NYC Mayor's Office Convened a 'Brainstorm Session' to Help Improve the City's Music Industry

Representatives from more than 75 companies or organizations—including labels, management companies, recording studios, promoters, venue owners, brands, and musicians—gathered this past Tuesday for the first "New York City Music Industry Convening." Organized by the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), the industry-wide "brainstorm session" was created to determine ways in which the city can continue and improve its support of the music industry and its creators.

Until the appointment of new MOME commissioner Julie Menin, the office only had focused on film, television, and theater. It now includes music as well as digital content, advertising, and real estate pertaining to the arts. "There was a tremendous response from everyone in the room," Menin told Billboard. "Everyone was excited that music is now housed within a City agency that, soup to nuts, is going to deal with issues within the music business, both focused on bringing new opportunities to New York City and being supportive of the music industry."

The meeting comes at a particularly fraught time in the city's music scene, as a number of beloved performance venues closed within the last decade, including the likes of CBGB, Roseland Ballroom, Death by Audio, 285 Kent, Glasslands, Cameo Gallery and most recently, Palisades. Rising rent costs and restrictive city regulations have thus made it difficult for new venues to open in reaction to the closures.

"We were hearing the same kinds of issues emanating from the music industry; that when they're opening up new businesses there are a lot of different agencies to deal with and a number of different regulations," Menin said. "So one of the ideas that we discussed was to have someone in the office to almost serve as an expediter to help navigate different regulatory requirements."

In addition to adding someone to their office to answer questions about city regulations, the office has also supported the Empire State Music Production Tax Credit, while will provide tax breaks for music projects records in the state of New York. The new state legislature is still waiting to be signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Britt Julious is on Twitter.