Madison works to diversify entertainment venues

It’s 11 p.m. on a Friday night in Madison. The line outside Wando’s bar downtown begins to wrap around the corner of the building, snaking down University Avenue. The waiting patrons mingle and text. They’re sporting heels and sneakers, jackets and hoodies, skirts and jeans. But most are united by one trait: They are white.

In a city where nearly 80.7 percent of the population is white, according to the American Community Survey Demographic and Housing 3-year estimates, bars and other entertainment venues can expect a fairly uniform clientele. But after notable closures of popular venues that attracted African American patrons and enforcement of restrictive entry policies at others, diversity – or lack thereof – in the city’s entertainment scene has drawn concerns. Both the Equal Opportunities Commission and Alcohol License Review Committee are working to expand access and opportunity in local entertainment.

Bars and clubs serve as community centers, where people come together. Without access, groups in the community are marginalized and their quality of life diminished, said Brian Benford, president of the Equal Opportunities Commission. “If you take that [access] away in entertainment, that’s a huge part of the fabric of the community, and that is missing. There’s no doubt about it.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) first began investigating this lack of diversity when bars like Johnny O’s, Wando’s, and Logan’s  began restricting acceptable identification to driver’s licenses and passports in the summer of 2012.

“People were really disturbed by it. They thought it was targeting people of color,” Benford said.

Benford believes the lack of diversity in local venues results in a decreased quality of life for “a great many people” living in Madison, especially communities of color.

Benford has lived in Madison since 1979 and notes how the loss of venues, including Purlie’s and Mr. P’s Place in the late ’90s, have limited the diversity in local entertainment.

“There were black-owned businesses, so as a person of color I could go there and feel a sense of community,” Benford said.

At their meeting on Oct. 11, EOC members discussed hosting a community conversation to address the lack of diversity in Madison’s entertainment venues.

“There’s a lot of things we need to talk about as a community, but in the beginning let’s talk about the lack of venues, the lack of diversity within venues,” Benford said.

The EOC hopes the discussion will draw community members and representatives from the police department, Common Council, mayor’s office, and county clerk’s office.

A date for the discussion has not yet been set.

Hip-hop in the crossfire

Benford points to the lack of venues hosting hip-hop shows as evidence that entertainment venues in Madison aren’t diverse.

“Hip hop is international. It transcends race. It transcends gender,” said Benford, “but [for] people who are unaware of that, it’s really easy for them to assign that to the anthem of gangs.”

The First Wave, hip-hop scholarship program, run through the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives at the UW-Madison brings exposure to students and community members through monthly open mic events and the Line Breaks festival in the spring.

It can be hard for community members to learn about these, Benford said.

“We all know that hip-hop music is being played in clubs downtown. It’s just not necessarily places where people of color would go to, and we’ve seen attempts to try to discriminate against people so they aren’t able to come to those type of venues,” said Hedi Rudd, project coordinator for the Urban League of Greater Madison and EOC member.

Mark Woulf, alcohol policy  coordinator for the city, says a host of factors contribute to the lack of diversity in Madison’s entertainment, especially regarding hip-hop. Woulf explained past violence at hip-hop shows has discouraged other venues from hosting live hip-hop. When venues are limited, violence at shows is concentrated. The instigators who cause problems in their respective neighborhoods instead cause problems at shows. The problems have no connection with the genre of music itself.

“If there were a dozen hip hop shows in one night, you wouldn’t have a dozen problems, people would be spread out, and you wouldn’t have the same people coming to the same shows night after night,” Woulf said.

Woulf also attributes the violence associated with past hip-hop shows in Madison with venue mismanagement and the use of regional promoters who fail to provide adequate security at the events.

When bars struggle to attract the foot traffic necessary to turn a profit, some resort to live entertainment in an effort to drive sales, Woulf said. “They’re not in a position to hire someone like the Majestic or Frank Productions or some other very reputable promoting company to actually get an act in that will draw a crowd and then be able to help them manage the event properly.”

There’s no licensure required to regulate promoters. Anyone with a connection to a performer can book a show. In this unregulated area, promoters with ties to past crime can continue to operate, Woulf said. “It’s something that goes beyond the city limits, but it’s certainly something that our police department and our City Attorney’s Office actively work on.”

The numbers game

Woulf believes Madison lacks enough entertainment venues generally. He holds Austin, Texas as the ideal among comparable college towns. In Austin, there are over 300 entertainment venues, according to the Texas Music Office.

Last year the Alcohol License Review Committee amended the Madison General Ordinances the city’s general ordinances in 2011 to help draw new entertainment venues downtown, a goal that has eluded the city in the past five years.

Last year’s amendment to Sec. 38.05(9)(o) of the Madison General Ordinances allows a business to apply for a liquor license as an entertainment venue.  Entertainment venues can generate 70 percent alcohol sales and the remaining 30 percent through ticket and food sales.

“We haven’t had a single applicant apply as an entertainment venue in that year and a half period. What that tells me is the committee was on the right track, but it still doesn’t get us at a competitive place to attract new entertainment venues,” Woulf said.

When a meeting date for the community conversation is announced, the EOC hopes to ignite a flame under the political agenda and inspire grassroots community action to increase the diversity in Madison’s entertainment venues, Benford said.

Woulf agreed. “Unless we make a commitment to trying to attract new live music venues that are able to handle big shows and are able to hire the security necessary for any type of show, we’re just not going to see our music scene grow,” said Woulf.

When data for this story was initially collected, the 2009-2011 3-year American Community Survey Demographic and Housing estimates were not available. This story initially listed the population of Madison as 86% white according to the 2011 American Community Survey Demographic and Housing 1-year estimates for Dane County. It has been updated to reflect the new data.