MusicOregon is expanding its work beyond Portland after musicians and other industry professionals across the state said they often feel isolated from potential collaborators, venues and business opportunities.
Portland music entrepreneur Meara McLaughlin co-founded the nonprofit in 2022 to provide independent musicians and music workers with grants, advocacy and professional support. The organization is now working to extend its reach across Oregon.
Board President Tim Wilson said a statewide listening tour helped MusicOregon identify what music professionals need and how the organization might respond.
Combining two organizations
MusicOregon merged with MusicPortland in January. MusicPortland, founded in 2018, now operates as a program of MusicOregon.
Both organizations were created to address a lack of infrastructure and advocacy for independent and commercial music. Wilson said combining them eliminated overlapping work at a time when nonprofit arts funding has declined.
“In this day and age, when there’s been some compression and funding has been going down for the arts and the nonprofit sector, that to sustain two organizations was really challenging,” Wilson said. “So we decided to merge the two organizations.”
Listening across Oregon
MusicOregon held listening sessions virtually and in Hood River, Salem, Pendleton, Bend, Tillamook, Eugene and Jacksonville. About 130 musicians, venue operators, sound engineers and other music professionals participated.
The strongest turnout was in Southern Oregon, where 36 people attended the Jacksonville session.
“We had people from Grants Pass and Medford and Ashland and Klamath Falls — and places in between,” Wilson said.
Participants at each stop answered the same questions about the challenges facing their regional music communities.
Musicians want stronger connections
Wilson said one concern surfaced throughout the state: Music professionals feel disconnected from their counterparts in other communities.
“The biggest thing that was sort of global — not just in Jacksonville, but across the state — was the extent to which people feel disconnected from other musicians and venues and studios and other music businesses in other parts of the state,” he said.
MusicOregon is considering several ways to address that isolation, including a statewide directory, regional gatherings, advocacy and broader access to professional resources.
The tour also identified opportunities for Oregon’s music and tourism industries to work together. Wilson said partnerships with tourism agencies could help musicians reach new audiences while promoting local communities.
“It’s a win-win for tourism and for music lovers and audiences across the state,” he said.
MusicOregon is continuing to collect responses through a statewide survey.
