Founded and led by music industry leader Don Pitts, Sound Music Cities is a passionate partner to cities seeking to measure and grow their music and entertainment economy. Sound Music Cities looks deep within each city, hand-crafting music ecosystem strategies that speak to the city’s unique, local dynamic. No stranger to hard work, Pitts stands alongside each city to facilitate active forums with musicians, their fans, civic leaders and local governments—providing not only data or insights, but a clear path forward and innovative community sound management tactics.

Tactics such as these reduced sound complaints in Austin by 70%, which was one of many successes within Pitts’ seven-year tenure with the City of Austin. His experience lends a seasoned perspective and strong appreciation for supporting data. But it’s his ability to successfully find common ground between the political world and the music industry landscape that gives Sound Music Cities an edge.

“During his seven years inside Austin’s city government, Pitts was something of a trailblazer, tasked with diagnosing and treating the many problems facing the music economy, large and small, there. In no small part, Pitts’ work culminated in the voluminous Austin Music Census he commissioned and released in 2015… Pitts fostered an informal coalition of knowledge sharing among cities having similar problems, to learn from each other’s mistakes and replicate their successes.” 

– Andrew Flanagan, NPR music
 

Co-founder Peter Schwarz brings a perfect balance to Pitts’ expertise, and almost four decades of experience as a musician and business leader. They first officially joined forces when Pitts recruited Schwarz to work on Austin’s Long Term Music Industry Strategy. Together, along with a wide range of industry experts and technical consultants, they make Sound Music Cities.

Sound Music Cities knows that roadblocks to a healthy music ecosystem are not unique to Austin, and recognizes that each city’s music economy has important differences. It’s a lot like music. Each city has its own rhythm with stakeholders working and learning from each other. And when it all comes together, that’s when the magic happens.

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