St. Johns County music study aims to grow music ecosystem and develop music tourism

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The St. Johns County Tourist Development Council, in partnership with the St. Johns County Cultural Events Division, has launched a St. Johns County Music Strategy, an economic development initiative focused on the county’s diverse and growing music industry and leveraging the music culture of the county for impact in year-round tourism. 

Tourism is already a top economic driver in St. Johns County, but the music culture of the area is an underutilized asset in attracting both short-term visitors and top talent to the area, according to the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council and the Cultural Events Division. They engaged Sound Diplomacy, a London, Berlin and Barcelona-based music policy consultancy and global expert in developing long-term and productive music strategies to help with the initiative.

 Sound Diplomacy will manage a quantitative and qualitative year-long process that will deliver a detailed action plan to fill in the gaps and realize the full economic potential and vision for the St. Johns County music ecosystem. This process will include an economic impact assessment of the county’s music industry, a comprehensive mapping of the county’s music-related assets (from performance, recording and rehearsal space to businesses and educational institutions), a comparative analysis to position St. Johns County among other best-practice global music cities and a strategic plan to guide the sector’s future growth with a particular emphasis on building a smart music tourism strategy.

 Drawing from the data collected and stakeholder feedback, as well as global best practices, this effort will result in a strategic plan to engage St. Johns County music makers, industry stakeholders, and audiences to support the industry’s future growth.

The public is invited and encouraged to participate in this study by completing the Sound Diplomacy St. Johns County Survey, available online at https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5414873/St-Johns-County-Music-Strategy-Survey now through February 14.

 For more information on the study, visit https://www.sounddiplomacy.com/st-johns-county.