REGULAR MEETING of the MUSIC COMMISSION April 7, 2025 6:30 PM CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS ROOM 1001, 301 W 2ND STREET, Austin, Texas 78701 Some members of the Music Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, call or email Shelbi Mitchell, 512-974-6318, Shelbi.Mitchell@austintexas.gov. CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS/COMMISSIONERS: Nagavalli Medicharla - Chair, Anne-Charlotte Patterson – Vice Chair, Scott Strickland – Secretary, Nelson Aguilar, Tami Blevins, Pedro Carvalho, Cornice “Ray” Price Jr., Celeste Quesada, Joe Silva AGENDA CALL TO ORDER MUSICAL PERFORMANCE Rick Fuentes & the Brown Express PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Music Commission Meeting on March 3, 2025. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Live Music Fund collections briefing by Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment. 3. Austin Live Music Fund briefing by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music and Entertainment Division, Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment. DISCUSSION ITEMS 4. Make Music Day Alliance following presentation by Matt Fox, Chapter Advisor, Make Music Day Alliance Inc. 5. SIMS Foundation 30th Anniversary following presentation by Derrick Lesnau, CEO, SIMS Foundation. 6. Input on recent increase in number of performance rights organizations and their licensing revenue distribution practices. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS 7. Conduct elections for officers; Chair, Vice Chair, Parliamentarian and Secretary for 2025- 2026 term. 8. Select a music commission representative for Downtown Commission vacancy. WORKING GROUP UPDATES 9. Update from the Austin Live Music Fund Working Group on Live Music Fund by Chair Nagavalli Medicharla. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Shelbi Mitchell at the Economic Development Department, at 512-974-6318, Shelbi.Mitchell@austintexas.gov, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on …
Austin Live Music Fund - Update Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment Music Commission Meeting – April 7, 2025 2024 Austin Live Music Fund – Latest Stats • 136 grant awards accepted so far out of 136 total grant awards (100%) agreements (99%) • 135 signed agreements so far out of 136 total grant • 134 completed Grant Agreement Orientations so far out of 136 total awardees (99%) • 132 completed Financial Information Forms out of 136 forms sent so far to awardees (97%) • 132 first payments paid so far out of 136 total awardees (97%) • 57 second payments paid so far out of 136 total awardees (42%) C I T Y O F A U S T I N • 13 fully paid and completed award of 136 awards (10%) As of 4/1/25 Cultural Funding Programs – 2025 Application Schedule Application Launch Considerations: • Candice Cooper – ACME’s New Chief Administrative Officer • Community engagement plan for Cultural Arts funding programs • New laws and regulations from the State of Texas 89th Regular Legislative Session and the federal government affecting ongoing city government operations and policies C I T Y O F A U S T I N 2025 Austin Live Music Fund – Community Feedback Share Feedback Now! The Cultural Arts & Music Funding: Community Engagement survey will remain open through July 2025. C I T Y O F A U S T I N
Matt Fox matt@makemusicday.org Fête de la Musique: France, 1982 A Brief History France, 2024 Fête de la Musique/Make Music Day 2024: National Coordination in 23 Countries United States 18th year, 5,304 events, from block party jams to solo street performers, 141 cities nationwide France 42nd year, estimated 180,000 events nationwide, experienced by 2/3 of the public Germany 30th year with thousands of events across 140 cities, jointly presented with German Music Council Italy 31st year, over 19,000 performers nationwide, coordinated by 894 partner organizations Nigeria 9th year in Lagos with 50 concerts, workshops, seminars; other events in six states Mexico 3rd year, 76 cities with 180 perfor- mances (rock, Norteño, electronic music, etc) and 40,000 attendees Brasil 8th year with music in 100+ cities, from Amazon people to the school districts of Maringá and São Paulo China 9th year with 15,000 events in 200 cities, 400,000 direct participants, and 155 partner organizations Australia 7th year, 100+ events: brass bands, acoustic jams, orchestras, other grassroots performances Chicago, IL Boston, MA Kansas City, MO New York, NY Make Music Day is: • Participatory open to any musicians at any level, all ages and genres • Free • In public spaces and publicly accessible private spaces • On June 21 no tickets, no charge for participants or audience Philly, PA Fullerton, CA Make Music Day 2024: United States • 5,304 free music-making events (10% increase from 2023) • Citywide celebrations in 145 cities (28% increase) New Chapters in 2024 AL: Mobile AZ: Phoenix CA: Claremont, Oakland CT: Bethel FL: Tallahassee ID: Sandpoint MI: Albion MO: Lee’s Summit, Neosho, Springfield NC: Bertie County, Brunswick, Catawba County, Kinston, McDowell County, Stanly County, Statesville, Stokes County, Surry, Vance County, Wake County, Winston-Salem NJ: Newark, Paterson NY: Central New York TN: Germantown TX: College Station, Denison, Hutto, McKinney, Odessa, Salado, San Antonio, San Marcos, Sugar Land, Tyler WA: Aberdeen WI: Cable, Cambridge, Monona, Oshkosh, Shell Lake-Spooner Make Music Day 2024: United States Make Music Day 2025: Participating Texas Cities (to date) Alpine College Station Dallas Denison Frisco Henderson County Houston Hutto Laredo Marble Falls McKinney Mexia New Braunfels Odessa Port Aransas Salado San Antonio San Marcos South Padre Island Sugar Land Tyler Waco Waxahachie Wimberley Join the worldwide celebration of music! Performed by anyone. Free for everyone. With hundreds of cities, thousands of concerts, and millions of eyes and ears, Make Music Day invites anyone and everyone …
MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING 4/07/2025 H O T E L O C C U P A N C Y T A X C O L L E C T I O N S L I V E M U S I C F U N D Erica Shamaly Division Manager UPDATED 3.24.2025 FY 25 Year-to-Date Hotel Occupancy Tax Collections – Live Music Fund FY25 Amended Budget January 2025 w/ Encumbrances $809,445 FY25 Year-to-Date w/ Encumbrances $1,682,703 FY25 Year-End Estimate $17,874 $312,748 $827,586 $19,399 $338,773 $854,923 $12,938 $323,076 $798,287 $5,509 $217,400 $744,461 $4,573 $472,660 $716,095 $36,835 $335,537 $782,771 $19,180 $288,001 $856,608 $5,354 $172,557 $754,925 $809,445 $17,407 $159,710 $696,141 FY 23 FY 24 FY 25 October April November May December June January July February August March September FY 25 Year-to-Date Hotel Occupancy Tax Collections – Live Music Fund FY25 Amended Budget February 2025 w/ Encumbrances $316,607 FY25 Year-to-Date w/ Encumbrances $1,999,311 FY25 Year-End Estimate $17,874 $312,748 $827,586 $19,399 $338,773 $854,923 $12,938 $323,076 $798,287 $5,509 $217,400 $744,461 $4,573 $472,660 $716,095 $36,835 $335,537 $782,771 $19,180 $288,001 $856,608 $5,354 $172,557 $754,925 $316,607 $809,445 $17,407 $159,710 $696,141 FY 23 FY 24 FY 25 October April November May December June January July February August March September FY 24 Year-to-Date Hotel Occupancy Tax Collections – Live Music Fund FY24 Amended Budget $5,575,000 FY23 Amended Budget $4,100,000 FY24 Year-to-Date w/ Encumbrances $4,445,096 FY23 Year-to-Date w/ Encumbrances $4,472,973 $17,874 $312,748 $827,586 $19,399 $338,773 $854,923 $12,938 $323,076 $798,287 $5,509 $217,400 $744,461 $4,573 $472,660 $716,095 $36,835 $335,537 $782,771 $19,180 $288,001 $856,608 $5,354 $172,557 $754,925 FY 23 FY 24 October April November May December June January July February August March September
Cultural Tourism Marketing & Outreach • Innovative marketing strategies to promote Austin as a tourist and convention destination – past and future to be scored Impactful social media engagement • Expands audiences and fan bases locally, as well as outside of Austin • • Provides accessibility features for audiences with disabilities • Programming and features for non-English speaking communities • Programming open and accessible to the public Feedback - Be specific about accessibility – website? Promotional material? Sign language interpreter? - Remove requirement for non-English programming language (ex. this disadvantages hip hop artists). This can be outreach to the diverse diaspora in Austin MSA. Include marketing in non-English speaking language publications and other media instead. Austin Music Economy Development • Pays at least the City of Austin musician pay rate to hired professional musicians • Pays a living wage to music industry professionals • Hires at least 40% local musicians • Hires creatives year-round for such operations as merchandise production, marketing & outreach, equipment, storage, etc. • Hires local creative spaces Feedback - Remove requirement for "living wage" + "city rate" — living wage is subjective | city rate - may not be met by several artists without having access to grant $$ If keeping requirement that 40% of band members be local, clarify definition of “local” to include entire MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). Artist Development • Participates in career training and professional development • Participates in music programs for schools, cultural centers, youth, private lessons, camps, workshops, etc. • Performs / volunteers at benefit concerts to raise awareness for non-profit charity organizations • Limited access to financial lending • Languages other than English spoken in the household • Lives in a Qualified Census Tract (QCT) • No previous Live Music Fund award Feedback - Avoid adding DEI-adjacent economic asks that may unintentionally penalize even BIPOC artists. o QCT o Other than English language spoken in household - Remove “lending” related questions — these are hard to verify - Remove Prior Funding Bonus / Penalty: o Avoid penalizing artists for previous grants - cultural or music. The 2-year period addresses this for the higher 20k grants. o Make the accomplishment-questions robust Music Industry Accomplishments • Percentage of personal income dependent on music • Number of music industry recognition awards • Frequency of public shows for audiences of at least 300 • Number of music streams and downloads; recordings; national and …
