Philadelphia artists breathed a sigh of relief earlier this year. In January 2016, City Councilman Mark Squilla introduced a bill that would increase restrictions on music venues throughout Philly. Within a day, artists citywide flooded social media, lambasting the potential legislation. One of the more controversial covenants of the bill required venues of all sizes to start a registry of every artist that performed at the establishment. Members of the local music community met with city council on January 31 to express their concerns with proposed legislation. Squilla was so shocked by the outcry that he decided to withdraw the bill and write another from scratch.
“The intent was basically to get the smaller venues to get the special performance license that all the venues have,” Philadelphia Music Ambassador Chill Moody explains. Chill was the only artist present at the meeting with city council. “Some venues (like jawns under 75 people) didn’t have the license, so the bill’s intent was to make sure everybody had the same certifications. The registry portion came out of nowhere and really wasn’t needed for the bill.”
Following the legislative dustup, Philadelphia’s Music Ambassador details his plans for the lofty position in this exclusive conversation with HipHopDX.
Chill Moody Addresses Philadelphia City Council
HipHopDX: How’d you become Philadelphia’s Music Ambassador?
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Chill Moody: I was appointed by councilman David Oh as part of the PHL Live Center Stage initiative (this two month long music competition we have in the city that stretches across 10 genres—everything from jazz to rap to rock to gospel, even a DJ category). It started out there about two and a half years ago and turned into me just being involved in a lot of other matters involving the city and its music scene—things like nominating people for this Philadelphia Music Industry Commission we are forming. It’s sort of like a task force that will have meetings at city hall with city council as well as sit with artists to make sure everyone is heard and everyone’s options are taken into consideration before decisions are made. It felt weird that decisions were being made that directly affected the artists in this city, without first consulting those artist.
DX: What type of decisions were being made without artist awareness?
Chill Moody: There was this bill a councilman was trying to pass that caused an uproar in the city. Passing the bill the way it was originally written would have instituted an “artist registry” of sorts for anyone performing in the city. We sat down at city hall with about 12 Philly music industry “heavyweights.” Everyone from studio owners, venue owners, educators, radio personalities, etc. I was there representing the Artist (I was the only artist at the meeting actually). In the end, it ended up being just an oversight, but it would have been completely avoidable if a committee of music industry professionals were sought out for advisement beforehand.
DX: Are you the first ambassador?
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Chill Moody: To my knowledge, yeah.
DX: What will your specific duties be?
Chill Moody: It’s still fresh and developing. Currently it’s just my duties in continuing to push PHL Live (we are going into our third year) and forming this committee. I’ll probably have a seat on the committee and from there the “job description” will be fleshed out a little bit more.
DX: Why do you think Philly was usurped as, as you mentioned during your speech to City Council, the #1 music city?
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Chill Moody: Our city’s mentality as a whole changed, well the majority at least. People over the years either became less prideful or less vocal about how much they loved Philly, and in turn, we fell. Talent wise, I still think we are #1 across the board. It’s just about getting everyone else to feel that way and be vocal about it.
DX: Does a lack of national media, in your opinion, play a role in a city’s ability to promote its artists? NYC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago are essentially the only cities with big media.
Chill Moody: Of course it does. It also helps those other cities create a stronghold on “what’s popping.” I think the key is to not conform. Don’t make “Atlanta music” because “that’s all that’s popping.” Create your own story.
DX: What do you hope to achieve through this partnership?
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Chill Moody: I’ve always just wanted to be part of the solution. I want to bring Philly’s prestige back. Bring us back to that Teddy Pendergrass, That Sound Of Philly-Era. Bring more people into the city, which will in turn bring more money into the city. My goal is to be in the forefront of the resurgence of our creative economy.
