Next Level Music Career DeProgram

About the Program

Category: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

Creative Sonoma, a new division of the County of Sonoma housed in the County’s Economic Development Board, was established in 2014 with a mission to support and advance the creative community of the County. Through an assessment of the history of support for artists and creative entrepreneurs in the County, it was determined that little-to-no programming has taken place to support the professional development of musicians to advance their careers from a business perspective. There is a significant population of professional and semi-professional musicians in the County, a small and unstable group of performance venues in the County, and just one professional recording studio dedicated to music that is open to public clients. There is only limited access in Sonoma County to the types of resources that are more plentiful in larger markets, e.g., networking opportunities, career guidance, music publishers, managers, record labels, etc. In response, Creative Sonoma initiated and produced Next Level, a multi-pronged program to help local musicians advance artistically and professionally through acquiring both general business skills and music-industry specific knowledge. The elements of the program were created in response to the needs expressed by the local community through pre-program surveys and included multiple resources and opportunities for professional development. This was delivered through ongoing workshops, a local conference and networking event, a mini-grant program, and tailored consulting for the grantees. The outcomes include a music sector with greater connection within their own community of musicians, musicians with a better understanding of the professional skills needed in their careers, and a newly-developed roster of musicians who now actively inform and participate in Creative Sonoma activities and events. In addition, musicians were introduced to and coached on how to describe their work to obtain funding through a grant process, an entirely new experience to most in that population.