Editor's note: This story is part of an ongoing series for Arts Access examining the health and well-being of our North Texas arts economy.
Dallas now has its own music office.
Visit Dallas announced the launch of a new music hub designed to promote and support the Dallas music industry. The Dallas Music Office will cater to artists, venues and music enthusiasts through initiatives, education and partnerships.
鈥淒allas is chock full of artists and amazing talent, and we鈥檝e had this for years,鈥� Jonathan McNary, Dallas Music Office manager, said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing aggregating it and amplifying it, so a goal for us is to provide that voice and establish a community with musicians and local music businesses.鈥�
McNary will be leading the office alongside Kristina Kirkenaer-Hart, director of Cultural Tourism for Visit Dallas. McNary is a graduate of the University of North Texas and previously worked as a producer and artist developer at Creatives Factory, an artist development company and recording label in Dallas.
The office is an extension of Visit Dallas and the Texas Music Office, which is based in Austin. The Texas Music Office certifies Texas cities that are serious about developing music industry growth. Dallas was certified in 2021.
Kirkenear-Hart said the city had been slowly working on developing the office for years after it was certified. She spoke to many music industry folks during development who said they feel siloed in the community. She sees the Dallas Music Office as the missing puzzle piece.
鈥淲e literally have all the puzzle pieces, we just don鈥檛 have that final puzzle piece to bring it together and give the industry people a sense of community,鈥� Kirkenaer-Hart said. 鈥淯ltimately, we want to hear from the broader community.鈥�
The Dallas Music Office will use social media accounts for networking and partnerships, and to highlight the city鈥檚 musical landscape. The office can be found under @dallas_sounds on Facebook, Instagram and X. It will also post facts about Dallas鈥� music scene, highlight venues and spotlight artists and bands.
鈥淎s far as getting in touch with us, the best way at the moment is just through social media,鈥� McNary said. 鈥淭hat will absolutely get our attention.鈥�
The Dallas Music Office is working on building partnerships with KXT Radio, Dallas Love Field, Dallas Entertainment Awards and Downtown Dallas Inc. and DART. While there are no set dates yet, the office plans to host educational panels, workshops, town hall meetings, which will allow community members to voice their ideas, and other events throughout the year.
鈥淓ducational panels will be something like how to run a successful music business, how to book shows, how to manage finances, starting an LLC production, on and on,鈥� McNary said. 鈥淛ust providing resources for them.鈥�
The office is also working on a music registry. It's still in the process of designing a submission form that artists or music industry members can fill out with information about their work. Community members will have access to the registry if they need to network, book or hire talent.
鈥淔or example, if a venue wants to hire them, they'll be able to go to our website, do a search like, 鈥榃e need this type of band,鈥� and that type of band will pop up in our system,鈥� McNary said.
To help with these initiatives, the Dallas Music Office formed the Dallas Music Office Committee. It is composed of industry leaders, including artists, music managers and venue owners that help brainstorm ideas. The office and its committee will work together to find new ways to cater to Dallas鈥� diverse music community.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of talent, and we鈥檙e there to support the talent, but there鈥檚 also talent that doesn鈥檛 really know how to access support,鈥� McNary said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here for all of them.鈥�
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