The 22 members of the board, who are tasked withchampioning the city's music scene, protecting and promoting music from grassroots to established acts, and developing Cardiff's Music Strategy,met at City Hall on Monday 16^thDecember.

Speaking before the meeting, Chair of the Music Board, Council Leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, said: "This is a significant moment in the cultural history of Wales, where industry professionals and government will begin to take forward the aspiration for Cardiff, the Capital of Wales to establish itself as an International Music City, covering all genres, at all levels and for all people across the whole city.

"We're ambitious for the future of music in Cardiff. The music sector already does a lot for the city, both culturally and economically, but we want to maximise that value and really harness the power of music for the benefit of the city and the people who live, work and visit it.

"The Music Board is going to play a significant role in helping achieve those ambitions. The Sound Diplomacy report published earlier this year set out a blueprint for how we can make Cardiff a leading player in the global Music Cities movement, and I'm looking forward to meeting with the board for the first time, and hearing their views on how we can work together to drive forward those plans."

The board members have been chosen to reflect the social diversity of Cardiff and includeone of Wales's top radio DJs, the frontman of an explosive live band, the director of a leading community music charity, and one of the team behind the introduction of the Agent of Change policy in Wales.

Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Cllr Peter Bradbury, said: "Cardiff's creative sector is one of the its strengths - it already generates more than £1 billion of value for the economy and the growth of the UK's live music sector means there's a real opportunity here for Cardiff - and with the wide-ranging skills and experience we've got on the board, one we're well-placed to make the most of.

"Introducing a Music Board was one of the key recommendations made in the Sound Diplomacy report and two other recommendations, namely the creation of a signature music event and the introduction of musician loading zones are on the agenda at the first meeting.

"There's a lot of work to be done, but this initial board meeting marks an important milestone in our plans to incorporate music into every aspect of Cardiff's city structures from planning to licencing, social wellbeing and tourism."


Image by: Peter Evans