Music's Contribution to Fort Worth Economy: $500 Million in 2016, Report Finds

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Fort Worth’s music industry generated more than $500 million in direct economic output and 5,584 jobs in 2016, and artists have survived COVID-19 by generating virtual content and more songs, a study commissioned by the Visit Fort Worth tourism bureau said.

But more than 80 percent of employment generated by the "music ecosystem" comes from live music, shut down by the pandemic, and the community should act aggressively to “ensure all aspects of the industry recover and grow,” preserving and expanding an important economic development building block, the study, completed by the London-based Sound Diplomacy, said.

The study, released during Visit Fort Worth’s annual meeting Friday, maps Fort Worth’s music assets, providing “the first-ever map of our local music economy and a measure of its impact,” Bob Jameson, the bureau’s president and CEO, said in summarizing its findings.

The report - in mapping assets and conducting interviews with stakeholders - found strengths in the city’s sense of community; new Dickies Arena; tourism bureau reputation; singer-songwriter, Americana, rock and jazz scenes; history in jazz and western swing; Hear Fort Worth initiative; and support at City Hall. It found weaknesses in musical diversity; reputation as “the town to settle rather than go out;” and lack of “supporting professional roles” and networking infrastructure.

Stakeholders “cited the motto of Cowboys and Culture, emphasizing that the city celebrated the cowboys aspect much more than the culture aspect,” leading to a lack of musical diversity, the report said.

Moreover, “there is not a strong or widely understood external music brand,” the report said. “The average person in Fort Worth would not consider Fort Worth a music city. (And there’s a) lack of awareness among the general public of the city’s rich music history.”

Visit Fort Worth hired Sound Diplomacy in 2019 to do the study, and when the pandemic delayed the report’s release, the firm gave Visit Fort Worth “invaluable advice” for how to advocate for musicians and the industry, Jameson said.

“For every Nashville, New Orleans, and Austin, there is a Fort Worth, Memphis or Huntsville (Alabama) with just as much opportunity to support and leverage this business,” Shain Shapiro, Sound Diplomacy’s founder and group CEO, said in the report’s summary.

The report laid out 26 recommendations in seven areas for improving the local music economy. They included:

  • Permitting musicians to play on streets and other public places for donations, easing alcohol-related zoning ordinances and restrictive noise limits; exploring musician loading zones; incorporating music into Fort Worth’s “built environment” infrastructure plans; creating a permanent music office at Visit Fort Worth; and expanding the Hear Fort Worth board.
  • Creation of guidelines to “ensure consistent compensation for musicians.”
  • Engaging musicians in under-represented demographics to better promote them; and creating an inclusive online database for concerts and performances, financial incentives to expand the industry locally, music directory and map, networking map, professional development series, and incubator and accelerator programs.
  • Creating a placemaking strategy and master plan around music; encouraging development of more affordable music spaces; “maximizing” city spaces by facilitating permitting for temporary music use; and “unifying” the marketing of music and other nighttime offerings through cross promotion and visitor packages.

The report estimated music created $156 million in direct earnings and a total $517 in direct economic output – the sum of produced goods and services – for 2016 in Fort Worth. Including indirect benefits, the report estimated music created 7,555 jobs (1.76% of total employment), $256.56 million in earnings, and $770.65 million in total output.

The report mapped music-related businesses in 25 categories across the city:

  • Bars, cafes, restaurants with music: 87
  • Music record and equipment stores: 47
  • Record labels: 32
  • Nonprofits: 32
  • Schools: 30
  • Recording studios: 21
  • Multipurpose venues: 20
  • Other businesses (law, publishing, etc.): 19
  • Dedicated live music venues: 16
  • Festivals: 14
  • Booking agents and promoters: 13
  • Concert producers: 11
  • Post-production: 9
  • Radio stations: 9
  • Management agencies: 5
  • Auditoriums and arenas: 5
  • Museums: 5
  • Production: 4
  • University and college music programs: 4
  • Instrument makers: 4
  • Conservatories/universities with music program,s: 3
  • Rehearsal spaces: 3
  • Night clubs: 2
  • Stadiums/ampitheaters/fairgrounds: 2
  • Occasional venues: 1

The report noted that industrywide demand for music has risen during the pandemic. “In 2020, we all witnessed a world with drastically less live music and yet, we also witnessed an increase in the live streaming, instrument purchases and new music being uploaded online,” the report said.

Music streaming is forecast to grow 19.8% in the next five years, and demand for instruments has rocketed up, the report said.

“There’s more growth on the horizon. And people want to be creating. Fort Worth is looking to re-imagine the role of music and culture in recovery, one where the music industry is active, resilient, economically viable and contributing socially for all citizens. To do that, FW needs to think about music and culture differently.”