told Scene. “We’re looking at how they’ve structured their offices and commissions. And we’re gathering that information and figuring out what’s best for Cleveland.”

What a music commission can do is often determined by its size and its basis in local, county or state government. If Ronayne ultimately decides to keep a commission embedded under his umbrella, such a body would have substantial reach over pretty much any live music-related issue: how noise ordinances work; when exactly outdoor performances have to end; how state or federal monies trickle down to recording bands and freshly-run venues.

Even tackling what seems to be a glaring issue: unifying the county’s relatively fractured venues—better linking Cleveland Heights’ Grog Shop with Lakewood’s Winchester. And, like the Hello Cleveland! event listing site that went up in September, providing clear information to tourists and locals on what the hell is actually going on around Northeast Ohio.

Barber and Watterson are already garnering ideas. Just last week, at the Music Box in the West Bank of the Flats, a room of attendees tossed around potential fixes.

“We been talking about a lot of things,” Barber said. “Like, maybe installing some kind of kiosk in the middle of the Rock Hall? How to point people in the right direction?”

“There’s a lot of energy into finding those solutions,” she added.

Cuyahoga LIVE! will host three more task force-led meetings open to the public this year. Their next one is June 17 at Forest City Brewery in Duck Island.

Barber said some people have already signed up to fill LIVE!’s five committees, though didn’t mention specifics. Their findings, she said, should wrap up by the end of the year.