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-Okay. Good morning.
We're really excited to share what we're trying to do
with the music industry,
and we have some great examples of what we're trying to do.
I want to thank Council President Sara Nelson
for joining us, and you're going to hear from others.
Greg Spotts, thank you.
And Markham McIntyre, thank you for being here,
parts of my administration.
This was a team effort on the legislation
that we're very proud of.
I want to start with a quote
to sort of put us in the right mood.
Music is one of the most powerful things in this world --
that this world has to offer.
No matter what race or religion or nationality
or sexual orientation or gender that you are,
it has the power to unite us all.
And that came from the symbol of wisdom
in our country, Lady Gaga.
So, today, we're celebrating another effort
for us to help foster a thriving music industry
right here in Seattle.
We all know those that live and work and play here in Seattle,
there is indeed something very special about it
and we cannot take for granted that all small businesses,
restaurateurs, music venues, our artists.
In fact, not only should we not take them for granted,
we need to invest and think about the policies
such that they can thrive,
because we have a very unique music scene here.
Music venues were some of the first to close during the --
first congregate spaces to close during the pandemic
and the last to reopen.
And so live music venues and their musicians,
both local and around the world,
have been instrumental in our efforts to revitalize
and bring joy to our communities, to bring hope.
I can't speak for everyone
but I will tell you that every morning I wake up
to some form of music to inspire me,
and I often ask crowds or human beings what inspires you?
What gets you sort of in that vibe to get through a day?
Some days are tougher than others.
So Seattle venues are putting on
nearly 7,000 shows per year here.
So, we looked at this as a city,
and we developed music venue zone permits,
and this is an example of a commonsense solution,
working with our people in the industry
to make our local music venues and our musicians and our crews,
working with them to create the world-class music experience
that we indeed cherish in Seattle
and we want to invest in.
These permits, these new music venue zone permits,
will provide reliable parking and loading space
for touring musicians and the crews at live venues.
This legislation authorizes
the Seattle Department of Transportation, SDOT,
to administer a music venue zone program
and establish music venue zones at qualifying music venues.
And this will allow, again, parking
and a valid permit 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This eliminates the need for venues to create individual ways
to block off curb space,
create sort of sometimes what could be hazardous conditions,
you know, putting cones down, putting cones here.
It permits daily, or rather a daily system,
if you will, designed and intended for
construction contractors,
trying to make their jobs easier and safer for everyone.
This legislation will benefit all neighborhoods
that are here to -- you know, that honor
and are home to live music.
And examples will be right here, the Crocodile in Belltown,
the Royal Room in Columbia City,
Neumos in Capitol Hill, the Neptune in the U District.
I'm proud to say that I think I've visited all of those venues
and we won't talk about that side of me
that goes to these venues,
but just Mayor just making sure
everyone's happy in these venues.
That's my job.
That's my line, and I'm going to stick to it.
We estimate about 33 venues are eligible to apply for permits
once application becomes available in 2025.
So, again, more than 300 venue operators and artists
responded to a survey conducted by SDOT and OED,
thus the directors of those great departments being here.
The Seattle Music Commission communicating the need
for these types of permits. And I want to thank Virginia,
again OED and the Music Commission
for engaging with the industry
and creating policy solutions to support this industry.
So next you're going to hear
from Council President Sara Nelson,
who was very instrumental and a partner in this work,
and we all know that she and her team
are deliberating during the budget.
This is really, really tough work,
and they are doing it very thoughtfully.
I know Councilmember Tanya Woo is here as well.
Oh, Bob, you snuck up on me here --
Councilmember Bob Kettle here as well.
And we want to really thank them for the work that they're doing.
We watch it from the TV
and they are doing it in a very thoughtful way,
listening to communities,
and I'm very proud of the work
they're doing together as a city council.
So next you'll hear from City Council President Sara Nelson.
-Thank you, Mayor Harrell.
So, we are making history today. I want you to look all around.
This is history in the making because you've got,
let's see, four electeds here and a bunch of staff
all together celebrating parking.
I think that's really funny, you know?
I mean, when was the last time you saw that happen?
Anyway...
Well, it's parking for musicians
and it's parking that will benefit the music venues.
And, in Seattle,
we like to talk about loving the creative economy
and growing the creative economy
and how important the creative economy is
to our overall economy, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
But what does that really mean?
You know, it's easier said than done.
And when you get right down to it,
because of our constitutional limitations,
we can't just write checks to venues
that have been struggling through the pandemic.
It's really difficult to actually pin down
what helping the creative economy grow
and thrive really means.
Well, to me,
it means listening to the people that are in the economy,
that live, you know,
the daily life of keeping our city vibrant through music.
Just listen to them and give them what they want,
if it's possible.
To me, kind of my brand, I guess, is remove barriers.
And so that is what this has done.
We have simply listened to the Music Commission.
I want to thank Scott here
for convening Music Commission events
because I believe I heard about this
at one of the first events that I went to in 2022.
Anyway, you've known for a long time that this was a priority.
And, you know, it's been a long time in coming.
2010, I think, was the pilot project.
But it really was a sustained effort on your part.
We listened and we delivered.
And, you know, you got through the pandemic.
Think about it. You got through the pandemic.
You were shut down.
What does a music venue do, what do nightlife places do,
what do musicians do when you can't work your craft?
Well, so if you got through those hard times,
the least we could do is make it a little bit easier
to attract musicians who are on tour
and not miss out on that revenue and on those opportunities.
And so that is sort of what motivated me,
is to figure out what could help.
You told me,
I'm into low-hanging fruit, and here we are.
And I really want to say that I recognize full well
that this was a long time coming.
And so thank you so much for your advocacy
and just breaking it down for me
what you really wanted to see this actually happen.
And I also want to thank
the Curbside Management Team at SDOT.
It was your sustained work as well.
I feel -- and going forward,
this legislation does have a section
that does say that there will be an effort to work
with other businesses on the block, on adjacent blocks,
to make sure that these spaces contribute to
and do not take away from the economy of the districts
where these music venues are ultimately permitted.
So I just wanted to say that this is a win for everybody.
Yes, parking can be a win.
And thank you very much for gathering today
and thank you, Mayor Harrell.
-Thank you, Council President.
I figured the word "revenues" would come up
at least once in her remarks.
Thank you -- with what they're dealing with.
And again, as the chair of the Public Safety Committee,
Bob Kettle, thank you for being here,
and again, Councilmember Tanya Woo as an at-large member,
realizing what we're trying to do throughout the city
to make it more vibrant and more active for our music venues.
Next you're going to hear from Shaina Foley.
She's sort of relatively new on the music scene.
She's a new commissioner on our Seattle Music Commission.
I did a little snooping around trying to figure out who --
this is what they say about you.
She's a can-do, positive attitude person
that walks in the room
and lights up the room when she works here.
And the Crocodile venues,
we all know how the vibe in these places.
So you are a welcome partner in the northwest area
and thank you for immediately volunteering
for what you're doing to help not just your establishments,
but all of the establishments like you.
That is really a public service.
Shaina, please share a few words with us.
-Hello, everybody. Welcome this morning.
We're honored to welcome Mayor Harrell,
Councilmember Nelson and Kettle and Tanya Woo,
also our Music Commission and one of our favorite bands,
La Fonda, this morning
and all of the other supporters of live music
to the Crocodile today
as we celebrate this significant milestone.
This occasion for us is a great reminder
to artists and venues like us that our community is committed
to nurturing creativity.
And it's wonderful to see the deep well of support
for the live community in Seattle and with the council
and everyone else who supported us through this.
So, since '91, Crocodile has been in Belltown.
I think we all know this.
We've been through a lot of parking struggles in that time.
We host over 850 live arts, comedy, music events per year,
bringing 270,000 or more people into our Belltown neighborhood.
So, in those shows,
we are one of the many incredible live music venues
in the city,
and we all face one major significant obstacle together,
which is reliable and secure parking for our artists
and our staff and our technical people
that are coming in to do work.
It is one of the most significant challenges
we face daily.
I wish I had one dollar for every time
I've talked to somebody about parking outside of the venue.
Until now, the permitting process to reserve parking
has been tedious and expensive and required extended lead time
that isn't conducive to our industry
as we're advancing shows.
The introduction of this music venue load zone
marks a significant improvement in the permitting process.
It's very difficult for us to overstate the positive impact
that this is going to have on every venue
and every operator in the City of Seattle.
It will ensure stress-free
and safe loading experiences for our artists and crews,
while also minimizing disruptions to our neighborhoods
and to pedestrians
by protecting them from large technical equipment or traffic
that's happening on the sidewalk.
We will now be able to provide parking for free
to artists and their crews,
which has been a financial burden, frankly, to artists
and to venues for some time,
often in the hundreds of dollars per show,
and that adds up over $850 per year -- or 850 shows per year,
as you can imagine.
So those dollars will stay in artists' pockets
and they will stay in venues' pockets
and we're very grateful for that.
Parking closer to the venue will keep artists' items safer
and cut down on potential devastating car prowling
or theft for these artists.
And, for us, it eliminates
hours and hours of administrative time,
letting us focus that hospitality and time
on our bands and our staff.
Having designated spaces
will allow us to also invest in long-term solutions
to help the climate and to help our neighbors' ears,
like shore power
which will allow us to cut off generators running
and creating pollution in our part of the city.
So we're grateful for that as well.
Music venue parking zones will enhance the experience
for artists from top to bottom
and help keep Seattle on the list as a must-play city
where live music continues to inspire us,
invigorate our community, draw people to our neighborhoods,
and attract visitors.
We would like to thank very much
the Department of Transportation,
Office of Economic Development,
the Music Commission, and all of our representatives,
the mayor, and the council, for working on this legislation
and their continued support of live music venues
and of Seattle music fans as well.
We're looking forward to a bright future
for music venues in Seattle.
Thank you.
-Thank you, Shaina. Thank you, Shaina.
Next, we're going to hear from Jason Clackley,
who is the artistic director for the Vera Project and chair
of our Seattle Music Commission.
And the Vera Project is located at Seattle Center's campus.
I think many of you know the work that he does
is so important, nurturing and creating and finding ways
to find that next level of talent here in Seattle,
and often just probably being
a psychologist half the time as well,
an inspirer for particularly underrepresented communities,
artists that are trying to find their voice,
and again, as a volunteer chair of our Seattle Music Commission.
So, thank you, Jason.
Please share a few words with us.
-Thanks so much.
I am the chair of the Seattle Music Commission
and have been since July, I believe,
but I was the vice-chair for quite some time.
Just to echo what everybody already said,
thank you to Scott and Virginia, boots on the ground,
for the work that you've done on economic development
and curbside for all the work,
and Councilmember Nelson for being our champion on this.
And thank you, everybody else, for voting for it.
That's pretty cool too.
But I play a dual role.
So, not only am I the artistic director of the Vera Project,
I book shows, I advocate for the music industry,
I'm also a musician for the last 25 years.
So part of the work is informed by the fact
that I've had no parking and I've had -- so there's that.
And also, I've had my van stolen in cities
where I'm like, okay, cool.
This is a good start to the trip.
And, you know,
the big thing about access and safety for the vans is so huge
because, honestly, out-of-state plates,
you've got a bunch of stuff in your van, you're just a target.
So having this parking right in front of the venues
is just going to really change that.
So I want to emphasize that.
A lot of other great things have been emphasized today,
but I just want to emphasize that.
What we're doing today
is really one of the first cities in the nation
to do something like this, to prioritize its venues,
especially its independent venues,
its musicians that are national, international, local,
and making sure that folks have
the equitable access to the space.
So, as the Seattle Music Commission,
we're going to continue to prioritize these things.
And yes, you stole my joke already about the boring aspect
of parking, but it's awesome.
It's so important.
I mean, you know, the minutiae or whatever,
people feel like, well, what about this?
No, parking is really important.
We have to get people here
and we have to get them to stay here and to enjoy their time,
especially the ones that are coming out from,
you know, out of town.
We want this to be what I like to call
an A-minus market right now.
We've got to be an A-plus market.
We've got to be up there with LA.
We've got to be up there with New York.
And we need to make sure that people know
that we mean business here.
We'll continue to push legislation
that supports its people
and it supports the bottom line for its people, who we serve.
But not to mention just as a shout-out too,
these venues -- all of us,
all of our venues are either teaching
or employing folks in and around the city that need jobs,
need good-paying jobs.
And so this allows us to free up that and
to be able to do what we need to do is to make sure
that our production world is taken care of as well.
Again, it's a wonderful step forward.
I really appreciate the work that everybody's done,
and it's been hard work that we've had to put in since 2010.
So I really want to thank everybody again for the work,
and thank you, Mayor Harrell, for signing this thing
and making sure that we have room to grow our industry
and continue to grow our industry again post-COVID.
Thank you.
-Thank you, Jason. Thank you, Jason.
You know, contrary to what most of you think,
I'm actually not the coolest person up here.
The next two speakers are the coolest people up here,
and I'll share a little bit about them in a minute.
I did want to say that, you know, we always ask ourselves,
you know, why are we doing something?
Yes, we want to support our artists and our venues.
We want to make Seattle vibrant again.
When the concepts were first sort of developed
through discussions,
if you go to the Safeway on 23rd and Madison,
you'll actually see a picture of my father
in a band with Quincy Jones.
He was a trumpet player.
And my dad -- I was a trumpet player, Jason.
I wasn't a good one,
but I played the trumpet
because my father always wanted me to be like Quincy.
And the music scene here is indeed strong.
And, once again, as I said in my earlier remarks,
we're just trying to get started on really trying
to bring recognition to -- you know,
they think of Seattle
and they think about some of these great employers
and the industry and the port and maritime industry
but our music scene is on fire -- not literally, by the way,
just an expression the kids say.
But we want to make sure that we are the strongest partners.
And having said that,
the next speakers are just someone we're so proud of.
Valerie and Veronica Topacio, better known as La Fonda,
is a popular indie rock band right here in Seattle.
And, in 2023, their sophomore album,
"We Are Infinite," was named one of the top 10 albums of the year
by The Seattle Times,
landed on KEXP's top 90.3 albums of 2023
and was recognized by NPR
as one of the top-shelf performances
in the tiny disc contest.
We're really honored for you to be here,
and please share a few words, Valerie and Veronica.
-Hi. Thank you so much for having us.
We can't tell you how excited we are to know
that parking is going to be a lot easier.
The stress levels have been very high the last 10 years
that we've been actively playing in Seattle.
We've played so many different venues here,
so this is definitely an exciting day.
It is really such an honor to be advocated for.
Thank you.
You know, it's going to be really exciting
to see the ease of being able to just roll up to a venue
after sitting in traffic
and rushing to a sound check at 5:00 P.M. on a Friday,
just having crossed 520 and you're just going down Denny,
struggling like the whole time.
And it just feels really exciting to be part of this,
so thank you for advocating for us.
And also, it's exciting to know that these venues --
not only is Seattle just a legendary, vibrant city hub
for arts, music, and culture, but these venues in itself --
like, we are standing in a legendary space.
These venues carry so much tradition and memories,
and it really carries the future of us being able to look back
and celebrate what we've been a part of,
which is music and shows and community and family.
And the fact that the city is advocating for that
and making it easier for musicians and the people
that are contributing artistically to have ease
with that is really wonderful.
So thank you.
-Thank you.
Okay. Before we close and actually sign the legislation,
we decided that we were going to end with a song
that we've all prepared together working
with Valerie and Veronica and the city council members.
It's a Billie Eilish -- no, I'm just kidding.
We're going to sign. Thank you very much.
We're going to sign some legislation.
[ Applause ]
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Cheers and applause ]