Randy Cohen, vice president of research and policy for Americans for the Arts, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit, recently shared insights from his group’s study of arts trends nationwide. His message to business leaders emphasized the importance of investing in the arts as an industry, rather than treating arts as a luxury during times of prosperity and avoiding arts when the economy struggles. Increasing public and private support by using economic impact studies to leverage investment can help. But not every good idea needs to cost millions of dollars. “The city of Seattle sees itself as a music town, and it has a Music-On-Hold program. When you call a government office and get put on hold, you listen to music by Seattle musicians. They change it every quarter. It’s so popular the mayor does the voice-overs, and they sell the music on a website. Sometimes, it just takes coordination of existing resources,” says Cohen.