A coalition of groups will rally on Monday at Austin City Hall to demand the city require fair pay standards in all future contracts with South by Southwest. The 5 p.m. protest is being organized by local advocacy nonprofit Austin Texas Musicians, the Austin Federation of Musicians AFM Local 433 and United Musicians and Allied […]
Music & Entertainment
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Chicago creative hub to help shape plans for three Austin cultural facilities
By the end of the year, the city will have rough estimates for the capital expenses and operational costs for opening three music and art hubs at three cultural centers, with a Chicago group likely playing a large role in shaping the offerings and programs included in those facilities. The Music Commission received an update […]
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Despite its name, the Live Music Fund is not just for live music
The 650-plus applications for grants from the city’s inaugural Live Music Fund are in the early stages of evaluation and scoring, with the awards of $5,000 and $10,000 slated for initial distribution beginning in September. The Music Commission received a briefing Monday on next steps in the $3.5 million program, which closed its application process […]
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Council pushes for music census every five years, with data to publish on city portal
Data from the most recent census of the Austin music ecosystem will be posted on the city’s open data portal, along with data from the applicant pool for the first-ever cohort of the new Live Music Fund. Last week, City Council passed a resolution accepting the study from Sound Music Cities that surveyed more than […]
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Austin music venues could receive $100K liquor tax rebates from new state incubator
Live music venues in Austin could receive up to $100,000 annually in state liquor tax rebates from a new program created to provide relief for the state’s live music industry. The Texas Music Incubator Rebate Program was passed by the state Legislature last week and signed into law this week, providing just over $10 million […]
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Music Commission pushes city to analyze, publish latest music census data
The Music Commission wants the city to look for ways to analyze data from the latest census of the Austin music ecosystem and find a way to publish the raw data from that third-party project on the city’s open data portal. At Monday’s meeting, commissioners received an update from David Gray, assistant director of the […]
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Economic Development staff opts to withhold music census data from city data portal
Staffers in the Economic Development Department have declined to publish data from the most recent census of the Austin music ecosystem on the city’s open data portal, despite a request to do so from the Music Commission and the support of City Council members. Emails obtained by the Austin Monitor via an open records request […]
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Long Center moving toward shared services pilot program for arts groups
The Long Center for the Performing Arts is moving ahead with planning for a proposed pilot program that would offer shared services and expected cost savings for small, cash-strapped arts organizations around the city. The pilot program, which is expected to include a handful of initial arts groups over a three-year cycle, is part of […]
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City Council to consider expanded arts, music venue code language by June
The city’s Music and Arts commissions have given their support to expanded definitions of what constitutes music venues and creative spaces, in the hope that the city will move ahead with building code changes and incentives to encourage those spaces throughout Austin. The unanimous votes – held during a recent joint meeting of both commissions […]
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Parks board delays SXSW fair pay action until June
The Parks and Recreation Board has signaled it will ask City Council to require fair pay standards to be included in all future contracts with South by Southwest, including its use of Auditorium Shores for free concerts for the public. At its Monday meeting, the board was set to consider a resolution concerning compensation for […]
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Activists push to improve East Austin cultural spaces as city land heads for development
Arts stakeholders and local preservationists are pushing the city to make good on a 2021 resolution to improve and invest in a portion of East Austin known as the African American Cultural Heritage District. The group’s work, which is aimed specifically at preserving and enhancing five music and arts venues in the district, comes as […]
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Rally draws attention to criticism of SXSW artist pay
Union organizers for musicians took their criticism of South by Southwest’s artist payment practices to the street on Thursday, gathering outside the Austin Convention Center to rally and draw attention to their demand for increased compensation for the hundreds of acts that perform during the festival each spring. Organized by Union of Musicians and Allied […]