Music commission approves updated criteria for Austin Live Music Fund; board splits awards into $5,000 and $20,000 tracks

The Austin Music Commission on Thursday approved revised guidelines for the Austin Live Music Fund that create two grant tracks — $5,000 awards for one year and $20,000 awards covering two years — and change how applications will be scored.

The commission’s recommendation stresses majority weighting on musician or promoter career accomplishments (50 percent) and local economic impact (25 percent), adds past-and-future marketing as a scoring factor (20 percent) and includes a small accessibility scoring element (5 percent). The package passed the commission after discussion and community presentations and will be passed to city staff for implementation.

The commission and staff framed the change as an effort to get funds to more individual musicians and independent promoters while retaining dedicated support for live-music venues. Erica Shamley, division manager for the Music and Entertainment Division in the Economic Development Department, presented program metrics and operational details and said the city is continuing to refine payment and reporting processes. “We have 131 signed agreements so far for 2024 … 124 first payments, 42 second payments paid out so far,” Shamley said, reporting ongoing program administration.

Why it matters: The Live Music Fund is financed with hotel-occupancy-tax (HOT) revenue and is intended to support public-facing music projects that promote Austin as a music tourism destination. Commissioners and community groups argued the revised guidelines seek to balance supporting working musicians and independent promoters, keeping funds focused on public-facing projects, and clarifying eligibility to reduce confusion in future rounds.

What changed - Award structure: Two tracks — $5,000 (one-year) and $20,000 (two-year). The recommended $20,000 awards are intended to support larger projects; the $5,000 awards are intended to spread funds more widely. - Scoring: Applicants will be evaluated chiefly on career accomplishments (50%) and local economic impact (25%), with marketing (past and future) carrying 20% and accessibility measures 5% (pending legal review). - Eligibility: The working group left in place a minimum threshold for musician applicants (examples discussed included at least two years of documented live performance activity or a defined number of releases), and similar experience/operational documentation for independent promoters. - Venues: The commission recommended retaining the program’s existing venue definition that prioritizes establishments for which live-music programming is the principal function; venue awards remain at the $30,000 / $60,000 bands used in the 2024 pilot.

Discussion highlights - Community and industry groups presented detailed recommendations. Pat Gupta, CEO of Austin, Texas Musicians (ATXM), and representatives of venue and cultural groups urged clearer guidance, more transparency in scoring, and expanded outreach. Gupta described his organization’s presentation as “supplemental” to the working-group recommendations and urged clearer explanations in the application itself. - Commissioner Scott Strickland delivered an extended statement raising concerns about how some past awardees used funds, the need for residency verification, the importance of keeping HOT funds tied to public exhibitions (not purely studio projects), and the desire to prioritize project-based rather than solely credential-based awards. He recommended a three-tier musician grant approach in his presentation, though the motion approved uses the two-tier 5k/20k structure. - Staff said the scoring and allowable uses remain aligned with HOT statute requirements; they removed application questions that did not affect scoring (for example, banking access) and recommended legal review for any scoring tied to accessibility to avoid conflicts with state action on DEI-related language.

Votes at a glance - Action: Approve recommendation for evolution of the Austin Live Music Fund 2025 and beyond (musicians, independent promoters, and music venues). - Motion: Approve recommended criteria and scoring described above. - Mover: not specified in the transcript; Second: Commissioner Carvalho. - Outcome: Approved by the commission; exact roll-call vote totals were not specified in the meeting record. - Notes: Staff will move recommendations to implementation steps with typical program reporting, including final reports and receipts required before release of final payments.

Next steps and implementation City staff (Economic Development Department, Music and Entertainment Division) will incorporate the commission’s recommendations into program guidelines, update application content and scoring rubrics, expand outreach about application assistance, and coordinate any legal reviews required. Commissioners asked staff to pursue coordination across cultural funding programs so high-scoring applicants might be considered for related programs (Nexus/Elevate) when Live Music Fund awards are exhausted.

Who spoke (selection) - Erica Shamley, Division Manager, Music and Entertainment Division, Economic Development Department (staff) - Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music and Entertainment Division, Economic Development Department (staff) - Pat Gupta, CEO, Austin, Texas Musicians (community representative) - Scott Strickland, Secretary, Austin Music Commission (commissioner) - Nicole Clopadlo, Executive Director, Red River Cultural District (community/venue representative) - Commissioner Patterson (Vice Chair), Commissioner Carvalho, Commissioner Price, Commissioner Rosenthal, Commissioner Blevins (commissioners)

Clarifying details - Program administration (reported by Erica Shamley): 131 signed agreements (2024), 124 first payments completed, 42 second payments completed; one award fully fulfilled at time of briefing. - Program money levels discussed during debate: staff and presenters referenced prior rounds (e.g., $3.5 million initial round, $4.5 million second round) while commissioners debated distribution between musicians and venues.

Proper names noted: Austin Live Music Fund; Economic Development Department; Music and Entertainment Division; Long Center (program payment administrator); Austin, Texas Musicians (ATXM); Red River Cultural District; EQ Austin; KUTX; South by Southwest.

Searchable tags: ["live music fund","Austin","hotel occupancy tax","music grants","venues","artists","economic development"]