Music Census survey results are in, and they show potential paths to unlock the power of the Cedar Rapids music scene

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city of Cedar Rapids is listening to new notes on how to better tune its music scene — and how it could revitalize a languishing downtown.

Results from the Cedar Rapids Music Census, a survey of 463 musicians and music industry professionals in Linn, Benton and Jones counties, were released last week.

Feedback from the report, collected last fall by music ecosystem firm Sound Music Cities, will be a starting point to foster a system more conducive to supporting musicians and performing artists.

“For 10 to 15 years, we’ve been struggling with the vision of downtown — what is our vision to move forward,” said Cedar Rapids City Council member Dale Todd. “It’s my belief that it’s been staring us right in the face. There’s a synergy with these venues, based on their proximity in and to downtown — the synergy a lot of cities don’t have.”

Sound Music Cities has helped cities including Nashville, New Orleans and Washington, D.C., to conduct similar censuses. Along with results, the consultant will connect Cedar Rapids leaders with other city leaders who have undergone similar studies in their communities to learn how they’re elevating their music ecosystems.

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The city, in collaboration with the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, venue management company VenuWorks and the Cedar Rapids Tourism Office, pitched in more than $50,000 combined to fund the project.

“This goes hand-in-hand with the work we’re doing overall to holistically look at igniting our downtown,” Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said at a City Council meeting Tuesday.

High notes from the results

Results in the 32-page report, collected over five weeks, detail the opinions of seasoned music creatives, industry professionals and venue managers.

Performing arts venues like CSPS Hall and The Olympic South Side Theater joined institutions like Orchestra Iowa and Cedar Rapids Opera in the survey. Even restaurant groups like Fun Not Fancy, whose establishments feature live entertainment, were include among 55 community partners.

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“What led the way throughout the survey is acknowledgment that there’s not an established network in our community,” said Jennifer Pratt, community development and planning director for the city of Cedar Rapids. “We’re hoping we can use this as a launching pad to get folks in the room and start thinking about what that would look like — if there’s a group they could create in our community.”

One of the biggest through lines in survey responses was the segmentation and siloing of the local music community.

The local music ecosystem is dominated by music creatives, who made up 72 percent of survey respondents. Other professionals in the support system including managers, producers and venues comprised the rest of respondents.

“This distribution emphasizes a creative-heavy ecosystem with opportunities to strengthen venue and industry infrastructure to better support the creative majority,” the report noted.

Cedar Rapids has a diverse base of venue ownership. Tax-exempt nonprofits make up nearly half of venue owners, followed by for-profit entities at 32 percent.

Smaller venues dominate the scene. Most venues, at 38 percent, have a capacity of 100 or fewer. Another 25 percent can hold 100 to 200 people; 19 percent can hold 351 to 500 people and 12 percent can hold 1,000 or more. Medium-sized venues with a capacity of 501 to 1,000 are notably absent.

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Music’s magnitude

Cedar Rapids’ music economy generates a total of $9 million in income annually — an average of $19,000 per respondent.

Diane Smith, director of marketing and sales for VenuWorks, said the bigger picture shows an even larger number. According to VenuWorks calculations, music and live entertainment last year brought over $33 million in economic impact when considering visitors who stay at hotels, eat at restaurants and shop locally as they attend shows.

“At the highest level, we understand it brings in a lot of business for not just the entirety of downtown, but the entirety of Cedar Rapids,” she said.

But beyond the numbers, the culture fortified by a strong music scene brings intangible returns. Several years after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Pratt said arts and venues are taking on a renewed importance in helping the city bounce back.

The director, who has been with the city for 26 years, believes gathering this data to make decisions is a big first step in the right direction.

“I think back to the flood of ‘08, and the importance the city put on getting those venues back. It’s how we came together as a community,” Pratt said.

Good pay is a tough gig to find

Despite plenty of economic activity, the city’s highly seasoned performers rely on other income sources to make ends meet. Two-thirds work outside of music to supplement their income, and 86 percent rely on outside jobs as their primary income source.

Lack of music work and stagnant pay rates are the highest concerns among creatives.

But as artists cite concerns about gig pay that lags behind other cities, 57 percent of venue and presenter respondents said that talent costs are one of their most significant challenges.

The median pay for a local gig is $150. The majority of musicians in the survey perform one to three local shows per month, with nearly one-third of respondents saying they average zero local paid performances per month.

Meanwhile, music creatives spend an average of over $5,800 per year on expenses for their craft.

“Cedar Rapids has the bones for a strong music ecosystem, but the community needs to recognize and prioritize it as an asset,” one respondent said.

The vast majority of creatives, 93 percent, said they’re confident they’ll continue to work in music over the next three years. But 10 percent fewer said they’re likely to stay in Cedar Rapids over the same period.

While these statistics reflect a strong dedication to their music careers, the report suggests that retaining local talent “may require additional support.”

Getting the band together

All things considered, respondents say the ecosystem as a whole isn’t as cohesive as it needs to be. One key insight articulates the lack of a centralized hub for music, leading to fragmentation.

“A true music ecosystem involves everyone — audiences, artists, venues and policymakers. Right now, there’s no clear leadership to bring all those pieces together,” one unnamed respondent said in the report.

“The industry here feels like an afterthought — it’s not treated as a serious part of the city’s economy,” said another.

VenuWorks’ Smith said that no matter the end result of uniting the silos, the overarching sentiment is that artists want to be part of the solution.

“They’re really looking for not necessarily someone to come in and take it over. They want to be part of this process,” she said. “Whatever it is, they want it to be heavily community driven.”

Next steps and solutions

Pratt said the solution will be exactly that. Aside from potential to streamline the handling of city regulations like noise ordinances or event permitting, she doesn’t envision the city taking an active role in the music scene’s direction as it evolves.

“The thing the city can always do is bring people together,” said Pratt. “This really is about building the network.”

The end of the report outlines nine “community action opportunities.” Pratt told the City Council those options will need to be prioritized strategically.

Suggested action items include:

The next step in the project is a workshop with respondents, scheduled for March 4, to refine recommendations and start networking efforts.

To read the full report or sign up for updates on the project, visit cedarrapidsmusic.com.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

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