IDAHO MUSIC CENSUS
Amplifying Impact, in collaboration with Music Idaho, is conducting a community engaged state wide music census in Idaho. The first of its kind in the state, this project seeks to better understand the economic and cultural impacts of Idaho’s music ecosystem in order to support policy advocates and leaders in future decision making.
This project is funded by NSF and the Transform Program at Boise State University
Photo: Omar Saucedo
Understanding Creative Impact, Starting in Idaho
This project investigates the economic, cultural, and community development impacts of Idaho’s music industry, with Treefort Music Fest serving as a focal point to understand how creative ecosystems contribute to statewide vitality.
By utilizing economic modeling, qualitative interviews, and case study analysis, the project will generate a baseline for understanding music’s role in placemaking, workforce development, and entrepreneurship across urban and rural Idaho.
This data infrastructure will assess Idaho’s music sector's current economic contributions and identify barriers and opportunities for sustainable growth, equipping Idaho with a scalable tool to better understand and strategically support emerging and underrepresented industries statewide.
Photo: Omar Saucedo
LOng term learning from music research
Idaho is an extraordinary place to do this work. Creativity here is deeply tied to place and is often shaped by geography, community, and a strong ethic of self-reliance. Across the state, artists, organizers, and cultural workers consistently find ways to create opportunity, build community, and contribute to local economies, often with limited visibility or formal support.
What makes Idaho especially compelling is the way creative work operates across boundaries. Musicians, festivals, educators, and cultural organizations frequently serve multiple roles at once, contributing to economic activity, placemaking, workforce development, and community identity. These contributions matter, but they are not always fully recognized or understood within existing data systems or policy conversations.
This project is grounded in the belief that Idaho’s creative communities deserve tools and frameworks that reflect the full scope of their impact. By working directly with partners across the state, we aim to generate insights that honor lived experience, strengthen local decision-making, and help position Idaho as a place where creative ecosystems are understood, supported, and sustained.
Photo: Omar Saucedo
JOIN OUR
AMBASSADOR TEAM!
Amplifying Impact is seeking 20 Music Industry Ambassadors from across Idaho.
Ambassadors will serve as trusted liaisons between the research team and local music industry communities. If you are in any sector of Idaho’s music ecosystem, you will help ensure that the voices of Idaho’s music professionals, creators, and organizations are included in this statewide research effort through your personal knowledge and network.
Ambassadors will contribute to research that will inform policy, funding, and support for music in Idaho. In this opportunity to represent your community and help shape Idaho’s creative economy strategies, we need your help with:
Community Engagement
Network Connecting
Information Sharing
Contributing Feedback
Cohort Participation
For any additional questions regarding the Ambassador application, please reach out to amplifyingImpact@boisestate.edu
Links & additional information
Learn about census efforts in other states, local organizations supporting the Idaho Music Census, and more!
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Music Idaho is a collective of organizational stakeholders advocating to increase professional development opportunities, reduce barriers to music creation and career sustainability, and support a thriving ecosystem for Idaho’s music sector.
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The Cascadia Music Collective is a group of organizations and individuals working together to develop a more sustainable future for live music and collaborative policy making.
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Take a deep dive and learn more about the research conducted in neighboring Northwestern States! Much of the research taking place for the Idaho Music Census is based on these projects, surveys, and the input we’ve received from various collaborators from these projects.
