Austin officials have made significant changes to a pair of proposed policies affecting the city’s live music economy, and will spend much of May presenting them to local boards and community groups ahead of an expected early June vote by City Council. The policies – the so-called “agent of change” principle and an entertainment license requirement […]
Music and Entertainment Division
A department of the city’s economic development division geared toward growing the music and entertainment industry.
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics commission sets final hearing for former music department staffer
Austin’s Ethics Review Commission will hold a final hearing next month to determine whether a former music office employee attempted to inappropriately pay herself out of city coffers. The complaint against Ashley Buchanan, who worked as an employee in the Music and Entertainment Division for four years until 2015, is at the heart of the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Shifting SXSW focus, permitting changes await music head upon return
Returning South by Southwest to its focus on industries and helping to usher components of the city’s plans to help the local music industry are high on the personal to-do list of Don Pitts, until recently the director of Austin’s Music and Entertainment Division. Pitts, who resigned from his position on Feb. 14 but later […]
Posted inCity Hall
When the music stops – Pitts speaks following resignation
The city will have to move forward with one of its most ambitious policy efforts ever for promoting local music without the executive who spent seven years working to shape that agenda. Don Pitts, who served as director of the city’s Music and Entertainment Division since 2010, announced his resignation from the position on Tuesday. […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Music venues’ ‘agent of change’ proposal faces revisions ahead of spring vote
The city of Austin has concluded its series of public forums on a pair of proposed policy moves that would attempt to draw clear lines of responsibility between new residential developments and creative spaces that are increasingly co-mingling in the same neighborhoods as Austin’s population density increases. Throughout January, the city’s Economic Development Department took […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Liquor tax cut a top priority for music venue lobbying group
Music venues in Austin are lining up to try to get their state liquor tax rates reduced in a bid that’s being presented as a needed step to preserve clubs and bars that heavily promote live music. The effort is still in its nascent stages and could be something of a reboot of a 2013 […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Smoking ban gets fogged at Music Commission
A preliminary proposal to ban smoking on all patios in Austin was met with pushback and prompt backpedaling at a meeting of the Music Commission on Monday. Proposed by Central Health, a taxpayer-funded district in Travis County, a potential amendment to Austin’s smoking ban was expected to come before City Council in late 2016, according […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Music Commission narrows omnibus priorities
Austin’s Music Commission managed to prioritize some of the “kitchen sink” initiatives put forward by the Austin Music and Creative Ecosystem Omnibus Resolution during its Monday night meeting. But while stakeholders shared multiple recommendations for potential music industry best practices, most commissioners stated that a potential code change was their top priority. On March 3, […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
City to host “Music Venue Summit” ahead of spring
In preparation for South by Southwest and other spring events, the city’s Music and Entertainment Division will host a two-hour “Music Venue Summit” on Jan. 25 at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. The event will include city staff presentations about how venue owners and managers can best navigate the city’s regulatory landscape […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment, Uncategorized
Industry leaders discuss policy potentials to secure Austin’s music scene
People active in the Austin music business gathered Thursday at a studio space on East Fifth Street to talk about issues inhibiting the growth and sustainability of the city’s music life – a talk organizers called “State of the Arts,” held at Studium, a co-disciplinary space. With two musicians, one show organizer and a City […]
Posted inAustin
Advocates say concrete pouring doesn’t belong in the Music Division
The mournful hum of an industrial concrete mixer, it could be argued, makes for a lousy piece of music. Yet writing sound-impact plans for new concrete projects falls under the purview of the city’s Music and Entertainment Division. These plans describe how loud the noise from construction crews will be and how far it will […]