Puglia Sounds leads the way and promotes the national network of music commissions

'Since the beginning we have worked to achieve territorial marketing results, not only to support the sector but also to create an increase in demand for cultural tourism. All this has contributed to an increase in public awareness, particularly with regard to live entertainment, towards which there has been a marked increase in volumes in recent years. With Medimex, we have also supported an important action of training the public, both by realising a series of initiatives relating to the professions of music, and by bringing artists and ensembles to the stage that would have been unlikely to come to our region. For about four years now, we have been aiming to expand our experience to a national level, imagining that music commissions can find the space and attention they deserve. The next step will be to arrive at a protocol between regions, aimed at realising interventions that bring together the various funds. Today it is possible to rationalise resources and bring them together in a project that follows the example of Puglia Sounds, so as to provide real help to all the components of the sector. That would be revolutionary'.

The idea of creating music commissions that cooperate on a national level was born in October 2021, during a panel focused precisely on the Apulian experience. Proactively embracing the drive for renewal was Emilia Romagna, which has already structured its own music commission managed directly by the regional authority. "Our approach is aimed at financing this economic sector on the basis of professionalism,' explains Gianni Cottafavi, head of the Cultural Activities Sector of the Emilia Romagna region. 'Apulia was a true forerunner in this sense and all the operators spoke of it as a national reference. Through the combination of what was done in our area and the good practices of Puglia, we invest where we find product and process innovation, structuring real support for businesses. Today, we support three-year projects that cover all segments, from research to support for new authors, from the proposal of new types of products to musical innovation, to talent scouting paths with residencies, tutoring and professional coaching. This is the approach that we would like to see recognised at ministerial level, an approach that sees the regions as central in the construction of business support policies'.

For regional authorities to work together is not so obvious, but over the years the Puglia Sounds model has attracted a lot of interest, both in terms of talent development and return on investment for the region. 'A transversal memorandum of understanding would be of great importance,' explains Aldo Patruno, Director of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Economy of the Puglia Region. 'During the conference of the regions we basically found everyone's consensus, even though each region currently uses different ways of supporting cultural and in particular musical enterprise. The idea is to coordinate individual actions, also in terms of B2B and B2C promotion, so as to provide businesses with essential visibility at national and international level'.

The coming weeks could be the time for the presentation of the protocol, which will in any case come after the approval processes of the individual juntas.

In the meantime, Puglia Sounds is reaping the fruits of its labour and is seeing an exponential increase in the number of festivals, the volume of tickets sold and the indirect revenues that come from the economic spin-off of upstream investments. A virtuous circle that is transforming the prospects of the region and has allowed the creativity and tourism sectors to work in an increasingly synergic manner.