PREFACE

“Making it” in the creative economy isn’t rocket science, but it is a process that requires a few specific things:

1. A highly talented, driven, and visionary community, with access to high-caliber resources, and access lucrative opportunities.

2. The creative economy is one the fastest growing economies on the planet while maintaining a near-zero drop in global development historically. This project will generate A LOT of money, create hundreds of jobs locally, and pump millions of dollars into our local economy and education system.

With that being said, here is how we plan to create an economically vibrant creative ecosystem in Chattanooga.

A CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM FOR CHATTANOOGA

The ‘Venture’ production facility will serve as a hub for all things related to creative industries in Chattanooga with a specific focus on the music industry and media production. The end goal here is to address the needs presented by the local music economy, the creative economy, and the needs of producers/musicians who wish to create in Chattanooga, while also providing facilities and resources that attract the highest level of talent to Chattanooga. A special emphasis will be placed on opportunities to advance people who are ACTIVE in the creative economy and educational+professional opportunities for students advancing through Dynamo Studios’ educational programs.

This facility will house three massive sound stages, LED volumes, post production facilities, movie production infrastructure, multiple recording studios, mix rooms, an iMac lab, higher learning facilities, lounges, offices, agency space, co-work spaces, and on-site living, etc.

OPPORTUNITIES - WHY CHATTANOOGA?

One of the most exciting parts of this project is that we have the opportunity to build something from a blank slate that will reshape the cultural fabric of our entire city. Virtually all mid-sized cities have some sort of music industry established, but Chattanooga is more or less building from scratch. We have the opportunity to create a strong music/creator ecosystem from scratch that has the potential to change the way everyone (no matter their industry) views our city. This will heavily impact our community and in the near future, people will say “WE MAKE MUSIC IN CHATTANOOGA. WE MAKE MOVIES IN CHATTANOOGA. WE ARE A CREATIVE CITY!”

A major advantage of building something like this here is that we are conveniently located between two music juggernauts — Atlanta and Nashville. One dominates the hip hop, RnB, and pop charts and the other dominates the country, CCM, and rock charts. This sort of geographic and economic position doesn’t exist anywhere else on the planet. Furthermore, we have a very strong base of talented musicians and creators based here in Chattanooga. Many of these professionals are established in their careers but have to travel constantly for their opportunities because we, as a community, simply haven’t invested in projects that bring those opportunities to our local economy.

At present Chattanooga has an incredibly low cost of living in comparison to our major metro neighbors. In metro ATL, rent is roughly $2,000/month for a one-bedroom apartment. In Nashville, rent is roughly $2,100/month. While in downtown Chattanooga rent is roughly $1,200/month.

Additionally, with the development of the only commercially accessible Quantum network in the country via EPB, we are positioned as a city to introduce a massive range of new technology and interconnectivity that will disrupt (in a good way) much of the entertainment and creator indsustries across the planet.

This isn’t just about who is already here — This is about ATTRACTING talent to CHATTANOOGA. We are creating a model that capitalizes on community resulting in people making real money and having meaningful careers.

Our Vision for Professionals

We want to see local and national music/creator industry professionals better equipped and prepared to find career and financial success within the music/creator industry at large as a result of participating in our programs and by making use of our resources and other support systems. We want to see the highest level of talent attracted to our city.

Our Vision for Students

We want to see our programs inspiring and empowering the students of Chattanooga to become elite professionals in the creative economy or whatever respective career field they pursue, establishing Chattanooga as a hub for the creative economy and entrepreneurship.

We want to be able to look a student in the eye when they start with Dynamo Studios in 6th grade and be able to say “poverty will never be a part of your life again if you stay the course and make through the program and high school graduation.”

Our Vision for Bolstering the Community

We want to see our programs inspiring collaboration and mutually beneficial partnerships between equipped students and local/national musicians where both grow from working together.

Creative economy professionals receive the services they need to thrive and students receive the opportunities needed to refine their skills so that they are ahead of the pack after graduating high school.

Outcomes and Projections

MUSICIANS: Participating musicians will be better equipped to grow their audience and grow their brand. They will gain access to professional services and resources, at a discounted rate, that have been unavailable locally until now. Additionally, out-of-town musicians will have access to these same opportunities in the case that they need a retreat from the stressors of major music metros.

• Dedicated workspaces

• Professional development

• High-Level Tech and Gear Resources

• Expanded Market Exposure

• Access to our network of partners and clients

CREATIVES: At present, there is a small handful of resources to support Creative Industry Professionals living and working in Chattanooga. The problem, however, is that the needs of Creatives are hyper-specific to their respective industries.

This space will fill many of the gaps in what’s currently offered in Chattanooga. Nearly every box has been checked:

• Dedicated workspaces

• Professional development

• High-Level Tech and Gear Resources

• Expanded Market Exposure

• Access to our network of partners and clients

THE CITY AND COMMUNITY: The city and community as a whole will benefit from having a resource that not only supports local music, but also warrants and attracts major artists from outside of Chattanooga. This will make our city much more attractive to musicians looking to record here, people interested in moving here, and companies looking to set up shop locally.

STUDENTS: Participating students will be better equipped to enter directly into the workforce or collegiate programs if they are regularly involved with programming in our space and our in-school programming. Our programs will help them build the strongest portfolios and resumes in the city when compared to other third-party edu organizations.

Creative Economy Facilities and Amenities

PROGRAMMING

• Massively expanded university coursework opportunities (new major and minor pathways)

• Dual enrollment opportunities for students from Hamilton Country Schools

• Grammy partnership masterclasses

• Masterclasses for filmmaking, commercial video, photography, editing, script writing, music production, audio engineering, post production, songwriting, web, design, etc.

• Expanded regular programming for Hamilton County Schools and Future Ready Institutes

• Professional development across the board for all major creative economy areas of work

• Professional development for local and regional teachers

• Consultation for project development

• Mentorship for students

• Mentorship for aspiring professionals and or early-stage projects

• Artist and producer development through Label partners

• Technical training

• So much more!

OUR TEAM

** This is a non exhaustive list of partners and contributors **

Revenue and Sustainability Model

The diversity in resources and spaces offered is what makes this sort of model work. On their own, it’s hard to make spaces like this successful, but when combined, however, the facility will thrive and generate strong revenue.

Streams of Revenue

• Major film production partnerships and sound stage leases

• Booked Recording Studio Sessions

• Booked Photo/Video Studio Sessions

• Facilities Memberships

• Office Leases

• Studio Apartment Leases (affordable housing)

• Apartment Leases (two-bedroom premium apartments)

• Educational/University Partnerships

• Paid Higher Education Programming

• Corporate Sponsorship

• Grants + Philanthropic Support

APARTMENT CONCEPTS

PROJECTIONS

• $18,000,000 net revenue annually (this could be exponentially higher based on revenue and royalty sharing off of major music or film/TV projects)

• $37,500,000+ annual economic impact locally

• 1,000 students impacted

• 50+ teachers impacted

• 500 creative economy professionals impacted

• 200+ major label recording sessions annually

• 500+ professional development opportunities and master classes

• Hundreds of photo sessions

• 10 Ad agencies impacted

• 3 Major labels attracted to Chattanooga

For more info, please contact Kessler Cuffman at kcuffman@dynamostudios.org or (513)377-1293