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September

13, 2016

Hon. Antonio Fas Alzamora
Senator
President, Commission for Tourism, Culture, Sports & Leisure and Globalization

Honorable Senator Fas Alzamora:

I write this letter in support of Resolution 1409, an effort that proposes to explore
the potential of music and the music industry as a mechanism for economic
development in Puerto Rico. There is no doubt in my mind that this has amazing
potential, and I put at the disposal of the Senate my full support.

The perspective that I wanted to share with you stems from my various experiences
within the music industry as a performer and music educator, as well as my
experiences having lived in historic and newly formed arts/music cities around
the world. In addition, my experience in sustainability and corporate social
responsibility has recently led me to form Do Good Artist, a social enterprise that
creates an innovative ecosystem that empowers the art, music and fashion
industries to generate economic development and social impact. My husband, Brian
Cole, served as Associate Dean of the Puerto Rico Conservatory, Dean of Academic
Affairs at Berklee Valencia (Spain) and currently serves as Dean of Music at the
North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, NC, all very forward thinking
institutions in music education. We are both familiar with and continue to be
extremely committed to promoting the arts in Puerto Rico.

While I was born in Puerto Rico, I came to live in Puerto Rico for the first time in
2005. With an open mind and a desire to reconnect with my family and my culture, I
began to discover all that Puerto Rico had to offer in terms of tourism, resources,
music, food, etc. My work made it easy to explore, as I managed a $43M
infrastructure improvement program for over 500 Puerto Rico public schools across
the island. I was surprised by the lack of arts programs in the public schools, as my
personal experience had been very different. While in many cases, budget
limitations define our investment in these extra programs, and basic
infrastructure needs of the schools must come first, we need to shift our thinking
about the value of arts programs in the schools, programs that have clearly shown to
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foment excellence and social skills that are lacking in our society. If I had not had
exposure and access to music programs in the schools I attended, I dont know that I
would have desired or had the skills to pursue it as a career.

Based on what I saw in my 8 years living in Puerto Rico, my opinion is that of all of
Puerto Ricos resources, the ones with the most unlocked potential for economic
development are its diverse natural resources and culture. How to capture this in a
way that stimulates economic development is a topic that many have spent time
pondering. Having lived abroad, I can tell you that our artists are well known and
have the power to convene abroad; sometimes having more social capital outside
than in Puerto Rico. People contribute the musical genres of salsa and reggaeton to
Puerto Rico and know that our artists are Puerto Rican. Where there is a disconnect
is that they dont know about Puerto Rico, sometimes even where it is located, or
that Puerto Rico is a destination to visit and why. This opens up an opportunity to
connect dots.

I have had the opportunity to study and live in several Art/Music Cities in the
United States and abroad. The first was New Orleans, as I did my music studies at
LSU in Baton Rouge. This is a city that is defined by jazz and cajun culture,
something very unique in the US. Ive studied music hubs such as Nashville, a Music
City that has created an infrastructure that supports more than 50,000 jobs and
contributes billions of dollars to the economy. The reason for Nashvilles success has
been contributed to their diverse and inclusive ecosystem that attracts writers,
artists, and producers to create together, as well as their music infrastructure
(labels, recording studios, publishers, among others). In addition, public policy has
been put in place that elevates the possibility for economic development to occur.

Local public policy has sustained musicians and the industry in several
ways. On the demand side, economic development has focused on musicthemed tourism, museums, and festivals that attract consumers of music and
related retail and hospitality services. On the supply side, the city has
encouraged the development of affordable housing for musicians and other
artists, as well as arts districts that provide studio, performance, and display
spaces for performing and visual artists, and their fans.

Four years ago, my husband and I moved with our family to Valencia, Spain in order
to help launch Berklee College of Musics (Boston) first satellite campus and
masters programs. People frequently ask me why Valencia for this adventure?
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The reality is that it was a very astute and conscious decision to put the school in
Valencia, a city in the middle of the Mediterranean music scene, rich in its musical
genres and infrastructure. There is a symphonic band in every pueblo in the
Comunidad Valenciana. More importantly, the city invested millions of euros in the
development of the City of Arts and Sciences, a Calatrava architectural mecca that
divides the old and new part of the city. It makes a tremendous statement about the
how dedicated the city is to its culture. The City of Arts and Sciences houses a
museum, aquarium, amphitheater, outdoor spaces defined by ceramic tile (for many
years a key economic cluster) and water. More importantly, it houses the Palau de
las Arts, one of the most impressive opera houses in Europe, Maestro Placido
Domingos Centro de Perfeccionament (opera institute for young artists) and
Berklee Valencia, one of the most innovative music programs I have seen. The
beauty of Berklee Valencia stems from its inclusion as part of Valencias arts focused
community, its diversity (150+ students stemming from over 35 countries), its
innovative masters programs that match todays music industry reality (global
entertainment and music business, music for film scoring and video games, music
technology and innovation, performance) and Berklees effort to connect their
students directly to the industry. Students study with industry veterans virtually
and on campus, participate in the organization and execution of events like TEDX,
and record at on campus and in studios in London. They play on city buses and all
over Europe.

Most recently, I have moved to Winston Salem, North Carolina, a city whose history
stems from the tobacco industry, but that has recently rebranded itself as the City
of Arts and Innovation. The city had always been a great supporter of the arts, but a
very conscious decision was made about making it a focus of social and economic
development. While I havent been there long, art (in all of its forms) is very visible
everywhere that you go. Winston Salem inaugurated the North Carolina School of
the Arts, an innovative concept in public education, as a nucleus for elevating upand-coming artists, dancers, musicians, film writers and producers, and has several
other arts magnet schools. It is home to the Kenan Institute for the Arts, whose
current strategic plan is focused on research and developing strategic alliances to
promote art as a means of social and economic development. The city has backed
this initiative with public policy, financially and with a clear vision from its
stakeholders that this is their citys future. Its an exciting and inspiring place to be.

The music industry has changed drastically in recent years. How we are consuming
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music has changed. Listeners and audiences want instant access to music and an
experience along with that that is multi-sensory. They like to discover, but require
that you curate for them. There has been a move away from record labels and more
towards a do it yourself music industry. While modern technology allows
musicians to work from anywhere they choose, and it is important for an artists
sustainability that they tour, the reality is that music is actually becoming more
concentrated and clustered over time. The reason is that hubs, composed of rich
diversity, ideas, and infrastructure, are ESSENTIAL for the creative process to occur.

Where money is being made in the music industry has changed. The following are
some examples of areas that continue to generate in the industry.
Touring/Live Events multidisciplinary and interactive experiences
where art/dance/production/lighting and now social media engage the
consumer in a different way.
Merchandise
Legal/Rights copyright and intellectual property
Music for Video Games and Film
Businesses that support Indie Artists (ex. CD Baby, Sonic Bids &
Pledgemusic)
Music Therapy
Projects that Create Social Impact This is money not necessarily going
directly to artists, but rather where the power to convene of artists is
connecting with businesses and philanthropy to reinvest in people and
communities.

In conclusion, for the music industry to generate economic development, Puerto
Rico must look at an ecosystem similar to that of the Music Cities mentioned
above. This goes beyond infrastructure and requires a vision and commitment to
look at all of the pieces of the puzzle or it will not be sustainable. It will be just as
important how you create it as how you sustain it. The vision must contemplate
factors including:

1. Presence of artists and musicians in an inclusive community where music is
converging, new music is being created and there are a variety of artists, talent
and culture to pull from. This also requires that artists understand what they can
do with their art and music. Educational institutions play a crucial role in the
development of artists and the calling of artists to converge in locations.
2. Supportive Environment and Stakeholders that support music and the arts in
all of its forms. This environment should support the development of an industry
through public policy/incentives (and consciousness about it), investment to
show its commitment, and through access for the artists and public to
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experience and consume music.


3. Areas de Convivencia or spaces and places to develop and consume music,
with a variety of infrastructure that promotes interaction.
4. Receptive and Engaged Audience - education of the audience is as fundamental
as education of up and coming artists.
5. Support Structure a healthy value chain and local and music-related
businesses that support all types of artists, including indie artists.
6. Conscious Understanding and Decision Making creation of these types of
industries have been shown to be successful when approached strategically and
consciously. A variety of questions need to be contemplated such as How can
we not only create a hub, but tie into tourism? How do we strategically create
and market events and incentives inside and outside of Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico has a particular opportunity due to its world-class musicians, existing
and potential infrastructure (Conservatory, Bellas Artes, etc.), rich musical
culture/genres, and its location in the Caribbean to become a successful music
industry hub. San Juan should seek to become to Latin American music what
Nashville has become to country music. This will not only preserve our culture, it
will form grounds for innovation and assist in creating competitive advantage and
social/economic development for the island as a whole.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts. Should you require any
additional information, please dont hesitate to contact me at 787-425-3328 or
irisleecole@me.com.


Sincerely,



Iris L. Fagundo (Cole)
CoFounder
Do Good Artist

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