Scott Kubie, executive director of the Des Moines Music Coalition, sees change on the horizon for the Central Iowa music scene. Radio stations are starting to pay closer attention to the coalition’s message, several new entertainment venues are planned for downtown and a new summer music festival is in the works. Kubie believes that these signs of progress, the city’s efforts to support live music and his organization’s commitment to supporting local musicians will lead to a “music revolution” in Des Moines.

How did you become involved with the Des Moines Music Coalition?

I came to Des Moines to attend Drake [University]. I’m from the Omaha area, which is really blessed to have a great music scene. When I came here, music kind of fell by the wayside for me because there weren’t many clubs that I could go to and there weren’t as many shows that were appealing to me. It was surprising to me, because I still felt like Des Moines was more of a creative city. I started getting involved with the coalition in October 2004. They had a big town hall meeting in the East Village talking about Des Moines as a creative economy.

What did you like about the group?

It was nice to see that Fritz (Jünker, DMMC’s former executive director) had gotten these people together and was starting to push forward and make these bold proclamations about what we were going to do for the city. It was really exciting to see that others also saw potential for Des Moines.

How did you become executive director?

The change was a little planned. I had served a year on the board and I had served as assistant director under Fritz. He was ready to do something different, and he knew that I would be graduating and there would be a window of opportunity for me to come into a position like this and not leave the organization in dire straits while we searched for someone. I officially took over in September.

What is it like to have this leadership role at your age?

Even though I’m only 22, I feel like I’ve worked for this position and am ready for it. I feel so lucky to be doing this. I’m learning a lot about what it’s like to run a business, which is great because I plan to own businesses of my own someday. The job is great, but it sometimes makes for some strange situations. I’m getting used to being the youngest person in the room by 10 or 15 years.

What kinds of programs is the DMMC planning for this year?

We will have three seasonal festivals Our second annual Gross Domestic Product Festival will probably be in March, Little Big Fest will likely repeat in the fall, and we want to launch a summer music festival. We also want to launch an educational series, something on the lines of “Music Industry 101” of some sort.

What would the educational series cover?

We want to teach people things that they might not learn from having taken band in high school or guitar lessons, such as how to examine a contract and not get hoaxed, how to put a media kit together that a radio station or promoter is going to pay attention to and business skills such as marketing and distributing.

What is the goal for the summer music festival?

Our goal is to have something that is easily on a par with all the other main festivals that people recognize, like Summerfest in Milwaukee. We are working with the city of Des Moines’ Music Commission to get that event off the ground on a smaller scale in 2007. In 2008, we really hope to see an outdoor, multi-stage, multi-day music festival with a massive headliner. Something that will really shock the community and get people excited.

What is the coalition’s relationship with the city’s music commission?

I attend their meetings as a liaison, and we determine projects we can work together on. We have worked hand-in-hand on some issues, such as extending the hours that teenagers can be in live music venues.

What signs do you see that the music scene is improving?

The radio stations seem to be a little more receptive to our message about local music than when we first started, and progress is coming from all sides. Safely, we can assume that the [Principal] Riverwalk will be open in 2009. That’s going to be a big deal. And private development is creating more music venues to fill a need in the community, including a few in the downtown and Court Avenue area. The summer music festival is going to happen, and business support is growing. Sometime in the short term, all these things are going to be running at full steam together, and I don’t think people are going to know what has hit them. All of a sudden it’s going to be this huge music town.