Advocacy Organizations: Critical Partners in Nighttime Economy Management

For nightlife management professionals who work as advocates within city government, managing relationships, collaboration and policy development are all essential elements of successful work. A lot of the job is to work with other government colleagues to develop policies and programs, and see them through to adoption and implementation. But often, internal partners are not in a position to move new ideas across the finish line due to limits on advocacy and hierarchies in government. To provide the final push for lawmakers to act upon specific policy or programmatic needs, it is vital that nightlife managers have external partners within the community and the industry to advocate on behalf of the work. While individual advocates can play an important role, it is also imperative to have organized advocacy groups that can speak for and represent a broad spectrum of the nightlife industry.

In Seattle, we are fortunate to have two impactful organizations that work independently and in conjunction with city leadership on issues of import to the nightlife industry:

The Seattle Music Commission (SMC) is a 21-member independent commission appointed by the Mayor and City Council.  Its members represent a broad spectrum of the music industry, from working musicians, to engineers, promoters, venue operators, union reps, non-profit organizations, and composers.  Founded in 2008 through work by the then-Office of Film and Music, and formalized by statute in 2010, the SMC is a vital advocate for the industry, tasked with advising city government on issues impacting the industry in Seattle.

Some important programs and policies that originated from the SMC include:

• Music Priority Load Zones (MPLZ): First created in 2014 as a pilot program, SMC continued to advocate for a broader, enforceable MPLZ program to remove barriers to musician parking and loading, and reduce work and costs for venues.  Seattle City Council is poised to pass this expanded, enforceable legislation in 2024.
  

• Music Career Days: Now expanded into Creative Economy Career Days, this SMC-led program is an annual day-long workforce development program, exposing local youth to music industry professionals, industry panels, one-on-one mentoring, and hands-on technical demonstrations.
  

• Sea-Tac “Experience the City of Music” program: A joint endeavor by the SMC, Port of Seattle, and the City’s Office of Film and Music, this program features local Seattle musicians in live performances throughout the airport terminal, overhead music by local musicians and announcements voiced by preeminent Seattle artists.  This program is an invaluable tool in exposing Seattle music to new artists and promoting the local scene.
  

• The Creative Advantage: A joint effort with the Seattle Arts Commission and Seattle Public Schools to fund arts and music education in public schools.

The Washington Nightlife and Music Association (WANMA) is a more recent entrant in the advocacy world in Washington, but no less important.  Formed during the pandemic by a group of music venue owners who came together to share resources, best practices and support each other during their mutual closures, WANMA was an essential factor in the survival of many of Seattle and Washington State’s music venues through initiatives like a fundraising campaign called Keep Music Live that raised $1 million dollars for local venues.

Post-pandemic, the membership, primarily still venue operators but open to anyone in the music industry, recognized the need for an ongoing organized voice for the industry.  Having realized they were stronger as collaborators than competitors, and recognizing that they could not sustain an all-volunteer ad hoc group, WANMA was formally organized into a 501(c)6 trade organization in 2023. WANMA’s mission is to provide education, safety training, support, economic development, lobbying, and diversity/inclusion efforts for its members. WANMA was also selected by the State Commerce Department to lead a Music Industry Innovation Cluster and develop a statewide plan for the industry. WANMA is poised to be a leading voice in advocacy, policy development and implementation and partner with City, County and State leaders on nightlife industry goals.

Organizations like these are a fundamental part of the nightlife management ecosystem.  By providing strong voices from the community and industry, they can help nightlife managers move the ball on a variety of issues that might otherwise get stuck within the city bureaucracy.  Nightlife managers who lack such outside voices would be well advised to explore either the creation of such formal organizations, which can take a lot of time and effort, or to identify individual external champions who can develop ad hoc groups to quickly organize around an issue or policy and lend a strong voice in support of a move vibrant nighttime economy. -Scott Plusquellec Seattle, WA