If you were to name musical places for a broad swath of talent, you would immediately think Los Angeles for pop music, Nashville for country music, Seattle for grunge, if it exists still, New York for R&B, and Austin for underground rock. Even with the loss of Sex Panther to Seattle, Kiss to Las Vegas, and soon to be departing, the SEVENth to Orlando for entertainment school, there continues to be a huge swell of hiphop percolating just below the surface in Grand Rapids. That is not to say that this city has even supplanted Detroit as the leading destination for hiphop in Michigan, considering Black Milk, the legacy of J Dilla, and the immense base that Eminem commands. But its coming. There is too much coordination going on in Grand Rapids, among the dozen or so acts, that comprise the bulk of the local hiphop community, for there not to be a break-through. How that impacts the city, and makes it more tenable to attract talent, let alone Google Fiber, will be a major consideration for the coming two years, and beyond. It is my contention, that of all the assets that Grand Rapids possesses, from ArtPrize to Sustainable Business to Medical Research, it seems to me that the acquisition of a leading entertainment sector, mainly pushed by the hiphop scene, could be the farthest reaching.
Take for example what happened in Austin. From a slightly urbane state capitol twenty years ago, to the founding of Dell, and the incredible resources that went in to providing venues with quality talent to fill hang-out areas, like bars, clubs, and coffee houses, Austin is now a destination. South by Southwest is probably the most diverse and most relevant conference, that spans entertainment and industry to provide forums where all sorts of different types of listeners and technology people get together in one spot. This was all made possible by the music scene, which relays a credible argument that if Grand Rapids were to truly take the next step toward relevancy, even outside of Google's decision, is to build a strong entertainment sector, first. This would require more venues, willing to play hiphop, and spotlight local talent, and not resort to tried-and-failed formulas for Top 40-type hiphop, that no one carries with them as a reason to stay here.
Let's face it, the winters are brutal, and the economy is dead quiet, only the non-profits are making much noise, even though there is a ground-swelling of relevant noise being created on-line by the area employers' employees, who are participating in social media, and making the argument for Grand Rapids. But without the proper attention paid to entertainment, outside of the random sold-out show at the Arena, there will be little to make the case that graduates should stay, creative people should move in, and developers will not want to build their start-ups here. I have always thought Grand Rapids to be like Portland, Oregon, where it rains as opposed to snows, but lots of start-ups have sprung up, without the good fortune of a major tech software company, in their backyard. Coders, the developers that are needed to implement an idea, are still going to choose their destination based on a lot of factors, but sometimes on a freezing snowy day, its better to just stay in and code. That is what Microsoft's advantage has been on Silicon Valley from the outset. It rains, and so their programmers, who have very flexible work schedules, are not nearly as likely to be tempted away from productivity, when there is nothing to do outside.
Put in place the foundation, and see how the capital reacts, in terms of where money is spent. Right now, its on medical, some time ago, it was homeland security, with the ever-pervasive automotive technology emphasis still prevalent, Michigan simply has not adapted to the world of everything going on-line, from the phone to the Television, and has instead decided that technology is just something we do not have the core competency to pull-off. Even as the biggest, most influential on-line vendor, Google, placed a major AdWords office in Ann Arbor, nothing has changed about the MEDC or the Governor's plan to invest in start-ups. It has failed because only software start-ups deliver the growth rates that get investors interested. It has taken far too long to get something going in this area, and Grand Rapids should be leading the charge to plan for Google Fiber, by investing in areas that are important to them. Not any more need for molecular research, that is covered by the Van Andel Institute. Not any more need for automotive technology, that is being covered throughout the state, but will always be part of Detroit. We do not want cars, here. We want technology, and it is time to change course, and invest, like never before, in start-ups that are worth a shot, if only because their growth trajectory is order of magnitudes more substantial than anything a homeland security firm can offer.
Software and hiphop, kind of like Austin did hardware and rock-and-roll, that should be where all the community's leaders are planning their next investment, whether it be an event, a grant, a partnership, or even an investment. I know of hiphop artists and software people that are just looking for investors to try out their idea, and play it out to the maximum, and see if it can go big, that there should be no dearth of money floating around to make some dreams happen. What if an investor gets a return from a hiphop artist becoming a multi-platinum artist, as happens every year, or a software firm gets bought by Google, which happens every month, what would those returns be further invested in, to keep the cycle going. I am committed to this principle, that only through investing in successful models, as what Austin presents, can Grand Rapids take the next step to make it a place to do more business, more quality living, and more attractive to future opportunities, as what the seminal Google Fiber plan provides. Things cannot stagnate, simply because Grand Rapids has replaced Detroit as the heart of the state, there is much work to be done. Good things are happening, but without a vibrant entertainment and start-up community, there will be a continuation of the problems that beset an under-financed government, a decaying public school system, and the trend toward systemic unemployment. Its harsh, but its reality, and I challenge you to think about a future more alike than different to Austin. It's time to think bigger.
Are you in?
Doug Dooley lives in Grand Rapids and has been back for the past 7 years, following eight years spent in Virginia and San Francisco. He works at Riverview Athletic Club, and is the Director of Customer Service for Gemma Redux (www.gemmaredux.com), a Manhattan based couture jewelry company. His interests include tennis and basketball, as well as keeping up with the blogosphere of high technology. He writes four topical blogs under his Blogger profile.
He also writes for the Rapidian: http://therapidian.org/users/douglasdooley.
He also writes for JavaWorld about software: http://www.javaworld.com/community/user/189.
Take for example what happened in Austin. From a slightly urbane state capitol twenty years ago, to the founding of Dell, and the incredible resources that went in to providing venues with quality talent to fill hang-out areas, like bars, clubs, and coffee houses, Austin is now a destination. South by Southwest is probably the most diverse and most relevant conference, that spans entertainment and industry to provide forums where all sorts of different types of listeners and technology people get together in one spot. This was all made possible by the music scene, which relays a credible argument that if Grand Rapids were to truly take the next step toward relevancy, even outside of Google's decision, is to build a strong entertainment sector, first. This would require more venues, willing to play hiphop, and spotlight local talent, and not resort to tried-and-failed formulas for Top 40-type hiphop, that no one carries with them as a reason to stay here.
Let's face it, the winters are brutal, and the economy is dead quiet, only the non-profits are making much noise, even though there is a ground-swelling of relevant noise being created on-line by the area employers' employees, who are participating in social media, and making the argument for Grand Rapids. But without the proper attention paid to entertainment, outside of the random sold-out show at the Arena, there will be little to make the case that graduates should stay, creative people should move in, and developers will not want to build their start-ups here. I have always thought Grand Rapids to be like Portland, Oregon, where it rains as opposed to snows, but lots of start-ups have sprung up, without the good fortune of a major tech software company, in their backyard. Coders, the developers that are needed to implement an idea, are still going to choose their destination based on a lot of factors, but sometimes on a freezing snowy day, its better to just stay in and code. That is what Microsoft's advantage has been on Silicon Valley from the outset. It rains, and so their programmers, who have very flexible work schedules, are not nearly as likely to be tempted away from productivity, when there is nothing to do outside.
Put in place the foundation, and see how the capital reacts, in terms of where money is spent. Right now, its on medical, some time ago, it was homeland security, with the ever-pervasive automotive technology emphasis still prevalent, Michigan simply has not adapted to the world of everything going on-line, from the phone to the Television, and has instead decided that technology is just something we do not have the core competency to pull-off. Even as the biggest, most influential on-line vendor, Google, placed a major AdWords office in Ann Arbor, nothing has changed about the MEDC or the Governor's plan to invest in start-ups. It has failed because only software start-ups deliver the growth rates that get investors interested. It has taken far too long to get something going in this area, and Grand Rapids should be leading the charge to plan for Google Fiber, by investing in areas that are important to them. Not any more need for molecular research, that is covered by the Van Andel Institute. Not any more need for automotive technology, that is being covered throughout the state, but will always be part of Detroit. We do not want cars, here. We want technology, and it is time to change course, and invest, like never before, in start-ups that are worth a shot, if only because their growth trajectory is order of magnitudes more substantial than anything a homeland security firm can offer.
Software and hiphop, kind of like Austin did hardware and rock-and-roll, that should be where all the community's leaders are planning their next investment, whether it be an event, a grant, a partnership, or even an investment. I know of hiphop artists and software people that are just looking for investors to try out their idea, and play it out to the maximum, and see if it can go big, that there should be no dearth of money floating around to make some dreams happen. What if an investor gets a return from a hiphop artist becoming a multi-platinum artist, as happens every year, or a software firm gets bought by Google, which happens every month, what would those returns be further invested in, to keep the cycle going. I am committed to this principle, that only through investing in successful models, as what Austin presents, can Grand Rapids take the next step to make it a place to do more business, more quality living, and more attractive to future opportunities, as what the seminal Google Fiber plan provides. Things cannot stagnate, simply because Grand Rapids has replaced Detroit as the heart of the state, there is much work to be done. Good things are happening, but without a vibrant entertainment and start-up community, there will be a continuation of the problems that beset an under-financed government, a decaying public school system, and the trend toward systemic unemployment. Its harsh, but its reality, and I challenge you to think about a future more alike than different to Austin. It's time to think bigger.
Are you in?
Doug Dooley lives in Grand Rapids and has been back for the past 7 years, following eight years spent in Virginia and San Francisco. He works at Riverview Athletic Club, and is the Director of Customer Service for Gemma Redux (www.gemmaredux.com), a Manhattan based couture jewelry company. His interests include tennis and basketball, as well as keeping up with the blogosphere of high technology. He writes four topical blogs under his Blogger profile.
He also writes for the Rapidian: http://therapidian.org/users/douglasdooley.
He also writes for JavaWorld about software: http://www.javaworld.com/community/user/189.
