Cardiff's new Music Board met for the first time today.
The 22 members of the board, who are tasked
withchampioning the city's music scene, protecting and promoting
music from grassroots to established acts, and developing Cardiff's Music
Strategy,met at
City Hall on Monday 16thDecember.
Speaking before the meeting, Chair of the Music
Board, Council Leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, said: "This is a significant
moment in the cultural history of Wales, where industry professionals and
government will begin to take forward the aspiration for Cardiff, the Capital
of Wales to establish itself as an International Music City, covering all
genres, at all levels and for all people across the whole city.
"We're ambitious for the future of music
in Cardiff. The music sector already does a lot for the city, both culturally
and economically, but we want to maximise that value and really harness the
power of music for the benefit of the city and the people who live, work and
visit it.
"The Music Board is going to play a
significant role in helping achieve those ambitions. The Sound Diplomacy report
published earlier this year set out a blueprint for how we can make Cardiff a
leading player in the global Music Cities movement, and I'm looking forward to
meeting with the board for the first time, and hearing their views on how we
can work together to drive forward those plans."
The board members have been chosen to reflect
the social diversity of Cardiff and includeone of Wales's top radio DJs,
the frontman of an explosive live band, the director of a leading community
music charity, and one of the team behind the introduction of the Agent of
Change policy in Wales.
Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Cllr
Peter Bradbury, said: "Cardiff's creative sector is one of the its
strengths - it already generates more than £1 billion of value for the economy
and the growth of the UK's live music sector means there's a real opportunity
here for Cardiff - and with the wide-ranging skills and experience we've got on
the board, one we're well-placed to make the most of.
"Introducing a Music Board was one of the
key recommendations made in the Sound Diplomacy report and two other
recommendations, namely the creation of a signature music event and the
introduction of musician loading zones are on the agenda at the first meeting.
"There's a lot of work to be done, but
this initial board meeting marks an important milestone in our plans to
incorporate music into every aspect of Cardiff's city structures from planning
to licencing, social wellbeing and tourism."
Image by: Peter Evans