Local musicians and qualifying independent music venues will be able to apply for $4.5 million in grants available in the second cohort of the Live Music Fund. The program, which was approved by City Council in 2019 using Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue, will open to applicants on May 21.
This year’s program includes a $1 million increase from the 2023 debut, with the additional money earmarked for venues, which were only recently added as potential recipients of the grants that are administered by the Long Center for the Performing Arts.
Last year, the city awarded 368 grants of $5,000 or $10,000 to local musicians and promoters to organize concerts and events or produce works to advance their career in the Austin music economy. This year’s grant amounts range from $15,000 or $30,000 for artists, with venues eligible for $30,000 or $60,000.
Applications for this year’s edition of the Live Music Fund are due by June 18.
Economic Development Department staff members have worked with local stakeholders and outside consultants to address problems with the initial rollout of the Live Music Fund, which was criticized in some circles as having a confusing application process. Last spring, representatives from the advocacy group Austin Texas Musicians delivered feedback from its membership that showed many applicants interpreted the program as being aimed at event promoters rather than musicians seeking assistance with advancing their careers.
That feedback, as well as direction from the Music Commission about how music venues can best use the funding, has shaped the 2024 program.
“One of my my interests was definitely in simplifying the application because it might have been too complicated last time, and also I was a proponent for increasing the level of the grant,” said Nagavalli Medicharla, chair of the Music Commission. “I think the application has been simplified. Extended uses (for venues) have been clarified. … They’ve taken feedback from the commissions, from the musician community, from venues very well.”
Medicharla praised the effects of the 2023 grant process for the number of live performances and recorded albums it helped to fund, with very few issues once the application and judging process was complete and payments were made to recipients. She said the commission wants to receive regular updates on the usage of the grant money, which is collected by the Economic Development Department as part of the award process.
“What I’m keen to see is the distribution of the funds. How much was spent across the ecosystem? How much did people utilize these for live performances? What was the ideal around how many folks wanted to use the money for recording albums or music while making a video?” she said. “I would like to see the data if there is a way to provide that for the entire city. But I also think that if we do two or three rounds of this, it’s where we would get more comprehensive data around how the funds are moving through the ecosystem.”
Pat Buchta, CEO of Austin Texas Musicians, said the latest composition of the Live Music Fund appears to most resemble what proponents and City Council members envisioned five-plus years ago as they worked to allocate some of the city’s hotel tax revenue directly into the local music economy.
“This is the closest, I think, to the original vision of the Live Music Fund when we lobbied to get it on the table back in 2019. We got a lot of feedback from our members last year and presented it to the Music Commission over a series of several meetings,” he said. “I love that I’m seeing that it’s enabling all these artists to realize these dreams. I think this year as it expands to the $15,000 to $30,000 grant, it allows for recording, for performance and now for touring expenses as well.”
Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.
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Austin Music Commission: The Austin Music Commission guides city practices on music development issues, including the SxSW music festival.
Economic Development Department: This city department heads up business recruitment, urban regeneration, small business development, arts, and music for the city.
Hotel Occupancy Tax: A tax on the rental of a room in a hotel or other rental properties (including apartments) that cost 6 percent of the cost of a room.
