Alaska in Brief

‘Music census’ aims to count Alaska’s musicians and measure their impact

By: - August 21, 2023 12:00 pm
a little girl hugs a musician as he plays while musicians look on from either side of him with smiles

Jeremy Kane’s daughter, Clementine, hugs him during a performance by Takin’ Care of Bluegrass on Saturday night, Jan. 7, 2023, at Church of the Holy Trinity in Juneau, Alaska, as part of Gold Street Music’s concert series. (James Brooks photo)

A new online census is aiming to count the number of amateur and professional musicians in Alaska. 

The Alaska Music Census runs through Sept. 2 and is the work of the Alaska Independent Musicians Initiative, a project of the Northern Culture Exchange, an Anchorage-based nonprofit.

Data collected from the census will be used to compile reports on the size of Alaska’s music scene, with initial data expected later this year. 

Organizers say the data will be useful for explaining the economic importance of Alaska’s musical industry, which could encourage investment.

The census also includes businesses and organizations that earn money from the music industry and was based on a similar census that took place earlier this year in Oregon.

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James Brooks
James Brooks

James Brooks is a longtime Alaska reporter, having previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. A graduate of Virginia Tech, he is married to Caitlyn Ellis, owns a house in Juneau and has a small sled dog named Barley. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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