Meet the Member: MOON

Interviewee:

Mat Petrone (He/Him)

In your words… Tell us about your organization, business, initiative.

We started off as independent musicians who decided to get into local promotions. We joined together because we have similar philosophies, we want to help create a sustainable financial culture in the local music industry. Our goal is to help show locals that we can be in bands, this isn’t some crazy dream! Ideally, we earn the bands money while doing so. Our big endeavor currently is Hope Fest MA. We have partnered up with NAGLY to create a welcoming and diverse music festival in downtown Salem on 9/2, putting local music in the spotlight while raising money for an amazing cause.

Tell us a bit about you and why you do what you do? Share your passions for your business, initiative, organization.

Our long term goal is to create a local community space in the north shore where artists and musicians can thrive. Every year, more and more bands reach out to us but yet we have fewer venues. The demand is here, people want to play music. Yet as time goes on, this becomes much harder and more competitive. Potentially discouraging musicians from listening to their passions.

What role do you think your business plays in supporting a more creative community? OR your community in general. (Bonus! Why do you think a more creative community is important?)

Art and music have always been the voice of the counter-culture and Salem has always been a haven for people who haven’t fit into the norm. Bringing an avenue for people to channel this will empower our local community to be true to themselves.

What was the last book you read OR What was the last video you watched that made an impact on you?

I recently read From Good to Great for my job which explores the concept of companies that focus on the team first, then the goals after. I feel like this inherently happened with us since this has been a passion project for all of us individually well before we reached where we are now.

What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you or your business?

We are all in different local bands with a variety of genres among us!

What is Creative Collective?

Creative Collective is a group of economic development strategists, small business supporters, activation specialists, and believers in the importance of the creative workforce. We foster growth, sustainability, and scalability for small businesses, creative thinkers, organizations, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Learn more and join Creative Collective at www.creativecollectivema.com/join