Item 9 Supporting Document — original pdf

Backup

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 international music festivals; tours; radio broadcast airplay Feedback - Remove requirement for % of income from music — hard to track, can be inequitable, don't want to penalize musicians who are doing multiple jobs to sustain their music, lives and families. Evaluate based on output as a musician. - Use “recognition” instead of awards as a qualifier - Use reasonable #s like “5+ shows or 3+ shows in the last 1 year or 2 years” as an alternative performance metric. Or 2+ shows in the past 6 months. Suggested sample questions for Accomplishments – Some or all questions could be scored on a gradient with activity within the last 2 years receiving 5 pts, or more than 2 yrs receiving 3 pts and 0 if answer is never • Have you performed onstage within the Austin MSA within the past 0-2 years? • Have you performed online within the past 0-2 years? • Have you released music on platforms such as Spotify? • Have you performed at a music festival(s) with a capacity of 2,000 or more patrons? • Have you received public recognition, such as music awards nominations, featured artist, municipal honors? • Have you received radio broadcast airwave airplay on stations including Nielsen Subscribing Stations including but not restricted to Waterloo Media Group, iHeartMedia, The University of Texas at Austin, Univision Radio, Audacy, or ATXN, Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, KOOP, KAZI, KTXZ, etc.? • Have you appeared on broadcast television including but not restricted to network affiliated stations, Austin Public, Public Broadcasting Service, etc.? • Have you appeared in print media (minimum circulation 1,000) including but not restricted to Tribeza, EAST, La Voz, La Prensa, Austin South Asian, The Villager, etc.? • Have you received sync licensing or performance royalties or streaming revenue over $100? • Have you toured and/or performed professionally outside of Austin MSA? ****************************************************************************** VENUES REMOVE: WORKING GROUP SUMMARY ERROR - WG never stated we wanted previous city funding to be considered Live Music Venue Development • Limited access to financial lending • Located in a Qualified Census Tract (QCT) • No previous Live Music Fund award Feedback - Remove all three of the above bullet points in red ADD: GOVERNING DEFINITION and score it based on questions that provide more points to the venues who achieve the full governing definition • Emphasize the foundational definition of a *venue* (i.e., a space regularly hosting live performances). • Original intent of funding was always to support *venues*—not just one-off event hosts. • Use the governing definition to score applicants • Preference given to venues with consistent music programming and infrastructure. DEFINITION: An establishment where live music programming is the principal function of the business and/or the business is a live music destination, and where the venue establishes the ability of an artist to receive payment for work by percentage of sales, guarantee, or other mutually beneficial formal agreement for every performance. A live music venue is a destination for live music consumers, and/or its music programming is the primary driver of its business as indicated by the presence of at least five (5) of the following: ● Defined performance and audience space ● Mixing desk, PA system, and lighting rig ● Backline ● At least two of the following: ● (i) Sound engineer ● (ii) Booker ● (iii) Promoter ● (iv) Stage manager ● (v) Security personnel ● e) Charges admission to some music performances through ticketing or front door entrance fees ● f) Markets acts through show listings in printed and electronic publications ● g) Hours of operation coincide with performances ● h) Programs live music at least five nights a week Cultural Tourism Marketing & Outreach • Developing new and innovative marketing strategies to promote Austin as a tourist and convention destination • Collaboration with event organizers on major events and conventions • Collaboration on venue-event specific travel packages • Partnerships with hotels, restaurants, and transportation providers to offer bundled experiences Impactful social media engagement • Expanding 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 - Make ADA questions *clear and actionable*. o Examples of questions to ask: ▪ Do you provide accessibility info on your website? ▪ Do you have a contact person for accessibility inquiries? ▪ Do you have written accessibility policies? - Provide 2 examples of events where ASL interpreters were available in the past year. - Acceptable documentation: o Event flyers, contracts with interpreters, or photos/videos showing accommodations. - Remove the question on "non-English speaking audience”. Instead, ask: o Does your programming reflect genre diversity or cultural diversity? ▪ Provide examples such as: • A country music showcase vs. a cumbia showcase • A punk rock night vs. a hip-hop block party or global music fest Austin Music Economy Development • More than 50% of income is generated from music events • Hires at least 40% local musicians • Hires local businesses and creatives for business operations year-round for such operations as merchandise production, marketing & outreach, equipment, suppliers, etc. • Performance ticket sales • Provides free or low-cost temporary space for other creative organizations • Track record for adding local bands as support for touring shows • Provides internships and apprenticeships Hosts benefit concerts to raise awareness for non-profit charity organizations Feedback - Use Documentation Where Possible - - The **more shows hosted**, the **more points awarded** -- have ranges on # of Increase income generated from music events to 60% shows in the past year - Venues to estimate what percentage of sales/income is generated from music events? o Clarify which revenue streams qualify here. Alcohol sales? Ticket sales? Acceptable to use honor system for this year, but aim to standardize documentation for future cycles. Provide ranges: E.g., “0–25%,” “26–50%,” “51– 75%,” “76–100%” - Ticketed Performance Info o Annual # of ticketed events o Scoring favors venues with a regular calendar of paid live music events - Artist Opportunities (Last 6 Months) o How do we prove 40% are local artists – need std. method to track o For this year -- List 5 local *lead* artists who received paid performance opportunities - Begin building templates and tools for venues to track % of income/sales from music; local vs touring hires. Encourage proactive recordkeeping (e.g., monthly music income logs, booking calendars). Internship Consideration - o Remove internships as a required criterion o Most venues may not have capacity to meet formal internship standards. o Alternative: Hiring Local Professionals o Give credit for hiring: ▪ Sound engineers ▪ Production staff ▪ Temporary or part-time creative and music industry professionals - Cultural Tourism & Community Outreach o Encourage venues to show how they contribute to Austin’s cultural tourism: ▪ Email marketing campaigns ▪ Print advertisements ▪ Radio promotions ▪ Paid social media ads ▪ Partnerships with Visit Austin or similar orgs