Midtopia, a program working to establish sustainable and equitable business models and resource-driven opportunities for the independent music community has launched in Wichita. This multi-disciplinary collaboration of artists, music workers, and industry professionals is focused on building new pathways for underserved and under-resourced communities in Wichita, across the country, and around the globe. This launch also coincides with four new singles from the inaugural batch of Midtopia participants.
While many traditional models within the independent music industry struggle to remain sustainable, Midtopia strives to advance a more informed and empowered independent music community built through and sustained by contributive partnerships and collaborative endeavors. Applying an open-source approach to sharing access to various physical resources and industry knowledge as well as contributing professional and artistic ability and concepts, Midtopia strives to shine a light on “elsewhere”, communities that are historically under-resourced and un-recognized, yet powered by the unbound creative spirit of its people.
First conceptualized and created by independent music advocates Adam & Jessie Hartke (D Tour / Wave / The Cotillion / Hartke Presents) and a number of independent artists, music workers, and industry professionals across the country, what would come to be known as Midtopia began in early 2022 in response to the unprecedented challenges facing the independent music ecosystem. Especially in tertiary markets, artists and music workers face a plethora of issues including an inability to sustain themselves solely off of music work, a fractured sense of community, and the gatekeeping and extraction of resources to feed inefficient centralized structures. Circumstances like these and more risk impeding growth in creativity, diversity, community, and opportunity in music work.
