[CALL TO ORDER ]
[00:00:03]
UH, IT'S, UH, SEPTEMBER 9TH, SIX.
I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MUSIC COMMISSION TOGETHER UNDER,
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
UH, PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS.YOU COULD PLEASE COME UP AND SPEAK AND ASK A LITTLE.
I ASKED, I ASKED CARSON AND SHE WAS LIKE, THE ONLY LADY.
CAN WE COVER THAT? SO SIT THAT UP TO ERICA OVER, AND SO WE CAN DO ARE THEY JUST GONNA NO, I'M GONNA ASK THEM ABOUT THAT.
MY NAME IS I, I'M COLOMBIAN LIVING IN
AND, UH, I'M FOUNDER AND CEO OF NONPROFIT CALLED
AND, UH, WE'RE BASICALLY BRINGING LIVE MUSIC TO THE KIDS WHILE THEY HAVE LUNCH AT SCHOOL.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A YEAR.
WE ALREADY HAVE 16 SCHOOLS SIGNED UP FOR THE PROGRAM, MAINLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, EVEN THOUGH I JUST RECEIVE AN EMAIL FROM A MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT IS VERY INTERESTED AND, UH, BASICALLY BRINGING THE MAGIC TO THE KIDS, BUT THEY HAVE LUNCH AT SCHOOL AND, UH, THE KIDS WIN BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THE BENEFITS OF LIKE, MUSIC AND, UH, THE DREAM IS TO JUST LIKE GROW THE NETWORK SO WE CAN PROVIDE, UH, JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR MUSICIANS IN THE CITY AS WELL.
SO IT'S LIKE WHEN EVERYBODY WINS, KIND OF LIKE NONPROFIT.
UM, MY DREAM IS THAT EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL HAS, UH, MUSIC DURING LUNCHTIME ON FRIDAYS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
'CAUSE WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT'S TO BRING MUSIC TO THE KIDS.
SO I'M JUST HAPPY TO BE HERE TO SHARE MAIN DREAM, TO SHARE, NO, NO, NO LONGER A DREAM, LIKE A REALITY.
AND, UH, JUST RIGHT NOW WE'RE BASICALLY LOOKING FOR FUNDING, LOOKING FOR GRANTS, LOOKING FOR PEOPLE IN THE CITY THAT IS WILLING TO PUT THE MONEY SO WE CAN PAY THE MUSICIANS TO SHARE THE MUSIC WITH THE KIDS.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH YOU GUYS.
LIKE TO REQUEST, UH, TO COME UP AND SPEAK.
IT'S TURNED IT OFF, DIDN'T IT? I BOOKED A-A-C-E-O OF AUSTIN, TEXAS MUSICIANS, UH, NONPROFIT.
I THINK WE HAD A AGENDA ITEM TONIGHT, BUT THAT'S, UH, GONNA HAPPEN NEXT MONTH.
SO, JUST REAL QUICKLY, I THINK TONIGHT I'M JUST GONNA, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.
OBVIOUSLY WE'VE HAD A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS.
UH, THERE'S BEEN SOME MISINFORMATION AND, AND, UM, UH, BUT A LOT OF HAPPY PEOPLE TOO.
SO I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WE PUT OUT A STATEMENT TO THE COMMUNITY TO JUST TRY TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS A LITTLE BETTER SO THEY UNDERSTAND WHY THINGS HAPPENED THE WAY THEY DID.
UM, AND, UH, JUST TO REITERATE HERE, FOR ANYBODY LISTENING OR ANYBODY WHO DOESN'T KNOW THAT THIS THING HAS NEVER EXISTED BEFORE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE FIRST EVER PUBLIC FUNDING OF ITS KIND, UH, FOR MUSIC IN THE US SO IT'S GONNA TAKE A MINUTE TO FIGURE IT OUT.
AND I JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE AND COMMEND EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM WHO'S BEEN SO DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS, GOING ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2017.
UM, SO JUST REAL QUICK, UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU LIKE A LITTLE TEASER TRAILER FOR WHAT WE, WE WILL BE BRINGING NEXT MONTH, UH, WE'LL HAVE A PRESENTATION WHERE WE KIND OF START TO ASK SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN COMING UP IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, ARE, IS A GRAND AMOUNT OF 30,000, UH, THE RIGHT THING TO DO WHEN IT DOESN'T STRETCH AS FAR ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I MEAN, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF MUSICIANS WHO ARE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE GOTTEN TO 30,000, BUT WE JUST WANNA FULLY VET THIS, THIS QUESTION IN THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, WE'VE HAD A QUESTION COME UP ABOUT, UH, WHY MUSICIANS CAN'T A ACCESS THEIR SCORES.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S PRECEDENT, I THINK WITH CULTURAL ARTS, BUT YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S, UM, MAYBE THERE'S A SOLUTION THERE TO
[00:05:01]
SEE IF THERE'S A, A QUICK TECH TWEAK TO DO WITHOUT ADDING MORE WORK TO PEOPLE'S PLATES.UM, I THINK A LOT OF MUSICIANS FEEL THAT IF THEY COULD SEE THOSE SCORES, THEY CAN UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BETTER HOW TO, UH, BEST APPROACH THEIR APPLICATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
UM, WE ALSO WANNA MAYBE LOOK AT AND SEE IF THERE'S, IF IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO HAVE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF AWARDS.
UM, SO MAYBE MUSICIANS WHO NECESSARILY HAVEN'T PLAYED A LOT OF GIGS IN PUBLIC, UH, MAYBE THERE'S A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF AWARD FOR THEM AS OPPOSED TO SOMEBODY WHO'S READY TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT, NEXT LEVEL AND GET THOSE BIG GRANTS.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, JUST TO WRAP UP, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN MADE AWARE THAT THERE'S SOME HUCKSTERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
THERE'S SOME PEOPLE, UH, WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, SEE THE OPPORTUNITY OF THESE MUSICIANS WITH THIS MONEY.
AND THEY'RE EITHER GETTING THEM TO PAY THEM TO, UH, DELIVER THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.
HAVE YOU NOT HEARD ABOUT THIS? YEAH.
UM, OR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNISTIC BUSINESSES OUT THERE WHO ARE TRYING TO GET MUSICIANS TO BRING THEIR MONEY.
SO ONE THING WE'D LIKE TO LOOK INTO, UM, AND MAYBE THIS IS A HANGOVER FROM MY ONE YEAR SPEND AT THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU, BUT WHAT IF WE HAD AN ACCREDITED DATABASE OF, UH, TRUSTED BUSINESSES? I KNOW THE TEXAS MUSIC OFFICE HAS SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS, BUT IF WE HAD SOMETHING HERE LOCALLY, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, HAD AN MUSICIANS COULD ACCESS AND SEE THE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, MUSIC INDUSTRY BUSINESSES IN TOWN THAT THEY CAN TRUST AND WORK WITH, UH, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY SOME BIG PICTURE STUFF.
BUT WE HOPE TO GATHER A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION OVER THE NEXT MONTH, AND WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT MONTH.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
TO APPROVAL OF MINUTES.UH, IF EVERYBODY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE MINUTES FROM THE AUGUST 5TH MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING, SOMEBODY COULD MOTION TO APPROVE, GIVE A MOTION FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER CARRO.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER PRICE.
WE STILL HAVE, UH, SIX FOLKS HERE.
UH, THE MOTION IS APPROVED, UH, WITH ONE ABSENTEE.
YES, WE, SO WE HAVE SIX COMMISSIONERS, RIGHT? UH, WHO VOTED IN FAVOR.
AND WE HAVE ONE, UH, ONE ABSTAINING.
[MUSICAL PERFORMANCE]
ON TO MUSICAL PERFORMANCE.UH, WE HAVE THE MODERNISTS TODAY.
UH, THIS WAS A NOMINATION FROM COMMISSIONER AL.
[00:10:28]
EYES GREEN CAN BE MEAN, BUT I CAN THEM DOWN.MY BOYFRIEND SWEARS MEANS ARE WE ALL JUST ONE PIZZA? THANK YOU.
AND, UH, I WISH, UH, COMMISSIONER ROSENFELD WAS HERE.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE JOINING US A LITTLE LATE, UM, TO TELL US MORE ABOUT THE BAND, BUT THAT WAS THE
UH, IT'S LOVELY TO HAVE, UH, KIND OF A DIVERSE RANGE OF MUSIC BEING PRESENTED HERE BY COMMISSIONERS HAVE THE MUSIC COMMISSION, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, SHELBY FROM STAFF, UH, IS WORKING WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON FOR SOMETHING BIGGER, UH, LATER, LATER THIS YEAR.
[2. Live Music Fund collections briefing by Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Economic Development Department.]
STAFF BRIEFINGS.UM, WE HAVE LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS, BRIEFING BY KIMON PROGRAM MANAGER AND MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, EDD.
I'M SORRY, BEFORE WE, UH, DO THAT, I, I DO HAVE, I HAVE A QUESTION.
UH, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF AGENDA ITEMS THAT I REQUESTED BE ADDED TO THE AGENDA, UH, PRIOR TO THIS MEETING.
IS THERE A REASON WHY THEY WERE NOT ADDED? YEAH, UM, I THINK THAT THE STAFF TO, UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST I GUESS PROVIDE PERSPECTIVE, BUT, UM, UM, FROM MY END, I DID CHECK IN, UH, IF YOU HAD A SECOND, AND I KNOW THAT YOU HAD A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER PRICE, I THINK IT, UM, CAME THURSDAY EVENING, WHICH WAS PRETTY CLOSE TO WHEN IT GETS POSTED THE NEXT DAY.
SO I THINK THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT STAFF HAD FOR FOLLOW UPS WITH THE SPEAKERS, UH, AMONGST OTHER THINGS WAS REALLY, UH, WAS JUST, THERE WAS JUST NOT ENOUGH TIME TO GET RES, THEY DIDN'T GET RESPONSES BACK, IS WHAT I UNDERSTAND.
AND, UH, UH, FROM MY END, UH, I KNEW I APPROVED IT LIKE MAYBE WITHIN THE LAST 30 MINUTES OR 15 MINUTES WHEN, UH, BEFORE THE FINAL DEADLINE, I BELIEVE.
SO THAT'S ALL THOSE ITEMS DIDN'T MAKE IT IS WHAT I WAS TOLD.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD, OR, OR IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
WE'LL, UH, MOVE ON WITH THE CURRENT AGENDA ITEM.
JIM CARSON, UH, PRESIDENT MANAGER WITH MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
I'M GONNA GIVE THE UPDATE ON THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS SECOND COLUMN HERE, THE ONE ON THE RIGHT.
THE COLUMN ON THE LEFT IS LAST FISCAL YEAR, AND WHAT WE HAVE OUR NUMBERS TO BE JULY.
SO THAT TOP NUMBER THERE, THE $716,095
[00:15:02]
IS WHAT WAS COLLECTED THROUGH JULY FROM HIGH OCCUPANCY TAX FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUNDS.THAT'S THE LIVE MUSIC FUND PORTION OF THAT, WHICH GIVES US TO DATE A NUMBER OF 3, 9 67 OR $863.
AND THE, THAT'S JUST LAST FISCAL YEAR, SO YOU CAN LEAVE IT ON THAT SECOND PAGE.
SO WE'RE CLOSING IN ON THE END OF THE YEAR.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? THANK YOU, KIM.
UM, MS. PROVINCE, JUST COMMISSIONER, JUST, UH, JUST SHOUT OUT SOMETIMES WHEN THINGS ARE BEING, UM, SHARED ON THE SCREEN, SO, UH, I WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE THEM.
SO IF ANYTHING, PRESENTATION IS BEING SHARED AND IF YOU WANNA SPEAK UP, UH, JUST PLEASE LET US KNOW.
[3. FY24 Austin Live Music Fund briefing by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Economic Development Department. ]
THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, UH, FY 24, AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND BRIEFING BY ERICA SHALEY, DIVISION MANAGER, ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, EDD.AH, SO IT IS, OH, THAT WAS SO FAST.
ERICA SHAMLEY, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER.
UM, I'M GONNA BE SHARING MY PRESENTATION THROUGH WEBEX WHILE BEING HERE IN PERSON, SO THAT I HAVE A LITTLE, WE HAVE A LITTLE INTERACTION HALFWAY THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
SO I WANNA JUST REMIND EVERYONE HOW WE GOT HERE.
UM, AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND WAS FIRST ESTABLISHED IN 2019 IN SEPTEMBER.
AND SO I THINK WE HAD HAD OUR FIRST FORUM WITH, FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN DECEMBER, 2019.
AND THEN WE STARTED THE ENGAGEMENT IN 2020.
UH, MEANWHILE A PANDEMIC HIT IN MARCH.
SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS TIMELINE.
THIS IS ALL ON OUR O THE LIVE MUSIC FUND WEBPAGE, THE ENTIRE MASTER TIMELINE.
BUT I WANTED TO PUT IN THIS PRESENTATION JUST FOR SOME QUICK LINKS.
I MEAN, WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW COMMISSIONERS, A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE WITH US IN THE AUDIENCE, A LOT OF NEW APPLICANTS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, DIDN'T, WAS NOT, THEY WERE NOT PART OF THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE REALLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO GO THROUGH THIS TIMELINE OF HOW WE GOT HERE SINCE 2019 TO THESE PARTICULAR GUIDELINES AND THESE ELIGIBILITY CATEGORIES.
AND, UM, IT'S A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION.
IT'S HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS OF VIDEO TO WATCH.
UH, BUT THERE ARE ALSO TRANSCRIPTS THAT YOU CAN READ THROUGH.
BUT WHAT DID THAT BRING US? IT GOT US TO THIS POINT WHERE WE HAD GUIDELINES FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUND THAT IS FOCUSED ON PIE, OUR, OUR PRESERVATION, INNOVATION AND ELEVATION, UH, MISSION CORE VALUES EQUITY, OUR EQUITY CORE VALUES, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE THE SCORING THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE FOR BOTH.
UM, HERE I'M ON SCORING, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT KEEPING UP WITH ME.
I'M ON A DIFFERENT SLIDE THAN THIS.
YEAH, BECAUSE I, THAT'S WHY I'M SHARING IT.
OH, I THOUGHT THAT WAS ME SHARING.
I WAS LIKE, WOW, THAT WAS AMAZING HOW FAST I WAS OF GETTING THE PRESENTATION UP.
BECAUSE I, I PRESSED SHARE RIGHT WHEN IT SHARED.
ALL RIGHT, SO I WILL NOW GO THROUGH THESE SLIDES.
20 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, ALL OF THAT WONDERFUL WORK GOT US TO OUR SCORING MATRIX, BOTH FOR PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS AND INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS.
OUR VERY FIRST TWO ELIGIBILITY CATEGORIES, AND THEN THE LIVE MUSIC VENUES, WHICH IS OUR THIRD ELIGIBILITY CATEGORY THAT WAS BROUGHT, UH, INTO THE SECOND YEAR, 2024 OF THE PROGRAM.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THESE ELIGIBILITY CATEGORIES IN THIS CORE EQUITY SCORING THAT WE SPENT SO MUCH TIME WORKING ON.
BUT OF COURSE, LIKE ALWAYS, UM, WE WANT YOU GUYS TO THINK ABOUT IT.
WE'LL GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AGAIN FOR 2025, AND WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT THIS IF WE NEED TO.
SO, WHAT CAME OUT OF IT, THIS IS THE INTERACTIVE PART OF THE EXHIBITION.
SO THIS IS THE DATA DASHBOARDS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON THE WEBSITE.
AND I KIND OF WANTED, JUST, JUST TO SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN USE THESE.
SO THERE IS A LINK TO EACH, THE, THE DASHBOARD AT THE LIVE MUSIC FUND WEBPAGE.
AND IT TAKES YOU TO A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SCROLL THROUGH THREE OR FOUR PAGES OF DATA.
NOW, 10 13 IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF APPLICANTS.
[00:20:01]
DRILLING DOWN INTO ALL OF THIS INFORMATION BY SIMPLY CLICKING ON A CATEGORY.AND THEN AS YOU CAN SEE ON THAT CATEGORY, IT BREAKS DOWN TO THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THAT PARTICULAR PIE PIECE.
UM, I ALWAYS CHECK, AND THIS IS WIFI BASE RIGHT HERE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S WHETHER OR NOT IT'LL WORK BECAUSE OF MY WIFI CONNECTION.
UH, LET'S SEE IF I JUST CLICK OFF OF IT.
WHEN YOU GO THROUGH, I, I'LL HAVE TO CHECK TO SEE IF THAT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT IS AN ISSUE WITH OUR DATA DASHBOARD NOW.
UM, BUT SO YOU CAN GO INTO EACH OF THESE SECTIONS.
YOU CAN, UM, CLICK INTO ANY BOX AND DRILL DOWN INTO THE DATA.
SO THAT IS AN OVERALL PICTURE OF THE APPLICANTS HERE.
LEMME SEE IF IT'S GONNA, AND THEN HERE IS A SIDE-BY-SIDE, UH, COMPARISON OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF OUR APPLICANTS.
ON THE LEFT YOU SEE INDIVIDUAL APPLICANTS, BECAUSE IT DEPENDS ON HOW EACH APPLICANT, YOU KNOW, SELECTED.
WERE THEY APPLYING AS A BUSINESS OR WERE THEY APPLYING AS AN INDIVIDUAL ARTIST? SO ON THE LEFT, THIS IS ALL THE INDIVIDUAL APPLICANTS AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION THAT WE GOT.
AND ON THE RIGHT IS ALL OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC, DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION WE GOT FOR LEGALLY FORMED BUSINESSES LIKE LLCS AND SO FORTH.
SO I THINK IF I JUST CLICK DOWN ONCE, AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU CAN CLICK INTO ANY OF THESE PIE PIECES AND IT WILL START, UH, DRILLING DOWN ALL THE NUMBERS IN ALL THE VARIOUS BOXES.
AND YOU CAN CLICK ANYWHERE AND YOU JUST CLICK AGAIN TO GET BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE.
AND LIKE RIGHT HERE, I JUST CLICKED INTO THE MAJORITY LED MAIL OR PREFER NOT TO ANSWER.
SO YOU CAN CLICK INTO THAT AND IT BREAKS DOWN THE INFORMATION THERE AS WELL.
SO EVERY SINGLE BOX THAT YOU CLICK INTO, UH, WILL DRILL DOWN FOR YOU.
AND SO YOU COULD SPEND MANY HOURS DRILLING DOWN INTO THIS DATA TO LEARN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS ABOUT THIS.
OVER 1000 APPLICANTS FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.
IT TELLS AN AMAZING STORY WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE'RE AT, UM, WHERE WHAT OUR SITUATION IS BASED ON THE QUESTIONS WE ASKED.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THE DATA ABOUT, UH, WHAT THEY WANTED TO SPEND THE MONEY ON.
WE WEREN'T ABLE TO, 'CAUSE YOU COULD SELECT ALL THAT APPLIED.
SO WE'LL TAKE THAT INFORMATION.
WE'RE STILL WORK, STILL WORKING ON THAT DATA DASHBOARD TO SEE WHAT THEIR INTENT WAS.
BUT REALLY THE MORE IMPORTANT THING IS, IS HOW THEY SPENT THE MONEY AT THE END OF THE DAY.
AND WE COLLECT THAT INFORMATION IN THE FINAL REPORT.
SO FOR INSTANCE, FOR THE 2023 PROGRAM, YOU WILL BE GETTING A PRESENTATION FROM US AS SOON AS ALL THE FINAL REPORTS ARE IN.
AND WE WILL GIVE YOU A WONDERFUL DATA DASHBOARD, YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHAT DID YOU SPEND THE MONEY ON, WHAT DID IT DO FOR YOU? WE ASK QUESTIONS LIKE, DID THIS GRANT YOU KNOW, ENABLE YOU TO EARN MORE MONEY? DO YOU HAVE NEW COLLABORATORS? DID YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, PERFORM OR, UH, BE WORK IN PLACES YOU HAD NEVER WORKED BEFORE? THE WHOLE THING AGAIN IS GOING BACK TO THAT SCORING THAT I SHOWED YOU FOR BOTH VENUES, PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS AND PROMOTERS.
IT'S TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE INSTILLING PIE PRESERVATION, INNOVATION, ELEVATION COLLABORATION INTO EVERYTHING WE DO.
AND SO, UH, THAT WILL BE, I CAN'T WAIT TO SHOW YOU THE INFORMATION AROUND 2023 AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT FOR 2024 AND SO FORTH.
'CAUSE THAT THIS WILL ALL REALLY INFORM ANY UPDATES OR IMPROVEMENTS WE WANNA DO TO THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN THIS IS THE APP ANSWERS, WHICH I THINK IS VERY INTERESTING.
YOU CAN DRILL DOWN TO SEE HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY ANSWERED THE INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS FOR ACCESS TO SERVICES.
UM, AGAIN, THIS TELLS AN AMAZING STORY ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, IF YOU SCORED HIGHER FOR ACCESS TO SERVICES, IT'S BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO SERVICES.
SO YOU'VE GOT MORE POINTS, THE LESS ACCESS YOU HAD.
AND SO YOU CAN KIND OF DRILL DOWN AND MAKE COMPARISONS OF WHO HAS LESS ACCESS AND WHO ARE THEY, WHERE DO THEY LIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THEIR ELIGIBILITY CATEGORY.
UM, AS FAR AS THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS YOU SEE UP ON THE LEFT, IT'S A PERCENTAGE OF WHAT THE PIE PART, UH, IS OF THE TOTAL NUMBER.
JUST SO THAT TO EXPLAIN WHY IT SHIFTS WHEN YOU CLICK ON EACH THING, IT'S JUST REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TOTAL HOLE.
I WANT YOU, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF CLICKS THERE, LOTS OF LINKS FOR YOU TO GO DIVE INTO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW WE GOT HERE.
AND ALSO HOW DID OUR SCORING AND OUR PIE CORE VALUES WORK WHEN YOU START LOOKING INTO THIS DATA NOW TO NUTS
[00:25:01]
AND BOLTS, THE MONEY, THE LONG CENTER REPRESENTED HERE, THANKS FOR COMING.UM, THEY HAVE BEEN HARD AT WORK WITH ALL OF OUR APP, OUR AWARDEES ON GETTING THE BALL ROLLING ON THEIR FIRST PAYMENTS.
SO HERE YOU CAN SEE HOW MANY AWARDS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED SO FAR OUT OF THE 137 TOTAL GRANTS.
HOW MANY SIGNED AGREEMENTS, HOW MANY ORIENTATIONS HAVE BEEN ATTENDED, HOW MANY FORMS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED FOR THEIR FIRST PAYMENTS? AND BEST OF ALL, HOW MANY FIRST PAYMENTS HAVE HAPPENED OUT OF THE 137 TOTAL AWARDEES? AND THAT'S 46 AND 46 PEOPLE HAVE GOT 50% OF THEIR TOTAL AWARD.
AND NOW WHAT ARE WE DOING NEXT? NOW THIS IS FOR AWARDEES AND APPLICANTS AND ANYONE WHO REACHES OUT TO US.
GREG GONZALEZ, PROGRAM MANAGER SITTING IN THE BACK AND HE'S GONNA TALK TO YOU GUYS LATER ABOUT OUR MUSICIAN PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES.
HE HAS A, UM, JUST HIS ROLLING WITH ALL THE COACHING AND WORKSHOPS, BUT HE'S REALLY DOING A LOT OF ONE-ON-ONE COACHING AND TRAINING.
AND HE'S ALREADY MET WITH LOTS OF PEOPLE FROM OUR 2023 COHORT.
HE IS ALREADY STARTING TO MEET WITH OUR 2024 COHORT.
WE SEE THAT THERE IS THE SAME, UH, SUBJECT IS COMING UP OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, GREG WILL PUT TOGETHER A WEBINAR AND INVITE SEVERAL PEOPLE BECAUSE THIS IS A HOT TOPIC, BUT SO TO SPEAK.
SO HE IS HERE AS A ADVISOR, YOU KNOW, TO JUST KIND OF GIVE YOU ADVICE, NOT ON ANY SPECIFIC, LIKE HOW DO YOU SPEND THIS MONEY? LIKE, SPECIFICALLY MY SITUATION.
BUT WHAT IS BEST PRACTICES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY? YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS HAD, HAS HE LEARNED IN HIS OVER 20 YEARS OF BEING A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN? UH, WE REALLY WANT PEOPLE NOT TO JUST GET THIS MONEY AND GO OUT THE DOOR AND WE DON'T SEE 'EM UNTIL IT'S DONE.
WE WANNA WORK WITH YOU FROM DAY ONE TO GIVE YOU THE SUPPORT AND THE TRAINING AND THAT YOU NEED TO APPROPRIATELY SPEND THE MONEY TO INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS TO GROW.
'CAUSE THIS IS NOT JUST A, A GRANT OR A GIFT.
THIS IS INVESTMENT IN YOUR BAND AND YOUR BUSINESS.
AND SO WE WANNA REALLY HELP YOU UTILIZE THAT TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY AND REALLY GROW YOUR BUSINESS.
UM, AND SO HE IS HERE ON A ONE-ON-ONE COMPONENT.
WE WILL BE PUTTING CLASSES TOGETHER IN DIFFERENT THINGS.
ALSO WORKING IN TANDEM WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS DIVISION WHO HAVE CLASSES LIKE HOW TO START AN LLC.
THEY ALREADY HAVE THESE CLASSES.
SO I'VE BEEN, UM, IN TOUCH WITH THEM AND WE'RE GONNA GET A LETTER TOGETHER OF ALL THE DIFFERENT CLASSES COMING UP, NOT ONLY FOR THE AWARDEES BUT ALSO FOR ANYONE WHO APPLIED OR ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED.
SO THAT BRINGS US TO POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS WE'RE ALREADY SEEING.
AND UH, IT'S GREAT TO HEAR FROM A TX MUSICIANS AS ALWAYS.
'CAUSE WE'RE ALWAYS KIND OF THINKING ALIKE BECAUSE WE'RE LEARNING, WE'RE GOING, WE'RE HEARING FROM COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE'RE ALREADY STARTING BY KIND OF THE PROCESS, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THAT'S REQUIRED TO LOOK AT 2025 AND SEE HOW WE CAN IMPROVE, LEARN WHAT WE'VE LEARNED, AND THEN JUST MAKE IT BIGGER AND BETTER, YOU KNOW, FOR THE FUTURE.
SO WE ARE COORDINATING, UM, APPLICANT FEEDBACK FIRST TO SEE HOW WE COULD DO BETTER.
AND SO ANYONE CAN FIND OUT THEIR SCORE.
WE HAVE ALREADY NAILED IT DOWN TO WHO HAS REACHED OUT TO US AGAIN SAYING, PLEASE, I WANT SOME FEEDBACK ON THIS.
SO WE'RE REACHING UP TO THEM AND STARTING TO SCHEDULE THOSE MEETINGS.
SO YES, YOU CAN CALL US SCHEDULE A MEETING FOR YOUR SCORE AND SEE HOW YOU DID ON THE APPLICATION SO THAT YOU CAN DO BETTER.
WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO KIND OF HAVE THAT GOING RIGHT AWAY WITH OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE NOT KNOWING KIND OF WHAT THE RUSH WOULD BE LIKE TO SEE WHAT THE NEED IS.
AND SO NOW WE HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF WHAT IT IS, HOW TO HANDLE IT, AND WE HAVE A PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
SO KIM AND GREG WILL BE COORDINATING THAT WITH THE LONG CENTER.
'CAUSE THE LONG CENTER IS JUST HELP HELPING US TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT OF THE APPLICATION SYSTEM.
AND THEN GREG AND KIM WILL, YOU KNOW, HAVE THESE ONE-ON-ONES WITH FOLKS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
'CAUSE YES, WE WANT YOU TO DO BETTER ON YOUR APPLICATION.
WE WANNA HEAR WHAT YOU DIDN'T LIKE.
WE WANNA HEAR WHAT YOU REALLY DID LIKE.
AND SO IT, ALL OF THAT IS GOING INTO THE PROCESS OF JUST MAKING THIS BETTER, WHICH IS WHAT WE DID FROM 2023 TO 2024, AS YOU'RE AWARE.
SO WE ALSO ARE GONNA HAVE A SURVEY OF OUR APPLICANTS TO TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE TECHNICAL SUPPORT, EMERGING ARTIST CONSIDERATION, AS PAT HAD MENTIONED, GRANT AWARD AMOUNTS, APPLICATION FORMAT, UH, FORMATTING TO REDUCE CONFUSION.
WE ALREADY HAVE A WAY I THINK OF LIKE JUST DOING IT SIMPLE RESTRUCTURE OF THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO MAKE IT SO MUCH EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO STEP BY STEP, NOT MISS A THING.
AND THEN ALSO, WE WANNA REALLY THINK ABOUT MOBILE PHONE OPTIMIZATION FROM AN EQUITY PERSPECTIVE.
AND WHEN WE DO WANNA ASK PEOPLE, IS THIS A PRIORITY? SHOULD WE REALLY FIRST AND FOREMOST BE THINKING ABOUT CAN ANYONE USE THEIR PHONE TO GET THROUGH THIS WHOLE APPLICATION?
[00:30:01]
I, IS IT A, UH, YOU KNOW, COM, A COMBINATION OF SOME THINGS? UM, I THINK IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT, BUT WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU.I, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, HAPPY TO ANSWER.
UM, I THINK, UM, UH, FIRST OF ALL, I REALLY WANT TO CONGRATULATE, UM, STAFF FOLKS FROM, UM, RING CENTER FOLKS FROM THIS MUSIC COMMISSION BEFORE AND THE FOLKS WHO ARE OPERATING ON THIS COMMISSION RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, THERE IS SOME HISTORY, UH, OR HISTORICAL DATA BEING PROVIDED HERE, BUT A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY HAVE PUT A LOT OF EFFORT TO BRING THESE FUNDS TO FRUITION IN THE FIRST PLACE.
AND THEN CAME THE PROCESS OF FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE CRISIS ARE GOING TO BE AND WHATNOT.
SO, AND THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND YEAR THAT WE HAVE ROLLED OUT THIS HISTORIC FUND THAT I DON'T THINK EXISTS ANYWHERE FOR COMMISSION MUSIC ANYWHERE ELSE.
UM, SO THANK YOU FOR DOING SUCH A TREMENDOUS JOB IN THIS FUNDS OUT TO STAFF.
THANK YOU TO TEAM AT THE CENTER.
I SEE BOBBY GARZA, I SEE REBECCA RES WHO ARE LEADING THIS EFFORT FROM, UH, THE LUNG CENTER.
UM, AND OF COURSE, LIKE I SAID, THE COMMISSION PRIOR MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, EVERYBODY FROM THE INDUSTRY, STRONG EFFORT AND OF COURSE TO, UM, THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, STAKEHOLDERS, MUSICIANS, UM, VENUES.
THIS WAS A FIRST TIME PILOT ROLLOUT FOR VENUES, UH, FOR INDEPENDENT, ET CETERA, WHO, UM, ENTHUSIASTICALLY PARTICIPATED IN THIS FUNDS.
UM, SO FROM, FROM A
UH, IT'S ONLY THE SECOND TIME THEY OUT THE, UH, UH, FUNDS FROM INDEPENDENT PERMIT AND MUSICIANS.
UM, ALSO WE, I THINK HAVE NOW, UH, WE HAVE DATA FROM, UH, GRANTS THAT WERE FIVE TO 10,000 LAST YEAR IN 2023 THIS YEAR.
AND I THINK THAT IS GOING TO GIVE US A LOT OF INFORMATION ON WHAT IS WORKING, WHAT IS NEEDED IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, WHAT NEEDS TO BE TWEAKED.
UM, AND I, I HEARD YOU SPEAKING ABOUT MAKING IMPROVEMENTS AND, UH, UM, FANTASTIC.
IF WE CAN MAKE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS BASED ON FEEDBACK THAT WE GET DIRECTLY FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS FROM
I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA DASHBOARD OF THE AGES OF PEOPLE, OF ALL OF OUR APPLICANTS, GUESS WHAT THE, THE, THE SMALLEST GROUP IT WAS YOUNG PEOPLE.
AND SO WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES WHY.
AND SO JUSTIN, OUR EQUITY COORDINATOR AT EDD HAS BEEN WORKING WITH US TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT WENT WRONG OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE DO BETTER SO THAT MORE YOUNG PEOPLE WILL APPLY.
AND IT COULD BE THAT THE AMOUNTS WERE TOO, TOO MUCH THAT IT REALLY NEEDS TO SEE SOMETHING FROM AN EMERGING PERSPECTIVE, A SMALLER THING THAT THEN CAN LET'S, YOU KNOW, BUILD UP TO WHERE WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE IN TERMS OF TRUE INVESTMENT.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT, BUT ALSO MARKETING AND THE MOBILE PHONE COMPONENT.
LIKE, IT'S GONNA BE A MULTIFACETED LOOK AT HOW WE CAN DO BETTER TO GET MORE YOUNG PEOPLE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE HEARD A LOT OF FEEDBACK THAT THE IMPRESSION WAS IT WAS MOSTLY YOUNG PEOPLE, BUT IF YOU GO DIG DOWN IN THAT DATA DASHBOARD, IT'S MOSTLY PEOPLE OVER 40.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT DATA IS VERY USEFUL FOR RIGHT? IS, IS WE CAN MAKE CONCRETE DECISIONS BASED ON THAT.
UM, AND YEAH, I MEAN, BEFORE I, UH, YIELD TO THE COMMISSIONERS AND I, WE PROBABLY WILL HAVE, WOULD LOVE TO SHARE SOME MORE THOUGHTS AFTER.
UM, BUT REALLY I JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL, UH, FOR JUST THE AMAZING ROLLOUT HERE.
UH, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS MADE FROM, UM, LAST YEAR'S, UH, APPLICATION BASED ON FEEDBACK, BASED ON COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
IT WAS PROJECT BASED LAST YEAR.
THIS YEAR IT WAS MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW ONE IS ALREADY OPERATING IN THE, IN THE ARENA AND, UH, UM, EQUITY AND DIVERSITY.
UH, WERE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED SEVERAL YEARS ON THIS COMMISSION, THE VERY LONG, YOU KNOW, DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS SOMETIMES.
AND THE OUTCOME OF THAT IS WHAT WE SEE IN THE EQUITY AND DIVERSITY PRINCIPLES THAT HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED IN THE SCORING MATRIX.
AND, UM, I THINK IT HAS YIELDED REALLY POSITIVE RESULTS
[00:35:01]
WHEN I LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AND THE, JUST THE GENRE DIVERSITY THAT IS GOING TO COME OUT OF, UM, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FOLKS WHO GOT, WHO RECEIVED THE FUNDS.UM, AND SO THE APPLICATION WAS REALLY SIMPLIFIED COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
I'M TELLING YOU, WE LEARNED EVEN MORE IN THE LONG CENTER IS JUST ITCHING TO DO A FIX FOR 2025 TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER.
BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE HEARD, UM, IS THE TOOL CAN ALWAYS BE BETTER.
AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT WORKS.
AND IT'S, IT'S LIKE A, LIKE GOING TO THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE.
LIKE THEY HAVE THESE NEW AI THINGS THAT GET YOU THROUGH YOUR PAPERWORK SO FAST.
YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO THINK THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HEADED SO THAT THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN MISS UPLOADING SOME DOCUMENTATION BECAUSE IT WON'T LET YOU MOVE FORWARD UNLESS YOU DO EVERYTHING YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE HEARD FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT IT COULD HAVE.
LIKE, THEY JUST FORGOT TO ADD EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED THAT THEY SELECTED.
AND SO WE NEED TO MAKE IT WHERE YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO FORGET.
WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, MAKE, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE YOU DON'T FORGET.
AND SO IT'S GONNA GET BETTER AND BETTER AND THANK YOU.
AND, AND, AND, UH, JUST, YEAH, I MEAN, JUST ANECDOTALLY, WE DIDN'T HEAR OF MUCH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THE SYSTEM CRASHED ON ME AT THE LAST MINUTE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SUBMITTABLE IS A VERY RELIABLE PLATFORM.
UH, SO THAT HAS BEEN VASTLY IMPROVED.
AND, UH, AND, AND, AND THE FACT THAT AGAIN, THE SCORING WAS, UH, OBJECTIVE, IT WAS ALL OBJECTIVE SCORING.
UM, AND, UH, I JUST, UM, QUICKLY WANT TO JUST ALSO CLARIFY LONG CENTER'S ROLE AS FAR AS THE EVALUATION OF THESE APPLICATIONS GO.
UH, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE WAS SOME CONFUSION AROUND WHAT THAT ROLE WAS.
IT IS, UM, AS FAR AS THE VALUATION CODES, ESSENTIALLY USING THE GUIDELINES THAT STAFF PROVIDED LONG CENTER AND SCORING THE APPLICATIONS, AND IT'S, UH, PURELY OBJECTIVE SCORING.
IT WAS A CHECK YOUR MATH, LIKE WHAT DID YOU SELECT IS THE EVIDENCE THERE AND JUST CHECKING.
AND THEY DID A FOUR TIER CHECK LIKE FOUR TIMES TO BE SURE IT WAS CORRECT.
AND THEY HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE DOING IT SO THAT THEY HAD OVERLAPPING, MAKING SURE NOTHING WAS MISSED.
AND SO THERE'S NO SUBJECTIVITY IN THAT.
IT'S JUST CHECKING TO BE SURE THE FACTS ARE THERE SO THAT YOU GET THE, THE SCORE THAT, UH, YOU, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU'RE GETTING.
BUT, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BRINGING OUT MM-HMM.
UM, SO THE, THE, UH, APPLICATION PROCESS WAS, UM, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WERE, UM, LIKE IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU WERE BE ELIGIBLE TO, LIKE BASICALLY YOU GOT POINTS BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T, YOU DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO CERTAIN THINGS.
YOU GOT MORE POINTS WHERE LESS ACCESS.
SO THAT INCLUDES HAVING A BANK ACCOUNT.
SO LET'S JUST HYPOTHETICAL HERE, BUT LET'S JUST SAY THAT IT'S ME AND RAY AND WE'RE BOTH BLACK ARTISTS AND HE LIVES ON THE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACT.
IT DOESN'T HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT, AND I HAVE BANK ACCOUNT.
IT DON'T LIVE IN THE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACT.
AND OUR APPLICATIONS ARE PRETTY SIMILAR.
SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S EQUITABLE OR, UM, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHERE THE PRINCIPLES OF DEI ACTUALLY PLAY IN THAT.
UM, BECAUSE IT SEEMS AS THOUGH FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AS A BLACK MAN THAT YOU WOULD PENALIZE ME FOR BASICALLY, UH, WORKING HARD AND TRYING TO GET AHEAD VERSUS SOMEONE THAT DOESN'T HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT VERSUS SOMEONE THAT DOESN'T HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, RESOURCES.
YOU KNOW, MEANS, YOU KNOW, IF, AND IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, I SEE SOMEONE'S LAUGHING BACK THERE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
UM, BUT LIKE IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE'RE GROWING A BUSINESS, LIKE WE'RE PAYING BANDS THAT WE'RE MOVING AND KIND OF SHAKING AND, AND DOING THIS THING, I WOULD THINK THAT A BANK ACCOUNT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF NECESSARY FOR YOU TO BE IN THAT YEAH.
IN, IN THAT KIND OF A, OF A FIELD IN THAT SORT OF VERNACULAR.
SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S INTERESTING TO ME THAT NOT HAVING A BANK ACCOUNT YEAH.
WOULD MAKE YOU MORE QUALIFIED
IT'S NOT ABOUT, IT'S ABOUT TARGETING AREAS OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN OVERLOOKED FOR YEAR AT, FOR YEARS AND YEARS.
BECAUSE THIS STARTED WITH RELIEF AND RECOVERY, AS YOU KNOW, LAW POINTED OUT, WE CANNOT SCORE FOR RACE, WE CANNOT SCORE FOR THE MUTABLE CHARACTERISTICS OR IMMUTABLE CHARACTERISTICS.
[00:40:01]
AND SO WHAT WE FOUND WITH RELIEF AND RECOVERY, WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS WE DID, AND THIS IS KIND OF TAKING OUR CUES FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND HOW THEY SCORED FOR EQUITY, WHICH IS THAT WE GOT THE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK DIRECTLY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.AND, UM, SO ALL OF THESE OTHER QUESTIONS STATISTICALLY LEAD TO YOUR, YOU CAN'T SCORE FOR RACE, BUT IF YOU, UH, RATE HIGH ON THESE LESS ACCESS TO SERVICES, TYPICALLY THAT WOULD BE MORE LIKELY A MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY PERSON.
AND, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, BUT THE QUALIFIED SISTERS TRACT IS USED FOR ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
FARMERS, YOU KNOW, FOOD STAMPS, YOU KNOW, THESE, YOU KNOW, ALL ALL KINDS OF THINGS OUT THERE WHERE PEOPLE, LOTS OF PEOPLE ALL OVER THE, THE PLACE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THEM.
I WOULD, I WOULD THINK THAT IF WE'RE, WE'RE, IF, IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE SPEAKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE HAVING A BUSINESS AND, AND, AND, AND, AND STARTING A BUSINESS, THEN I WOULD THINK THAT WE WOULDN'T, THAT'S A LOT DIFFERENT THAN, THAN FOOD STAMPS.
AND, AND WELL, I THINK, I MEAN, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE AND THAT WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, THIS IS JUST NOT MUSIC, IS THAT YOU'D BE SURPRISED HOW PEOPLE RUN THEIR BUSINESSES FOR DECADES.
AND SO WE HAVE THE DATA TO SHOW THAT YOU CAN STILL RUN A BUSINESS THROUGH PAYPAL AND THESE DIFFERENT KIND OF ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS. PAYPAL STILL REQUIRES A BANK ACCOUNT THOUGH.
UH, WELL, THERE OTHER, YOU KNOW, SYSTEMS AND I, I KNOW ANOVIA KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THIS OF WHY IT, WE'VE, THE DATA PROVES OUT OF WHY THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE LEADING WITH RACE, UM, AS A CITY.
AND WE HAVE A CORE EQUITY VALUES WITHIN THE LIVE MUSIC FUND OF PI, WHICH IS PRESERVATION, INNOVATION, ELEVATION COLLABORATION.
SO, SO NOVIA WRAP, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WE HAVE EVALUATED THIS ACROSS OUR VERTICAL TEAMS, WHETHER IT'S A SMALL BUSINESS, CULTURAL ARTS, AND WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE.
I'M GLAD KELLY IS HERE AROUND HOW OFTEN YOU MOVE, ARE YOU BANKED, UNBANKED, WHAT TYPE OF INSURANCE? ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS WE HAVE BAKED ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND WE HAVE FOUND IN OUR PAST, UM, PROGRAMS THAT THAT IS A WAY TO GET TO THE MOST MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
I MEAN, BUT, BUT WE CAN TAKE IT UNDER ADVISEMENT IF YOU WANNA WRITE THAT CONCERN AND THEN LET US WORK WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE BECAUSE WE DON'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT RUNNING IT BY THEM.
AND, UM, I ALSO WANNA JUST MENTION THAT THAT'S JUST ONE ELEMENT OF THE SCORING.
AND SO THERE ARE OTHER SECTIONS THAT PEOPLE EXCELLED AT, RIGHT? UH, EVEN IF THEY HAD ACCESS TO SERVICES.
AND SO YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT IT FROM A WELL-ROUNDED FOCUS OF ALL OF THE SCORING CRITERIA AND WHAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING AND TRULY THE APPLICATION.
AND THE SCORING MATRIX IS ALSO AN EDUCATION TOOL FOR US TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE FOR THIS CITY-BASED, TAX FUNDED GRANT PROGRAM THAT WE'RE, WHEN WE ARE LEADING WITH EQUITY.
AND, UH, SO IT'S A GOOD MEASURE FOR US.
UH, WE CAN'T REALLY MEASURE FOR WHO'S THE BEST OR WHO'S THIS, THAT'S NOT WHAT THE CITY CAN DO.
BUT THE CITY CAN LOOK AT HOW YOU'RE USING YOUR POSITION AS A MUSICIAN WITHIN THE COMMUNITY TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY, COLLABORATION, WORKING WITH NEW, UH, ARTISTS AND COLLABORATORS AND LOCATIONS.
AND THAT'S WHAT ALL THOSE QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT.
ESPECIALLY LIKE THE ACCESSIBILITY QUESTIONS AROUND YOUR WEBSITE, YOUR VIDEOS, YOUTUBE, THINGS THAT A LOT OF MUSICIANS AND, UH, BANDS AND PROMOTERS HADN'T REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT, WHICH IS, THAT WAS ONE OF OUR SECTIONS THAT PEOPLE HAD THE HARDEST TIME ON BECAUSE THEY'RE LIKE, OH, HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT.
WELL, THAT'S THE EDUCATION THAT WE'RE PROVIDING TO HELP PEOPLE PREPARE, YOU KNOW, TO DO BETTER, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THEIR OWN SYSTEMS TO REACH MORE PEOPLE, MORE AUDIENCES, SELL MORE TICKETS, SELL MORE RECORDS, BECAUSE IT'S MORE PEOPLE THAT HAVE ACCESS TO WHO YOU ARE.
UM, ANYONE ELSE WANNA TALK? I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, BUT I WANT TO GIVE THE FLOOR TO SOMEONE.
UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.
WELL GO TO COMMISSIONER AND COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.
IT'S MORE OF A QUESTION, COMMENT, REALLY.
IT, IT JUST KIND OF FELT LIKE THERE WASN'T ENOUGH FUNDS TO GO AROUND MORE THAN PEOPLE DIDN'T QUALIFY.
IT WOULD BE AWESOME TO SEE WHAT THE NUMBER OF FOLKS WHO HAD HIGH SCORES THAT JUST, AND THERE JUST WASN'T FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO FUND THEIR PROJECT.
AND WE DID EMAIL EVERYONE WHO ASKED US WHAT HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE SCORING RATIO WAS.
SO A 98, THAT'S A VERY HIGH SCORE.
TRUST ME, THERE WERE PLENTY OF APPLICATIONS WELL UNDER THAT, THAT WE'RE AMAZING.
THERE WASN'T ENOUGH MONEY, STATISTICALLY, WERE THERE 90 EIGHTS THAT DIDN'T GET IT BECAUSE TOO MANY 90 EIGHTS ALREADY GOT IT.
NO, WE, IF YOU SCORE ONE GROUP, YOU SCORE THEM ALL.
SO ALL THE 90 EIGHTS, I THINK WE STOPPED AT 98.
[00:45:01]
AND SO EVERYONE WHO HAD A 98 WAS FUNDED, AND THEN ANYONE THAT 97 AND BELOW WAS NOT.AND SO WE DON'T SPLIT UP A SCORING CATEGORY EVER EITHER.
WE WILL GO FIND THE MONEY TO FINISH IT OFF IF IT'S JUST ENOUGH, IF WE HAVE TO, IF IT'S DOABLE.
IF IT'S SOMETHING LIKE ANOTHER $500,000, IT'S KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE.
AND SO WE STICK WITH THE LOWER SCORE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? UH, JUST COMMISSIONER ISN'T I JUST JOINED? UH, COMMISSIONER DID YOU, DID YOU, UM, YES.
HOW ABOUT THE QUESTIONS? YEAH, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UM, SO THE, UM, GOING BACK, LOOKING AT LAST YEAR, THE THRIVE
THAT'S, THAT'S A 19% BASICALLY AWARDEE RATE.
THE ELEVATE GRANT HAD 447, 447 APPLICANTS WITH 199 ACTUALLY AWARDED.
UM, THE, UH, NEXUS, EXCUSE ME, UM, HAD 193 APPLICANTS WITH 52 AWARDED.
THE LIVE MUSIC FUND FOR THIS YEAR HAD 1,013 APPLICANTS.
THERE WERE, UM, 104 MUSICIANS THAT WERE AWARDED THAT PUTS US AT 16%, 104 PEOPLE, EXCUSE ME, THAT WERE ACTUALLY AWARDED THE FUNDS.
BUT THEN YOU LOOK AT THE FACT THAT MUSICIANS, IT WAS ONLY A 10% BUCKET, UM, OF PEOPLE THAT WERE AWARDED, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE LOWEST, UM, RATED AWARDEE POOL FROM THE ENTIRE LAST YEAR.
AND YOU ALSO HAVE MORE MUSICIANS THAN YOU DO POLICEMEN, FIREMEN, EMS WORKERS COMBINED IN THIS CITY AND THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.
SO, I MEAN, WHILE I'M UNDERSTANDING THAT, YES, THERE WASN'T A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY TO GROW AROUND IT, WE CAN ALSO TALK ABOUT THAT TOO, ACTUALLY, IF WE HAD, UM, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THE WORKING GROUP CAME UP WITH LAST TIME WAS FOR 10 TO $15,000 GRANTS THAT WAS NOT HEATED AND 15 TO $30,000 GRANTS WERE AWARDED.
AND THEN YOU JUST PREVIOUSLY STATED THAT MAYBE THE, THE AWARD AMOUNT WAS POSSIBLY TOO HIGH FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
SO I MEAN, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, IF WE HAD, IF THE RECOMMENDATION HAD BEEN HEATED, THAT WOULD'VE PUT US BASICALLY IN THE, IN THE RANGE OF ALL OF THE OTHER GRANT APPLICANTS FROM ALL OF THE OTHER, WELL, THEY HAVE A MUCH BIGGER BUDGET, LIKE COUNT US THREE TIMES AS MUCH.
SO I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT BUDGETS, I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT PERCENTAGES THAT ACCEPTANCE RATES BASICALLY.
BUT THE, THE DENOMINATOR IS, IS BIGGER IN THIS FUND.
AND SO I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS ARE OVERSUBSCRIBED, UNFORTUNATELY, ALL OF THEM.
WE JUST CLOSED NEXUS 2 61, WE'LL HAVE APP FUNDING FOR 50.
ALL OF THEM ARE OVERSUBSCRIBED.
SO WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT THAT IF WE NEED TO ADJUST THE AWARD AMOUNT TO TRY TO STRETCH IT.
BUT EVEN IF WE DID THAT, WE STILL WOULDN'T HAVE ENOUGH.
BUT YEAH, IT WAS $29 MILLION WORTH OF ASSETS THIS YEAR WAS ACTUALLY MORE THAN I, UH, INITIALLY HAD DONE THE MATH ON $29 MILLION FOR JUST THIS $4.5 MILLION SURE.
AND SO, YES, UH, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO, AND WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT WHY THE GRANT AMOUNTS WERE THE WAY THEY WERE.
UH, WE WANT DATA AND FEEDBACK TO INFORM WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, I COULD SEE A SMALLER GRANT FOR THAT TO REALLY KIND OF LURE PEOPLE INTO THE PROGRAM.
SO THEY SEE THEMSELVES IN THE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT WE STILL WANNA BE SURE THIS IS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AS WELL, IS THAT WE ARE GETTING MEANINGFUL GRANTS THAT ARE TRUE INVESTMENT IN OUR MUSIC BUSINESSES, WHICH WAS THE INTENT OF COUNCIL AND MAYOR WHEN THIS FUND WAS PUT TOGETHER IN 2019.
NOW, UH, SO I JUST DON'T WANT US TO SWAY, YOU KNOW, UNTIL WE HAVE DATA, WE'VE GOT TO KNOW HOW IT'S WORKING.
HOW DID THE 10, YOU KNOW, THE FIVE AND 10 WORK OUT, HOW DID THIS WORK OUT? WHAT ARE WE HEARING FROM FOLKS? AND THEN WE WILL MAKE AN EDUCATED DECISION ON HOW WE ROLL OUT THE NEXT PROGRAM.
NOT HAVING THE FUNDS SHOULD JUSTIFY GIVING MORE MONEY TO MORE PEOPLE, THOUGH IF, IF YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE A STOP GAP, IF YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE AN ISSUE WITH, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO AWARD, WHEN DO YOU WANNA AWARD MORE FUNDING TO MORE PEOPLE?
[00:50:01]
AND, AND, AND ALSO, AND I, AND I'LL SAY THIS, THERE ARE A LOT OF REALLY GREAT MUSICIANS.THERE ARE A LOT OF REALLY GOOD PEOPLE THAT TOUR ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, ALL OVER THE CONTINENTS, AND THEY REPRESENT AUSTIN.
AND THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE GAME WAY LONGER THAN I HAVE, AND THEY GOT DENIED.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND IT'S, AND IT SEEMED LOOKING AT, BECAUSE THE, THE AWARDEES LIST WAS ACTUALLY LEAKED, UM, BY, BY, UM, AN ARTIST.
I'M NOT GONNA SAY HER NAME HERE, BUT THE, IT IT, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE AWARDEES ON THIS LIST, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S, LIKE, THERE'S, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING WHERE YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE WANTING TO POSSIBLY IN, IN, IN INVEST IN NEWER UN ESTABLISHED PEOPLE THAN MORE ESTABLISHED PEOPLE OR SOMETHING.
I MEAN, THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, UM, AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SAY THAT PEOPLE THAT GOT IT DIDN'T DESERVE IT AND PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T DESERVE IT GOT IT.
IT JUST, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT HAVE PUT THEIR TIME IN SOME REAL HARD TIME AND THEY, FOR WHATEVER REASON, DID NOT GET THIS OPPORTUNITY AND FIND OUT, YEAH.
WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO REACH OUT TO US SPECIFICALLY IF YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW, LIKE, HOW COULD I DO BETTER NEXT TIME? WE WILL SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU.
UM, IT JUST, NOT EVERYONE HAD THE EVIDENCE TO DOCUMENT, UH, WHAT THEY SELECTED OR DIDN'T SELECT IT AT ALL.
AND SO YOU REALLY HAVE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE APPLICATION, WHAT WE'RE ASKING, HAVE THAT BACKUP TO PROVE IT.
AND SO IT'S A COMBINATION OF MANY, MANY DIFFERENT THINGS OF HOW YOU COULD BE FUNDED.
BUT, UM, STATISTICALLY BECAUSE OF THE GRANT, UH, BUDGET THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, UM, WE HAD A LOT OF GREAT APPLICATIONS THAT THERE JUST WASN'T ENOUGH MONEY FOR.
AND THIS IS ONE THING THAT WE REALIZED FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR, WE HAD ALMOST TWICE AS MANY PEOPLE APPLY COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
AND THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT YEAR WHERE WE COULD HAVE EVEN MORE PEOPLE APPLY.
WHAT IF IT'S 1500 AND THEN WHATEVER WE JUST DID TO MAKE IT STRETCH TO THE, IT'S THE EXACT SAME THING.
AND SO WE JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW THE DATA TO INFORM THIS PROCESS.
THE PEOPLE WHO GOT, UM, AWARDED THIS YEAR WON'T BE ABLE TO APPLY AGAIN FOR TWO YEARS.
SO THAT BUMPS UP THE NEXT GROUP WHO ALSO GET THE BONUS POINTS, WHO ALSO GET THAT ONE-ON-ONE SUPPORT.
WE'RE GONNA BE DOING WEBINARS, ACTUALLY WALKING THROUGH THE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THE APPLICATION BUILT WHEN WE WERE DOING OUR WEBINARS.
LIKE THIS WAS, WE HAD TO SEE HOW IT WORKED.
JUST LIKE, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER NAVAL, UH, SAID IS THAT WE ARE IN A PILOT PHASE STILL OF GETTING THIS COMPLETELY DONE.
META CHARLIE, SORRY, I'M, I ALWAYS, YEAH.
BUT, UM, WE'RE IN A PILOT PHASE, UH, PHASE TO MAKE SURE THIS PROCESS WORKS OUT PERFECTLY OR PERFECTLY AS IT CAN AT THE MOMENT AND IMPROVE UPON THAT.
SO IT'S, I FEEL LIKE THAT WE'LL KEEP TRYING TO DO BETTER, BUT THE NEED IS SO GREAT.
ESPECIALLY JUST THERE ARE ISSUES OUT OF OUR CONTROL.
WE'RE TRYING, BUT THERE ARE ISSUES IN AUSTIN.
IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WITH AFFORDABILITY AND THAT THIS IS GONNA GET HARDER, I THINK AS WE GO FORWARD WITH MUSICIANS, VENUES, AND PROMOTERS.
AND SO, I I, IT'S JUST THE NEED IS GONNA GET GREATER.
I, IF YOU HAVE, I'LL COME BACK TO YOU.
I, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASPECT OF THIS, RIGHT? THE ISSUE IS, DO WE GIVE SMALLER AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO MORE PEOPLE OR LARGER AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO FEWER PEOPLE? AND YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT BASED ON THE CRITERIA OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, YOU FEEL THAT LARGER MONEY TO FEWER NUMBERS OF PEOPLE IS BETTER.
WHAT IS THE REASONING? WHAT'S YOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF THAT? WELL, WITH A COHORT OF 137 OF THAT, BEING 120 MUSICIANS AND PROMOTERS, IT'S MUCH EASIER FOR GREG TO WORK ONE-ON-ONE WITH PEOPLE ALL YEAR FOR TWO YEARS.
UH, AND AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WERE HERE YET, WE KIND OF LAID OUT ALL THE COACHING AND TRAINING THAT'S AVAILABLE, NOT JUST TO AWARDEES, BUT TO ANYONE, ANYBODY WHO WANTS THIS TYPE OF SUPPORT FROM SOMEONE, UH, WHO'S BEEN IN THE BUSINESS FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.
AGAIN, WE CAN'T GET PERSONAL ADVICE ON YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, BUT WE CAN EXPLAIN BEST PRACTICES, WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE, UH, SO THAT YOU DON'T GET TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF AND YOU CAN JUST CONTINUE TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CULTURAL ARTS GRANTS AND THE HISTORICAL GRANTS HAVE BEEN GIVEN FOR YEARS, THAT'S NOT VERY, $30,000 ISN'T VERY MUCH.
AND SO WE HAVE TO FIND THE BALANCE
[00:55:01]
BETWEEN THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE, THE IMPACT WE WANNA HAVE BASED ON REALLY THE DIRECTION FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL.WHEN THIS WAS FUNDED, IT WAS ABOUT AN ECOSYSTEM.
IT WASN'T ABOUT WE ONLY WANNA HELP THIS GROUP OR THIS GROUP OR THIS, IT WAS ABOUT BUILDING THE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM IN AUSTIN BEYOND LIVE MUSIC SO THAT WE HAVE A WORKING ECONOMIC GENERATOR FOR ALL OF OUR CREATIVES, MUSICIANS, VENUES, LIKE ALL OF THE COMPONENTS THAT FEED UPON IT.
AND SO THIS IS TO HELP WITH THAT.
AND AGAIN, WE WON'T JUST BE GIVING $30,000 OUT WILLY-NILLY.
IT REALLY IS A CHECK-IN PROCESS WITH THE PROGRESS REPORT AND THE FINAL REPORT.
AND, UM, GREG IS, IS GETTING CALLS ALL THE TIME.
PEOPLE ARE EAGER FOR THIS INFORMATION AND THIS TYPE OF SUPPORT AND THIS TYPE OF TRAINING.
AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PARTNERSHIPS TO BRING TOGETHER FOR THAT.
IT'S NOT GONNA BE JUST GREG, POOR GUY WON'T BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
BUT, UM, AND SO THIS IS, SO WE CAN FOCUS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SIDE OF THE HOUSE TO ALL OF THESE AWARDEES WHO HAVE FUNDS TO SPEND.
AND SO NO BETTER WAY TO TRAIN YOU WHEN YOU ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO, YOU KNOW, SPEND.
AND WILL AGAIN, THE ECOSYSTEM.
SO WHAT DID YOU SPEND, WHAT OTHER INDUSTRIES DID YOU IMPACT? WHO DID THEY EMPLOY? IT'S THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM.
SO WE'LL THEN KNOW OUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
SO WE GAVE YOU INFUSE 30, DID YOU MATCH IT? WHO DID YOU CONNECT WITH? WE'VE HEARD STORIES, BUT WE WANNA SEE THE DATA.
HOW MANY JOBS ARE ALL OF THAT? YEAH, HOW MANY JOBS? TEMPORARY FULL-TIME.
HOW MANY LOCATIONS DID YOU USE? THAT'S A NEW QUESTION THAT WE'RE TRACKING.
UH, TRACKING IT NOT ONLY BY HOW MANY, BUT ALSO WHAT IS THE SQUARE FOOTAGE.
'CAUSE THIS IS ALL GONNA FEED INTO THAT CULTURAL DISTRICT AND THE PLACE MAKING LOCATION ENHANCEMENT SIDE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AS WELL.
AND SO THIS, IT CAN'T JUST BE ONE LITTLE THING RIGHT HERE.
'CAUSE REALLY IT'S NOT GONNA MOVE THE NEEDLE OF MAKING THIS A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL OF US IN AUSTIN TO BE ABLE TO BUY A HOUSE AND SEND OUR KIDS TO COLLEGE.
UH, WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS THAT INVESTMENT, PROVIDE THE TRAINING.
I, I GET IT, BUT THE GOAL WITH HOW WE'RE SETTING IT UP AND ROLLING IT IS THAT EVERYONE EVENTUALLY GETS THEIR TURN, UH, FOR THESE FUNDS.
UH, COMMISSIONER, DID YOU HAVE ANY FOLLOW UPS? YES.
YEAH, I THINK THAT, UM, TAKING FEEDBACK AND, AND, AND LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY, I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD IDEA.
UM, I I WOULD, I WOULD START WITH YOUR WORKING GROUP.
UM, I I I, I WOULD, I WOULD START WITH YOUR WORKING GROUP.
I WOULD START WITH, WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WERE IN THESE MEETINGS WEEK AFTER WEEK FOR, I DON'T KNOW, THREE OR FOUR WEEKS OR SOMETHING, TELLING YOU EXACTLY WHAT THE COMMUNITY WAS SAYING, BECAUSE WE REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, UM, AM I, AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR? I'M SORRY.
SO YOU WANT US TO START WITH THE WORKING GROUP, BUT I DO, BUT IN THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION, WE OUTLINE EVERY TOUCH POINT THAT WE DID WITH COMMISSION COMMUNITY, COMMISSION COMMUNITY, CORRECT.
SO IF YOU WANT US TO START HERE, WE CAN, BUT AGAIN, WE ARE ALWAYS TAKING FEEDBACK.
SO, SO THIS, 'CAUSE I'VE HEARD THIS NOTION ABOUT TRANSPARENCY, BUT ON OUR WEBSITE, YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE VIDEOS, YOU CAN GO BACK TO ALL OF OUR TOUCH POINTS WITH COMMUNITY.
AND LIKE ERICA SAID, WE ARE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS DAILY.
WE JUST DID IT WITH THRIVE AND NEXUS.
SO WE ARE LISTENING TO COMMUNITY TO COME BACK TO MAKE A BETTER APPLICATION PROCESS.
SO IT'S UP TO THE COMMISSION TO, ON YOUR WORKING GROUP AND WHAT YOU WANNA GIVE BACK.
THAT'S FINE, WE'LL TAKE THAT FEEDBACK AND INCORPORATE IT.
BUT WE DO TOUCH POINTS AND SO WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT COMMUNITY SAID, THESE ARE THE CHANGES WE WANNA MAKE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? COMMISSION.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE ARE DOING THINGS IN A VACUUM OR WE'LL DO THINGS IN A VACUUM.
AND ALSO JUST REMEMBER THAT ANYTHING THAT'S PUT INTO A RECOMMENDATION BY THE COMMISSION THAT GOES UP TO COUNCIL, ALL OF THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
SO EVERY RECOMMENDATION FROM THIS, THIS BODY TO THE COMMISSION BEING TO THE COUNCIL HAS, WAS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT FOR ANY UPDATES TO GUIDELINES.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU ALL TAKE THINGS AND THINGS HAPPEN IN, IN A VACUUM.
I'M NOT, I'M NOT TRYING TO ACCUSE YOU ALL OF ANYTHING.
AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL THINGS GOING, GOING ON BACK AND FORTH WHERE IT'S LIKE THERE'S SOME, LIKE THERE'S ACCUSATORY BEHAVIOR OR SOMETHING COMING FROM, FROM MY STANDPOINT, AND THAT'S, THAT'S NOT AT ALL WHAT I'M SAYING.
WHAT I'M SAYING IS, IS THAT WE RECOMMEND IT THAT YOU ALL DO 10 TO $15,000 GRANTS SO THAT THE MONEY
[01:00:01]
COULD GO A LONGER WAY BECAUSE THERE'S LESS MONEY TO GO AROUND, WHICH IN MY OPINION AND IN THE OPINION OF ALL OF THESE INDUSTRY FOLKS HERE MADE SENSE.I MEAN, YOU HAD PAT BTA WHO HAS 5,000 MUSICIANS IN A GROUP, AND HE WAS, HE TOOK THAT FEEDBACK AND HE GAVE IT TO US FOR FREE.
AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN RFP AND PAY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND HAVE THESE FOCUS GROUPS GOING AROUND AND, AND, AND ASKING THE COMMUNITY HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BLACK AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND, AND HAVE HOT MONEY, WHICH IS WHICH WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED TO ME ACTUALLY, THAT WAS ONE OF THE MEETINGS THAT I WAS IN WITH ONE OF THESE NON-PROFIT, NON-PROFIT DATA.
PEOPLE OUT HERE ASKING ME THESE QUESTIONS, AND IT'S JUST A WASTE OF TIME.
THEY'RE IF, IF, IF, IF WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT THE ECOSYSTEM AND IF WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THESE THINGS HAPPEN IN A TANGIBLE WAY WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY IMPROVING THE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM OF THIS CITY, THEN IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE IS, YOU KNOW, AS, AS PAT SAYS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP THERE, IT, IT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S TAKING SOME OF THE FUNDS THAT, THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY AND, AND, AND FIGURING OUT HOW WE CAN USE THAT TO, TO PUT MORE MONEY INTO THIS FUND SO THAT VENUES AND MUSICIANS AND INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS AND ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF ALL AND ALL STAKEHOLDERS CAN BE ACKNOWLEDGED HERE, YOU KNOW, AT 10% SUCCESS RATE ON, ON, ON, ON, ON, ON, ON, ON A ROD OF A PROGRAM IS A FAILURE.
AND, AND, AND TO, TO, YOU KNOW, MINIMIZE THE, UM, THE HARD WORK THAT SO MANY PEOPLE, SO MANY MUSICIANS IN THIS CITY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO.
I MEAN, THEIR NAMES RON MARQUEES ARE SELLING OUT THE PARAMOUNT.
THESE PEOPLE HAVE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
A LOT OF 'EM ARE BLACK TOO, BY THE WAY.
AND THEY'RE GETTING DENIED A FUND BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T 'CAUSE BECAUSE THEY DON'T LIVE IN A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT.
AND THEN WE, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO JUST GIVE SOMEONE A $30,000 THAT DOESN'T HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT, THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME AT ALL, ALL, AND I'LL SAY THIS, THEN I'LL BE FINISHED.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE WORKING GROUP, THAT WHEN WE SAY SOMETHING AND WHEN WE COME OUT OF THE WORKING, I MEAN, YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE UP HERE.
YOU HAVE INDUSTRY FOLKS, WE HAVE MUSICIANS THAT WE TALK TO.
WE HAVE, WE, WE, WE ARE AROUND.
I'VE GOT A RESIDENT FR OUT NOW IN OCTOBER.
LIKE, I MEAN, WE'VE GOT ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT, THAT WE'RE DOING AND WE'RE DOING IT TOGETHER AND WE ALL TALK ON AND OFF THE RECORD.
AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT IF WE SAY SOMETHING, IT'S BECAUSE WE MEAN IT.
AND WE'RE NOT WAST WE'RE VOLUNTEERING OUR TIME.
WE'RE NOT WASTING OUR TIME UP HERE.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER CLINTON.
ONE MORE THING, ONE MORE THING, AND I APOLOGIZE.
COMMISSIONER CHARLA, I, I, I WANNA SAY TO ALL OF THE, THE, ALL OF MY FRIENDS AND MY COLLEAGUES THAT, THAT, THAT DIDN'T GET THIS GRANT AND DESERVED IT.
I WANT TO SAY THAT I'M WITH YOU.
I WANT TO SAY THAT WE HEAR YOU.
I WANT TO SAY THAT WE ARE ALL WORKING VERY HARD AND DILIGENTLY TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE IMPROVE WHAT'S HAPPENED THIS TIME AROUND.
I KNOW A LOT OF YOU ARE SWEATING YOUR BUTTS OFF THIS SUMMER, SCHLEPPING YOUR GEAR AND DOING ALL THIS STUFF.
LOT OF YOU ARE ON FOOD STAMPS.
LOT OF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK, BILL TO BILL WHILE YOU'RE TRYING TO PUT PEOPLE IN VENUES AND MAKING THESE VENUES ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE BY PROMOTING YOUR SHOWS AND WRAPPING SIGNS ON SOUTH CONGRESS.
UM, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD OR, UH, I SHARE A COUPLE THOUGHTS.
WE, AGAIN, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT SEES THE NEED.
WE SEE THE VALUED APPLICATION.
WE SEE THE MUSICIANS OUT HERE WORKING.
I WOULD NOT SAY 10% IS A FAILURE.
I WOULD SAY WE ARE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE $4 MILLION THAT WE HAVE.
WE DO NEED PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE ENDLESS FUNDING.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE THOSE IN COMMUNITY THAT HAVE CONNECTIONS COME WORK WITH US, BECAUSE THE HOT FUNDS ARE LIMITED, WAS A VERY LEAN BUDGET YEAR.
WE HEARD THE FEEDBACK, THE TESTIMONY AT COUNCIL, BUT AT THE END OF
[01:05:01]
THE DAY, RIGHT NOW, IT IS HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, AND WE DO NEED PARTNERS AT THE TABLE.SO I WOULD DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE THE WORKING GROUP, PLEASE MEET, PLEASE GIVE US THE FEEDBACK SO THAT WE CAN INCORPORATE IT AND BRING IT BACK HERE.
WE'VE HEARD YOU, WE HEAR COMMUNITY.
I GET THE CALLS ALL THE TIME, PEOPLE BEING DISPLACED EVERY DAY.
AND SO AGAIN, WE RECOGNIZE THE VALUE APPLICATION.
AND SO WE WANT A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
THANK YOU TO THE COMMISSIONS, THANK YOU TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, EVERYBODY.
UM, THANK YOU, UH, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND AS WELL.
UM, I THINK, UM, WELL, UH, I DO SEE THIS AS A SUCCESS.
I PERSONALLY, I WANT TO STATE THAT QUITE UNEQUALLY.
UM, IT'S, IT'S A SECOND TIME ROLLOUT OF A HISTORIC COMMERCIAL LIVE MUSIC FUND IN OUR CITY.
UH, THERE'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT HAS BEEN PUT INTO, UH, ROLLING THESE FUNDS OUT AND CREATING THE CRITERIA IN, IN, IN AND SCORING THEM.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE PUT IN A LOT OF HARD WORK, INCLUDING FOLKS ON THIS COMMISSION.
WE HAVE CONNECTED WITH THE COMMUNITY, PROVIDED FEEDBACK, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE DONE IN A HOLISTIC WAY.
DOES IT STOP HERE? UH, WE HAVE TO.
ONLY THE WAY I LOOK AT IT, UM, I THINK, THINK, UM, LIKE I SAID, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A MUNICIPALITY TWO, INCREASING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS GOING UP, UH, DEFINITELY IMPACTED THE ACCEPTANCE RATE.
UH, I DO THINK, AGAIN, WITH COMMISSIONER, THE 10% IS, IS, IS IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ROUGH.
UH, IT REALLY SPEAKS TO THE AMOUNT OF, UH, NEED THAT THERE IS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT THEN, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, IT ALSO GIVES TWO YEARS WORTH OF DATA FOR US TO LOOK AT AND REACT TO, UH, AND RESPOND TO HOW WE WANNA, UH, INCLUDE THESE, UH, FUNDS, INCLUDING POTENTIALLY ADJUSTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS.
I WOULD, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE STAFF IS VERY OPEN TO THE IDEA.
I WOULD DEFINITELY WANT, UH, THEM TO CONSIDER IT, CONSIDER THAT, UM, IF WE CAN, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT YEAR, BUT IF WE CAN GRADUALLY AT LEAST GET TO A QUARTER, 30% RATE, THAT I THINK WOULD BE, UH, A GOOD SPOT TO BE IN.
UM, AND, UM, ALSO I THINK AS WE COLLECT DATA FROM THESE TWO YEARS, 2023 AND 2024, IF THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, UM, WE COULD ALSO POTENTIALLY LOOK AT DATA FROM THE LAST MUSIC CENSUS SURVEY THAT WAS RUN.
UH, THEY HAVE EXTENSIVE, UH, DATA ANALYSIS AVAILABLE OUT OF THAT SURVEY.
I THINK OF, UH, SONIC GUILD AS ANOTHER ORGANIZATION THAT HAS PRIVATELY, UM, YOU KNOW, FUNDS TO MUSICIANS OVER SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, I'M SURE THERE IS DATA THAT CAN BE UTILIZED FROM THE WAY THAT THEY HAVE DONE THEIR ROLLOUTS AND HOW WHAT THAT HAS YIELDED, UH, POTENTIALLY.
SO I THINK THERE ARE DIFFERENT SOURCES, UH, WITHIN THE COMMUNITY DIRECT AND ANECDOTAL FEEDBACK AS WELL, BECAUSE THAT'S ALSO IMPORTANT, UH, THAT WE CAN BASE WHATEVER CHANGES WE MAKE, UH, IN THE NEXT ROLLOUT, UM, AS WELL AS THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, I, I FEEL THAT THAT WORKING GROUP HAS TO HAVE CONCRETE THINGS TO WORK ON.
AND, UH, I THINK AS WE COLLECT FEEDBACK AT, IN THIS MUSIC COMMISSION FROM THE COMMUNITY AND OUTSIDE DIRECTLY BY STAFF, AND I'M SURE ALL OF US, UH, SPEAK TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, AND DIFFERENT COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
THE WORKING GROUP, IN MY OPINION, IT MAKES SENSE OF ONCE WE HAVE A LOT OF THE DATA AVAILABLE, SO THERE IS SOMETHING TO RESPOND TO, AND THAT RESPONSE CAN HAPPEN HERE AT THE COMMISSION.
AND IF THERE IS A NEED, WE CAN POTENTIALLY PUT IT IN A WORKING, BUT I THINK IT HAS TO, UM, WE, WE NEED, WE NEED TO SEE SOME DATA FIRST, UM, IN MY OPINION.
UM, AND, AND JUST BASE THE, THE EMPLOYMENTS ON THAT.
JUST ONE LAST THING TO THE POINT WHERE COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND SAID AROUND HAVING, YOU KNOW, MUSICIANS, I MEAN, THIS IS, THIS IS A FUND THAT'S RELATED TO TOURISM, AND YES, WE, WE, WE KNOW NAMES THAT THAT, THAT WE, WE KNOW ARE PUTTING, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, SELLING TICKETS FOR LARGE AUDITORIUMS, UM, DIDN'T MAKE THIS GRANT.
AND SO THEN THE QUESTION OF LIKE, THE
SO, AND SO I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK
[01:10:01]
AT, BUT THAT IF THAT IS NOT LIKE THE SOLE DRIVING CRITERIA, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE, WHEN THE LIST COMES OUT, AND YES, IT WAS SHARED, UH, ACROSS A FEW, UM, YOU KNOW, FOLKS, UH, LAST COUPLE OF DAYS.BUT, UH, WHEN IT COMES OUT, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE IS A MIX OF, UH, YOU KNOW, REALLY WELL ESTABLISHED ARTISTS ALL THE WAY TO THE EMERGING ARTISTS.
UM, AND SO, SO I THINK CAN BE CONTROL.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TO LOOK AT TO, TO, SO THAT MORE OF THESE ESTABLISHED ARTISTS ALSO MAKE, YOU KNOW, GRANTS.
SO, UH, SO THAT
I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT MOVING FORWARD.
UH, BUT, UM, UH, ONCE AGAIN, I, I DO WANNA THANK EVERYONE FOR PUTTING IN THE WORK.
I THINK THE PROCESS WAS VERY TRANSPARENT.
UM, I, I FEEL LIKE THIS ENTIRE PROCESS HAPPENED IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, UH, AT THE COMMISSION.
UH, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUT, UH, THE SCORING, THE, THE GRANT BEFORE, UH, YES, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS NOT TAKEN.
UH, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND THE SIMPLIFICATION, UH, NOT MAKING IT PROJECT BASED THERE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS, THEM EXTENDING IT TO TWO YEARS INSTEAD OF ONE YEAR.
THERE ARE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE TAKEN, UH, BY STAFF IN, IN IMPLEMENTING THIS.
UM, AND, UH, SO, AND, AND ALSO THE SCORING METRICS WAS PUBLISHED COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE, UM, SAY MONTHS.
A MONTH BEFORE, UM, MONTHS BEFORE THE ACTUAL APPLICATION WAS ROLLED OUT.
SO IT WAS VERY MUCH AVAILABLE FOR ALL OF US TO REVIEW AND FOR THE COMMUNITY TO LOOK AT.
SO I WOULD, UH, UM, WOULD YIELD TO THE COMMISSION THERE AGAIN.
UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, COMMISSIONER MR. PATTERSON.
I JUST COULDN'T SEE THE LIGHT.
UM, YEAH, SO I DO THINK THAT THESE LARGER GRAND AMOUNTS, IT DID INCREASE A LOT OF EXCITEMENT, UM, ABOUT THE GRANT PROCESS.
IT INCREASED A LOT OF, LIKE, THE POTENTIAL AND THE VISION THAT PEOPLE COULD HAVE FOR THEIR PROJECT.
BUT IT, YOU KNOW, NOT THE NOT GETTING THE, THE GRANT, YOU KNOW, JUST BUILDS ON THE HEARTBREAK OF NOT RECEIVING IT.
AND, AND OUR MUSIC COMMUNITY, THERE'S A LOT OF HEARTBREAK.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE A FACT OF A MUSICIAN'S LIFE HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND, YOU KNOW, NOBODY REALLY IS MORE FAMILIAR WITH THAT OTHER THAN MUSICIANS THEMSELVES AND THIS COMMISSION AND THIS MUSIC OFFICE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, SPEAKING MORE ANALYTICALLY, I AM INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE WITH THESE LARGER GRANTS AND HOW THESE FUNDS ARE ABLE TO CASCADE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY IF IT, IF IT DOES HAVE, UH, THE POTENTIAL TO LIFT ALL BOATS.
THERE ARE CERTAINLY PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT GRANT RECIPIENTS THAT MAY ACTUALLY RECEIVE FUNDS AS A RESULT OF THIS, THAT MAY BE HIRED FOR PROJECTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'M HOPEFUL THAT, THAT THAT MONEY CAN CASCADE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY AND, AND HONESTLY RAISE THE PRO THE PROFILE OF THE ENTIRE MUSIC INDUSTRY, BECAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING ON THE COMMISSION THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME.
AND MAYOR ADLER WAS VERY INTERESTED IN THAT.
LIKE, HOW DO WE ELEVATE THE AUSTIN MUSIC INDUSTRY OUT OF, YOU KNOW, THIS WHAT'S BEEN CALLED THE VELVET RU, YOU KNOW, HOW DO, HOW DO WE BECOME REALLY TRULY THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL AND A AND A WORLD CLASS MUSIC INDUSTRY CITY.
UM, SO I'M HOPEFUL, AND I THINK IT, IT, AGAIN, LIKE COMPARING THE DATA FROM THE TWO YEARS WILL BE EXTREMELY INSTRUCTIVE.
AND THEN WE CAN GET TO THE RIGHT POINT.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A TIERED GRANT SYSTEM, LIKE FOR YEARS.
LIKE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WAS DISCUSSED.
YOU KNOW, IS THERE A, A LEVEL FOR EMERGING ARTISTS AND MID-CAREER? AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THESE, THESE TOP SHOWCASE ARTISTS.
HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE REWARD EVERYBODY? UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING I JUST WANTED TO SAY QUICKLY, LIKE I DO STRONGLY SUPPORT THIS NOTION OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
I THINK IT IS TIME FOR THE CITY TO TAKE A BIGGER ROLE IN MAKING THAT HAPPEN.
AND I'M, I'M SPEAKING ABOUT CITY LEADERSHIP.
WE HAVE A NEW CITY MANAGER WHO I'M, I'M HOPEFUL, IS VISIONARY.
[01:15:01]
AND, UM, WE'VE BEEN IN KIND OF A BARREL TRANSITION BECAUSE THE, OUR CURRENT MAYOR IS IN A SHORT TENURE OR TWO YEARS.SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO, HARD TO HIT ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON WITH THE CITY.
SO I'M REALLY HOPEFUL THAT CITY LEADERSHIP CAN CREATE SOME SORT OF UNIT OR DEPARTMENT THAT IS REALLY SPECIFIC ABOUT CREATING THESE PHILANTHROPIC CONNECTIONS TO IMPROVE ARTS AND CULTURE IN MUSIC IN AUSTIN.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT HAPPENS IN OTHER CITIES.
'CAUSE WE'RE A VERY PROP PROSPEROUS CITY IN SOME WAYS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, MUSIC AND ARTS ARE, ARE UNDERSERVED HERE.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S TOUGH FOR ALL OF US TO HEAR, UH, WHAT'S OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE SADNESS AND THE DISAPPOINTMENT, BUT I AM HOPEFUL GOING FORWARD THAT, YOU KNOW, IN OUR THIRD YEAR, OUR FOURTH YEAR, WE'RE REALLY GONNA HIT OUR STRIDE IN THIS.
AND I DO APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT EVERYBODY THAT'S BEEN IN A WORKING GROUP, THERE'S BEEN MULTIPLE WORKING GROUPS, SO TONS OF VOLUNTEER HOURS, TONS OF INTERFACE WITH STAFF, LIKE, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS AS, AS THE CHAIR HAS SAID.
AND I'M HOPING, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GOOD PATH FORWARD.
AND I WOULD DO WANNA JUST BRING UP ONE POINT YOU THAT MADE, YOU MADE ME REMIND, REMINDED ME OF THIS IS THAT ALSO FOR NEXT YEAR, AND WE'RE WORKING AS WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS WITH HOT TO ROLL THEM OUT IN SUCH A WAY SO THAT IT ISN'T COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT, WHERE YOU STAND, UH, YOU HOPEFULLY WON'T HAVE TO APPLY FOR, YOU KNOW, 50 DIFFERENT GRANTS ALL AT ONCE WITH THE SAME KIND OF, BARELY SAME INFORMATION.
I MEAN, WE'RE GONNA, THERE'S A LOT BEYOND THE ALIVE MUSIC FUND THAT WE ARE HOPING TO DO TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR THIS CREATIVE COMMUNITY THAT IS ELIGIBLE FOR CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING AS WELL, THAT HAS A MUCH BIGGER BUDGET THAN US, UH, TO BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THAT AS WELL AS, UH, LIVE MUSIC FUND.
AND SO, JUST TO MAKE IT WHERE IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE GUESSING OR YOU'VE GOTTA CHOOSE YOUR BATTLE OF WHICH ONE IT IS, THE GOAL REALLY IS, IS TO LAUNCH THEM IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY'RE COMPLIMENTARY AND IT'S EASIER FOR THE APPLICANT.
WE'RE DEFINITELY LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF OUR APPLICANTS AT THIS POINT TO MAKE IT MORE USER FRIENDLY.
WE WERE DEALING WITH JUST A LOT OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WHILE LAUNCHING PILOT PROGRAMS. AND SO I THINK BY THIS NEXT YEAR, WE'RE DEFINITELY GETTING OUR GROOVE IN TERMS OF, OKAY, HERE ARE THE NEXT SET OF IMPROVEMENTS, THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, MORE UNIVERSALLY RATHER THAN JUST GUIDELINES BASED.
UH, SO PLEASE TUNE INTO THE ARTS COMMISSION AS WELL.
UH, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE THIS A MORE CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, CUSTOMER FRIENDLY PROCESS ACROSS THE BOARD, BECAUSE IT ISN'T JUST THE 4.5 OR THE 4.8 OR WHATEVER IT'S GOING TO BE.
NEXT TIME IT'S GOING TO BE, IT'S STILL THE FULL HOT BUCKET BECAUSE MUSIC IS PART OF ALL OF THE BUCKETS, HERITAGE, CULTURAL, ARTS, AND LIVE MUSIC.
SO LET'S MAKE IT WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE TO PICK AND CHOOSE AND DECIDE AND REGRET.
YOU KNOW, THAT IT'S ALL HAPPENING AT ONCE AND IT'S PRETTY SEAMLESS.
UM, I, I, I FEEL LIKE I WANNA ECHO SO MANY SENTIMENTS HERE, AND I DON'T WANNA WASTE OUR TIME EITHER.
UM, I'M SO GLAD THAT WE'RE IN A PUBLIC FORUM RIGHT NOW, THAT WE ARE ARCHIVING INFORMATION, WE'RE MEMORIALIZING, UM, SENTIMENTS.
UM, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR PASSION AND YOUR, YOUR, YOUR DATA AND YOUR THOUGHTS THAT YOU'VE SHARED WITH THE GROUP.
I WAS PART OF THE WORKING GROUP.
SOME MANY, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF US WERE PART OF THE WORKING GROUP IN A CERTAIN SENSE.
THIS HAS BEEN A VERY TRANSPARENT PROCESS.
WE KNEW THAT WE WERE DOING A LITTLE BIT OF A PENDULUM SWING HERE, AND THERE WERE GOING TO BE LESS, UM, AWARDS, AND IT IS VERY PAINFUL.
UM, BUT THIS, BUT THERE, NOTHING'S SHOCKING HERE.
UM, SO I'M GLAD THAT WE ARE, UM, PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AND THAT WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO, UH, FIND SOLUTIONS AND PROBLEM SOLVE THIS.
I'M EXTREMELY PROUD THAT WE ARE IN THE CAPITAL OF TEXAS, AND WE JUST GAVE OUT $4.4 MILLION INTO THE MUSIC COMMUNITY.
AND IN THIS PUBLIC FORUM, I'M GONNA CHALLENGE CORPORATIONS OF AUSTIN TO LISTEN TO THIS MEETING, LISTEN TO THE PASSION AND THE BIG BRAINS IN THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW, AND STEP UP AND HELP US AND FEEL WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF
[01:20:01]
THIS FABRIC OF THE MUSIC COMMUNITY.UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT IS TOTALLY POSSIBLE TOO.
I THINK IT'S TOTALLY POSSIBLE.
IT IS LEGAL AND ACCEPTABLE FOR PEOPLE TO MAKE DONATIONS TO THE CITY, GIVE THIS INCREDIBLE LEADER CALL.
WE HAVE A LIST OF APPLICANTS THAT WERE ELIGIBLE AND HAD WONDERFUL APPLICATIONS THAT COULD GET FUNDED TODAY.
PLEASE LISTEN, ALL THE CORPORATIONS DOWNTOWN WITH YOUR LIGHTS SHINING SO BRIGHT, PLEASE, UM, TUNE IN TO HOW YOU CAN MAKE SUCH A PHILANTHROPIC DIFFERENCE TO OUR COMMUNITY THAT ALL YOUR EMPLOYEES CERTAINLY DO ENJOY.
SO, I, UH, ECHO COMMISSION STRICKLAND'S OF STICK WITH THIS, THIS, THIS YEAR.
IT WAS KIND OF A PRESTIGIOUS GRANT IN A SENSE.
THERE ARE MANY GRANTS OUT THERE, WHETHER IT'S A MACARTHUR FOUNDATION GRANT OR AN NEA GRANT, WHERE A LOT OF INCREDIBLY TALENTED PEOPLE DO NOT GET AWARDED.
AND IT'S PAINFUL AND IT'S HARD.
BUT THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, AND, AND LET'S JUST CONTINUE ONWARDS AND UPWARDS WITH, WITH, YOU KNOW, GRATITUDE AND LOVE AND SERIOUS WORK AND COMMITMENT, UM, TO THIS.
AND, UH, UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY, REALLY AMAZING.
BUT TH THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.
WE ALL KNEW THAT, THAT THIS WAS GONNA HAPPEN.
AND I DO BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD LOOK BACK AT THE WORKING GROUP NOTES AND, UM, AND GET BETTER, GET BETTER AT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DOING.
SO THANK YOU ALL VERY, VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
THANK, THOSE ARE SOME REALLY WONDERFUL
UM, ANYBODY ELSE? UH, COMMISSIONERS, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? WELL, I JUST WANNA THANK ALL OF YOU.
AS ANOVIA HAD SAID, IT'S BEEN AN HONOR WORKING WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR THESE SEVERAL YEARS TO GET US TO THIS POINT.
IT WAS NOT EASY, BUT IT CERTAINLY HAS BEEN FULFILLING.
I, I WANNA SAY ONE OTHER THING.
UM, THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE PROGRAM HERE.
UM, IT'S, WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHER INCREDIBLE PROGRAMS THAT YOU'RE, UM, THAT THIS EDD DOES AND PROVIDES, AND THAT WE'VE HONORED MANY MUSICIANS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS THAT DID NOT RECEIVE THE GRANT THIS YEAR.
BUT, UM, I'M SURE THOSE NAMES WILL BECOME PUBLIC.
I'M NOT EVEN CLEAR AS TO A LOT OF WHO THEY ARE.
SO I'M NOT TALKING TO ANYONE SPECIFICALLY, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF BELOVED LUMINARIES IN AUSTIN, AND WE GOT YOUR BACK.
WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE VERY BEST WE CAN.
AND OFTENTIMES, SOME PEOPLE THAT WEREN'T AWARDED THIS GRANT CYCLE CAN APPLY AGAIN, AND THAT CHANCES ARE WERE GOOD THAT THEY'VE BEEN HIRED IN THE PAST FOR REALLY INCREDIBLE PROGRAMS AS WELL.
SO THERE'S NOT ONE MUSICIAN IN TOWN THAT ISN'T BELOVED BY ALL OF US.
IN FACT, GREG GONZALEZ IS GONNA COME UP NEXT AND TELL US ABOUT OUR PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY INVESTMENTS.
AND THAT WAS A PIVOT WE MADE AWAY FROM LIKE, SPONSORING AN EVENT.
YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WAS LIKE, WHAT IS A BETTER WAY FOR THE CITY TO REALLY FOCUS THESE FUNDS? AND HECK, I THINK JUST PAYING DIRECT PAYMENTS TO ARTISTS FOR PERFORMANCES MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
AND SINCE THAT TIME, BUT COUNCIL KEEPS INCREASING OUR BUDGET.
EDD THANK YOU KEEPS INCREASING OUR BUDGET BECAUSE IT'S WORKING.
UH, AND SO PLEASE, THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES, OTHER GRANTS AVAILABLE, NOT JUST IN OUR DEPARTMENT, BUT IN OTHERS.
IN FACT, WE HAVE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE COORDINATION WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS OF OTHER GRANTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
UM, IS, IS THERE A SPACE WHERE, UM, LIKE RESOURCES OR LIKE LITERATURE ARE, IS AVAILABLE TO SEE WHAT THE BENEFITS OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR ARE FOR PARTNERING WITH THE CITY OR LIKE TO HELP FUND THESE PROGRAMS IN CASE I LIKE NEED A RICH GUY, THE SKATE PARK OR SOMETHING, I'M LIKE, HEY, YOU SHOULD DO, YOU HAVE MONEY, YOU SHOULD HELP.
SO I ACTUALLY HAD TO TALK TO, UH, ONE OF OUR NEWER EDD EMPLOYEES ABOUT HOW DO WE SET UP A FUND AT THE CITY FOR PEOPLE TO DONATE TO.
AND IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASKING, LIKE, IS IS THERE A WAY THEY CAN DO IT NOW? UM, I DIDN'T HEAR YOUR WHOLE QUESTION, UM, EARLIER.
I JUST THOUGHT THAT LIKE ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO LIKE MAKE THIS MORE SUCCESSFUL WOULD BE TO PARTNER WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO YEAH, RIGHT.
IS THERE A PLACE WHERE, YOU KNOW, AS CIVILIANS, WE CAN SELL THIS TO PRIVATE PEOPLE AND BE LIKE, HEY, YOU SHOULD, YOU SHOULD DO THIS BECAUSE IT'LL HELP YOU.
LIKE, AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR DOING IT? AND YES.
SO THEY CAN SEND THE CHECK TO CITY OF AUSTIN AND CURE ED
AND IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED, THEY DEFINITELY SHOULD CONTACT ERICA.
AND WE WILL SET UP, WE WILL SEND YOU THE
[01:25:01]
DOCUMENTATION AND HOW YOU SEND THE FUNDS TO THE CITY.WE HAVE A PUBLIC, AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE HAVE A PUBLIC ART FUND THAT PEOPLE HAVE DONATED TO IN THE PAST IE STEVIE RAY BOND.
WE'VE HAD MONEY GIVEN TO US SPECIFICALLY JUST FOR THAT STATUTE.
SO IT IS POSSIBLE TO SET UP A FUND, YOU CAN, UM, WE ACCEPT DONATIONS AND THEN WE TURN AROUND AND BUDGET FOR THEM.
SO AGAIN, IT'S JUST LIKE WE DO NOW.
WE COLLECT THE HOT AND WE SPEND IT NEXT YEAR, WE'LL COLLECT THOSE DONATIONS AND, AND REPORT OUT.
BUT IT HAS TO BE APPROVED BY COUNCIL.
SO WE'LL TAKE IT, GET IT APPROVED BY COUNCIL, AND THEN WE CAN SPEND, BUT WE TAKE IT TRUST US, WE WANT IT, WE WOULD LOVE IT, WE NEED IT.
A LOT OF BUSINESSES AND CORPORATIONS, UH, USING THE BRAND OF AUSTIN, LIKE MUSIC TO BE FOCUSING HERE, UM, IN THE TECH INDUSTRY AND BEYOND WORLD.
SO, UH, WELL, I THINK IT'S A LOT OF, UH, ROOM THERE, UM, TO GROW, UH, THE KIND OF SUPPORT, UM, CORPORATIONS CAN IN.
DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? WELL, I JUST WANTED TO SPEAK TO THAT MODEL A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SO OUR STAFF IN EDD DOES A LOT.
I THINK THEY'RE PRETTY STRETCHED.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER, AND PHILANTHROPIC GROUPS, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL HAVE DEDICATED DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS OR DEVELOPMENT TEAMS THAT WILL PUT TOGETHER A PACKAGE AND SAY, IF YOU GIVE THIS, YOU KNOW, YOU GET THIS AND WE WILL PUT YOUR NAME ON THIS.
AND THEY COURT DONORS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY CREATE BEAUTIFUL PITCH DECKS FOR ALL OF THAT.
AND I, I THINK THAT THAT'S KIND OF WHAT, TO PEDRO'S POINT, LIKE, I MEAN, RIGHT NOW, OF COURSE, YEAH, WE'LL TAKE A CHECK, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF I'M A, YOU KNOW, MARKETING DIRECTOR AT GOOGLE AND I'M TRYING TO INCREASE OUR BRAND VISIBILITY IN AUSTIN AS A, AS A PHONE AND THE PARTNER, LIKE, I WOULD BE RIGHT NOW BE LIKE, EH, SENDING A CHECK IS NOT ENOUGH.
LIKE, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT DO WE GET OUT OF THAT? AND YEAH, SO THERE ARE PE YOU KNOW, I, SO AGAIN, I THINK THAT THERE'S LIKE, UM, POSITIONS TO BE CREATED OR A DEDICATED TEAM TO BE CREATED THAT CAN, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY PAY FOR ITSELF IN, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE GENERATED.
SO I'M SO GLAD THAT THIS IS PART OF THIS DISCUSSION THAT WE'RE HAVING.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S MISSING AT THE CITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT TOPIC? I'M GONNA PLAY DEVIL'S ADVOCATE WITH THAT REAL QUICK, IF YOU DON'T MIND, COMMISSIONER.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, I THINK IT'S REALLY GOOD THE LOOKING FOR DONORS AND, YOU KNOW, GOOGLE TO GIVE, YOU KNOW, THE CITY MONEY AND ALL THIS STUFF.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S ONE AREA OF DOING IT.
AND, AND I THINK THAT'S ONE WAY, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE, THE, THE BUSINESS SORT OF SIDE OF SIDE OF THINGS I THINK IS A REALLY GOOD THING.
UH, SOMETIMES WHAT HAPPENS IN, IN SOME OF THESE MEETINGS IS THAT WE HAVE THESE REALLY GREAT IDEAS AND THAT, AND THEN WE GO HOME AND THEN WE FORGET WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A MONTH.
AND THE, I I I, I THINK THAT IF I'M JUST BEING, BEING REAL HERE, IT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF HARD WORK TO, TO, TO MAKE ALL OF THIS HAPPEN.
IT'S NOT JUST GONNA BE SENDING A COUPLE OF EMAILS TO, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF PEOPLE AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GONNA START WRITING THE CITY CHECKS AND THEN, I MEAN, THEY ALREADY PAY TAXES AND ALL THIS OTHER STUFF.
WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO GIVE THE CITY MORE MONEY? YOU KNOW? NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE OTHER THING TOO IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THESE OTHER NONPROFITS AROUND HERE THAT ARE ALSO MUSIC CENTRIC, ARTS CENTRIC ARE ALL, THEY'RE ALREADY GETTING THIS MONEY FROM ALL OF THESE BUSINESSES, AND THEY'RE SEEING A DIRECT BENEFIT FROM THESE BUSINESSES THAT THESE COMPANIES ARE GIVING THIS MONEY TO.
IF IT'S GOING TO, TO, TO, TO, TO HAPPEN.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS, THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER SPIGOTS THAT WE NEED TO TURN ON, AND ONE OF THEM IS, YOU KNOW, THIS CAN'T HAPPEN AT THE COMMISSION ADVISORY LEVEL, BUT THE SHORT TERM RENTAL THING THAT WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S THAT PART OF IT AS WELL.
WE NEED TO ALSO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO GET COUNSEL TO, TO, TO, YOU KNOW, TURN ON A SPIGOT FOR, AND, AND, AND MAYBE THIS IS LIKE A, A LEGISLATION THING, BUT LIKE, THE BIG QUESTION BEING HOW DO WE GET MORE MONEY THAT'S NOT HOT RESTRICTED INTO A POOL OF FUNDS THAT ARTISTS CAN BE ABLE TO USE ON ALL FRONTS? AND I THINK THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT'S WORTH HAVING.
AND I, I BELIEVE THAT IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A NECESSARY CONVERSATION.
I MEAN, MAYBE I, I CAN'T BE THE FIRST PERSON THAT'S DIED ON THAT HILL, BUT, UM, ALL THE AVENUES NEED TO BE LOOKED AT.
BUT ESPECIALLY THAT ONE, I MEAN, HOT MONEY IS EXTREMELY RESTRICTIVE, UM, AS IT IS.
AND SO LOOKING AT, UM, HOW WE CAN PARTNER WITH THE ARTS COMMISSION, HOW WE CAN PARTNER WITH DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS, HOW WE CAN PARTNER WITH, UM, CITY COUNCIL AND, AND, AND TALKING TO COUNCIL, HOW WE CAN GO
[01:30:01]
POSSIBLY TO MAYBE EVEN THE, THE LEGISLATURE AND FIGURING OUT WHAT WE CAN DO TO ACTUALLY MAKE SOME OF THESE THINGS HAPPEN, UM, FOR OUR CITY.IT, IT IS, I THINK IT'S A REALLY, I THINK THAT'D BE A REALLY GOOD THING.
AND, AND, AND, AND TO THAT POINT, I WILL ALSO SAY THIS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE AT SORT OF AN INFLECTION POINT WITH ALL THE NEW BUILDINGS GETTING BUILT, YOU KNOW, RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT PAPER DISTRICTS AND WE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND HOW ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE GONNA LOOK.
UM, THE, UH, URBAN RENEWAL COMMISSION, UM, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, BLOCK 16 AND 18 THAT'S GONNA LOOK WAY DIFFERENT IN LIKE TWO OR THREE, FOUR YEARS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T, IF, IF, IF WE DON'T START TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF THESE THINGS NOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE IS MUSICIANS STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER IN RESTAURANTS, SINGING.
I'VE GOT FRIENDS IN LITTLE PLACES.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
AND YOU'RE JUST, YOU'RE JUST GONNA HAVE MUSICIANS IN CORNERS EVERYWHERE, AND IT'S GONNA BE THE NEW NASHVILLE, AND WE HAVE A CHANCE TO STOP THAT.
WE, WE, WE REALLY, WE, I I, I STRONGLY BELIEVE I, THESE PLANS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE.
THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE ALREADY IN PLACE, BUT WE HAVE A CHANCE TO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, UH, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER, OH MAN, WHAT'S HER NAME? ARTS, ARTS COMMISSION, UM, CHAIR TO THE CHAIR.
SO, UH, WHAT WAS SHE SAYING? SHE SAID, YEAH, THE, THE IDEA IS THAT WE FIGURE OUT WAYS TO GET INTO THESE SPACES THAT ARE ALREADY BEING CREATED.
AND, AND, AND I AGREE WITH THAT TO A POINT, BUT IF, IF WE DON'T, IF WE, IF WE'RE NOT SERIOUS ABOUT THIS, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR CULTURE.
WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR CULTURE, SIR, THANK YOU.
UM, WELL, I WANNA THANK EVERYBODY WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS CONVERSATION TODAY.
I KNOW A LOT OF YOU ARE HERE, UH, KIND OF REALLY CENTERED AROUND, UH, THIS AGENDA ITEM TODAY.
UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SO MUCH FOR, UH, UH, HAVING THIS REALLY PASSIONATE
UM, I HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE HAVING, UH, PRODUCTIVE, POSITIVE CONVERSATIONS IN THIS WAY.
AND, UH, SO THAT YOU KNOW, THIS, THESE, THESE FUNDS HERE, UH, GET BETTER.
WELL, UH, IT'S CLOSE TO EIGHT 15, UH, WE, NINE 30.
UH, BUT I DON'T THINK WE STAY THAT LONG.
UH, BUT I THINK OUR HARDEST ITEM FOR TODAY, UH, AND WE PROBABLY SPENT ABOUT AN HOUR ON THIS, AND IT WAS, UM, IT WAS NECESSARY, BUT WORTH IT.
[4. City of Austin paid opportunities for musicians briefing by Greg Gonzalez, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Economic Development Department. ]
OF ITEM, WE HAVE CITY OF AUSTIN PAID OPPORTUNITIES FOR MUSICIANS BRIEFING BY, UM, GREG GONZALEZ, PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.I'M GREG GONZALEZ, PROGRAM MANAGER, ONE WITH THE, UH, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
AND I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE OFFER AS PART OF THE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.
AND, UH, I HAVE A LITTLE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THAT I CAN TALK OFF OF.
YOU GUYS GOT THE PRINTOUT? I DON'T, I GUESS I CAN GO GRAB ONE.
DO YOU HAVE EXTRA ONE? NO, JUST WANNA FOLLOW FROM HERE.
IT SHOULD BE ON THE MONITOR IN A MINUTE, BUT, UH, WHAT IS THIS? WELL, I GUESS I'LL JUST GET STARTED BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH, RIGHT? OKAY.
[01:35:01]
IF YOU TURN TO THE FIRST PAGE, YOU'LL SEE A NICE PICTURE, THEN YOU TURN TO THE SECOND PAGE.AND, UH, WE'VE GOT SOME METRICS FROM THE LAST TWO YEARS UP TO AUGUST, THE END OF AUGUST THIS YEAR, THAT SHOWS SOME OF THE MASS WORK.
UH, I'VE HAD THE, THE PLEASURE TO BE A PART OF.
SO FAR WE'VE HAD 163 PERFORMANCES BETWEEN 2023 AND 2024.
WE'VE HAD 645 INDIVIDUAL MUSICIANS PAID.
THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE ANY OTHER, UH, MUSIC INDUSTRY PEOPLE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN PAID, SOUND ENGINEERS, CREW, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
BUT JUST MUSICIANS AND DJS AND, UH, AMONGST ALL THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO'VE BEEN ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE $135,400 IN FUNDS, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD.
AND, UH, THAT ACCOUNTS FOR 631 PERFORMERS, OR, WELL, ACTUALLY, I'M, I'M SORRY, I'M TRYING TO READ AND TALK AND LOOK AT YOU AT THE SAME TIME.
UH, THIS ALL COMES FROM OUR DATABASE AND, UH, THE DATABASE HAS 6 31 PERFORMERS OR GROUPS.
IT DOESN'T DESIGNATE NECESSARILY.
SOME PEOPLE ARE GROUPS IN THERE, SOME ARE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS, BUT THEY'RE IN OUR DATABASE, WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH OUR WEBSITE, ATX MUSIC.ORG.
UH, BE MINDFUL, HOWEVER, THAT THESE NUMBERS DO NOT INCLUDE THE A BIA, AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MUSIC PERFORMANCE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS OTHER MUSIC PERFORMANCES THAT TAKE PLACE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THEY'RE HANDLED BY PARKS AND RECREATION, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND OCCASIONALLY THE LIBRARY, FOR INSTANCE, WILL HAVE THEIR OWN PERFORMANCES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THESE ARE JUST PERFORMANCES STRICTLY THROUGH EDD AND OUR DEPARTMENT.
ANYWAY, AS I WAS SAYING, ALL OF THESE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES CAN BE FOUND ON A WEBSITE, ATX MUSIC.ORG.
AND, UH, WHAT YOU SEE HERE ON PAGE THREE IS THE FOUR BUTTONS THAT EACH OF WHICH INDICATES A SUB PAGE WITHIN.
AND THERE'S A BUTTON THAT SAYS PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES.
IF YOU CLICK ON THAT, IT TAKES YOU TO A PAGE WHICH LISTS ALL OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES, AND ALSO HAS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN, UH, SUBMIT YOURSELF TO BE INCLUDED IN THAT DATABASE OF PERFORMERS, THEREBY MAKING YOU ELIGIBLE TO PERFORM THESE KIND OF EVENTS.
NOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK ME, HOW DO I GET TO BE IN THAT? YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY SIGN UP AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, WELL, WHY AM I NOT GETTING A GIG IMMEDIATELY? WELL, ESSENTIALLY, WE DO NOT IN GENERAL HIRE PERFORMERS, WE DO NOT CURATE THAT.
IT'S CURATED BY OUR CLIENTS WHO ASK US.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE MIGHT BE COLLABORATING WITH A TXN, WE MIGHT BE COLLABORATING WITH, UH, FOR INSTANCE, ONE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST HAS ITS INTERNATIONAL DELEGATES BREAKFAST, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SOMETIMES THE LIBRARY CONTACTS US.
ALL THESE CLIENTS WITHIN THE CITY, CITY DEPARTMENTS REACH OUT TO US AND THEY SAY, WE NEED PERFORMERS FOR THIS PARTICULAR EVENT, FOR THIS PARTICULAR HAPPENING, OR ACTIVATION.
AND THEN I ASK THEM THE SAME QUESTIONS I ASK WHEN I'M BOOKING MY BAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT TIME IS IT? WHAT DAY IS IT? HOW LONG IS THE PERFORMANCE? UH, AS WELL AS WHAT'S YOUR BUDGET AND WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A LOT OF TIMES THESE EVENTS ARE PARTICULAR TO SAY, LIKE A CULTURAL EVENT.
LIKE IT'S, YOU KNOW, CIN DE MAYO, OR IT'S, UH, FOR INSTANCE, THE OLD BAKERY EMPORIUM OVER BY THE CAPITOL BUILDING DOES A MIDSUMMERS EVENT CELEBRATING SWEDISH CULTURE.
SO THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A BAND.
SOMETIMES THEY SAY, THIS IS A QUIET EVENT AT ART GALLERY.
WE JUST WANT ONE PERSON PLAYING QUIETLY IN THE BACKGROUND.
SOMETIMES THEY SAY, WE WANT A SINGER SONGWRITER, OR SOMEBODY WHO PLAYS CELTIC HARP OR WHATEVER.
SO THEN I GO THROUGH THE DATABASE AND I FIND ARTISTS THAT MATCH THOSE CRITERIA AND SUBMIT THOSE TO THE CLIENT ALONG WITH WHATEVER LINKS THEY INCLUDED IN THEIR APPLICATION TO THE DATABASE.
AND I LET THE CLIENT DECIDE WHO THEY LIKE, AND THEN I HANDLE CON CONTACTING THEM, ADVANCING THE EVENT, AS WELL AS PAYMENT, YOU KNOW, THROUGH, UH, OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M NOT THE ONE PICKING AND CHOOSING.
I'M JUST KIND OF CURATING A LIST THAT MATCHES THEIR CRITERIA, WHICH MIGHT BE, I WANT ACOUSTIC MUSIC, OR MY BUDGET ONLY CAN AFFORD A SOLO PERFORMER, OR I WANT ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS, OR, OR WHATEVER THAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO BE.
UM, AND OTHER TIMES I MIGHT BE COLLABORATING WITH A TXN, AND THEY MIGHT BE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING.
SO AGAIN, THEY GIVE ME CRITERIA.
WE WANT UP AND COMING ARTISTS.
WE WANT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS OUR BUDGET.
WE WANT A FIVE PIECE SPAN OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
SO AGAIN, I SUBMIT TO THEM A LIST, AND THEY CHOOSE FROM THAT
[01:40:01]
LIST.AND THEN I HANDLE THE, THE CONTACTING, THE ADVANCING IN THE PAYMENT.
UM, SO IF YOU WOULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
I, I BELIEVE THIS IS PAGE FOUR.
IT SAYS, PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES.
I THINK A LOT OF THESE PAGES SAY THAT SOMEWHERE, BUT IT BEGINS WITH THE SECOND STREET DISTRICT MUSIC SERIES.
UH, THIS WAS A SERIES THAT WE DID IN 2023, AND WE ARE CURRENTLY TRYING TO, UH, NEGOTIATE IT AGAIN ONLY IN 2025.
THIS IS PAID FOR THROUGH REDEVELOPMENT FUNDS.
WHEN THEY CREATED THE SECOND STREET DISTRICT, THEY PURCHASED LAND FROM THE CITY AND ESSENTIALLY MADE A DEAL WHERE THEY SET ASIDE MONEY FOR ART, WHICH THEY USED TO CREATE THE BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY BRIDGE, UH, SCULPTURES OVER HERE, UM, BEHIND THE LIBRARY.
BUT ADDITIONALLY, THERE'S FUNDS FOR ARTISTS.
SO FOR MANY YEARS, THERE WAS A STREET PERFORMER PROJECT THAT WAS PAID FOR THROUGH THAT.
AND THEN ON 2023, WE HAD A MUSIC SERIES THAT HAD, YOU KNOW, UH, A WEEKLY PERFORMANCE THAT WAS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
WE GOT ARTISTS PERFORM OVER HERE IN FRONT OF THE GOOGLE BUILDING.
AND, UH, WE'RE HOPING THAT THE NEXT ONE WILL BE HERE AT THE LIBRARY, ALTHOUGH WE'RE, AGAIN, STILL IN NEGOTIATIONS, EXACTLY WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE.
UM, AGAIN, A CLIENT IS THE DEVELOPERS.
SO WE DON'T GET TO CHOOSE WHO THOSE BANDS ARE.
WE PITCH TO THEM DIFFERENT IDEAS, DIFFERENT KINDS OF ACTIVATIONS.
DO YOU WANT STREET PERFORMANCE? DO YOU WANT A BAND OVER HERE ON THIS CORNER, ON THAT CORNER? UH, DO YOU WANT DANCE BANDS? DO YOU WANT JAZZ BANDS? WHATEVER.
AND THEN THEY SAY, WE WANT THIS INTERNATIONAL MUSIC.
DEACON DANCE TWO WAS KIND OF THE THEME LAST TIME.
SO I GAVE THEM A LIST OF 10 OR 15 DIFFERENT INTERNATIONAL BANDS, ALL DIFFERENT GENRES, REGGAE, UH, LATIN MUSIC.
I BELIEVE THERE WAS A COLOMBIAN GROUP,
UM, THERE WAS A COUNTRY AND WESTERN BAND.
MY MIND IS, OH, A JAZZ DANCE BAND.
LAUREN GOUL, UH, YOUR COLLEAGUE WAS PART OF THAT GROUP AS WELL.
UM, AND THEY CHOSE FROM THAT LIST, AND THAT'S HOW I CURATED THAT EVENT.
UH, ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS LIVE FROM THE LIBRARY ROOFTOP.
THIS TAKES PLACE ON THE ROOFTOP GARDEN HERE.
AGAIN, WORKING WITH A TXN, THEY GAVE ME THEIR KIND OF OUTLINES.
IT CAN'T BE TOO LOUD 'CAUSE IT'S ON A LIBRARY.
IT HAS TO BE A SMALL GROUP SO THAT IT FILMS GOOD.
SO I GAVE THEM A LIST THEY SELECTED, UH, THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN IN 2025.
THIS PAST 2024, I WAS TOLD BY A TXN.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE BANDWIDTH, UH, BECAUSE IT'S AN ELECTION YEAR AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF WORK LINED UP.
SO UNFORTUNATELY I HAD TO SKIP THIS YEAR.
BUT THAT PROGRAM'S STILL ONGOING.
UH, OLD BAKERY EMPORIUM, WHICH I MENTIONED BEFORE, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL OLD BUILDING ALL OVER BY THE CAPITOL THAT SHOWCASES MUSIC, UH, FOR THE ART OPENINGS AND OTHER CULTURAL EVENTS.
NOTES IN TIME WAS A EMMY AWARD, UH, FILM SERIES, OR VIDEO SERIES PRODUCED BY A TXN THAT KIND OF WENT DORMANT DURING COVID AND POST COVID.
UH, BUT WE DECIDED TO REVAMP IT AS SOMETHING THAT SHOWCASES MORE DIVERSE AND CONTEMPORARY GROUPS.
AT THE TIME, IT WAS MORE FOCUSED ON, I GUESS, LEGACY AUSTIN ARTISTS WHO'D BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME, UH, WHICH WAS FANTASTIC.
WE HAD, YOU KNOW, MARSHA BALL, I THINK WAS ONE OF THE ARTISTS, AND LAVELLE WHITE AND, AND CARRIE RODRIGUEZ AND OTHER FANTASTIC LOCAL ARTISTS.
UM, NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THAT, BUT NOW WE'RE TRYING TO FOCUS MORE ON YOUNGER, MORE DIVERSE UP AND COMING ACTS.
SO, UH, WE HAVE A WHOLE LINEUP COMING.
I DON'T WANNA GIVE IT A ROW FOR THIS YEAR, BUT IT'S BOOKED OUT AND IT'S GONNA START FILMING NEXT WEEK.
UH, BUT LAST YEAR WE HAD A BUNCH OF GREAT BANDS, CHIEF KLO PATRO, WE HAD TOMAR WILLIAMS, UH, TOMAR, AND THE FCS
WE HAD, UH, JUST A BUNCH OF GREAT BANDS.
MOVING ALONG TO THE NEXT ONE, UH, PLEASE, WE HAVE MUSIC PROCLAMATIONS.
THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT I GET ASKED ABOUT A LOT.
UH, AGAIN, I DO NOT CURATE THIS EXCEPT AS A LAST RESORT.
IF SOMEBODY DROPS OUT OR SOMETHING LIKE, WHICH OCCASIONALLY, UNFORTUNATELY HAPPENS A WEEK OR TWO OUT SOMEWHERE, THEY'LL BE LIKE, OH, I GOT A TOUR COMING UP.
99% OF THE TIME, WHAT HAPPENS IS PEOPLE CONTACT ME, I TELL THEM TO CONTACT THEIR COUNCIL MEMBER WHOSE DISTRICT THEY LIVE IN, AND THEN THEIR COUNCIL MEMBER ADVANCES THEM TO ME AND THEY SAY, I WANT ARTIST X TO PERFORM.
I WANNA DO A MUSIC PROCLAMATION FOR THEM.
AND THEN I BOOK THEM, I HANDLE THE ADVANCE, AGAIN, THE PAYMENT.
AND AGAIN, FOR ALL OF THESE EVENTS, ARTISTS ARE PAID.
THE CITY'S GOING RATE $200 PER PERFORMER PER PERFORMANCE HOUR.
UM, THEY ALSO GET AN INTERVIEW DONE, AND THEN THEY COMP IT TOGETHER AND POST IT UP ON YOUTUBE.
AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, ALSO A REALLY NICE EVENT FOR PEOPLE.
THEY GET TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH
[01:45:01]
THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL HOLDING A LITTLE PROCLAMATION.THEY CAN FRAME IT OR WHATEVER.
UH, AND THEN THAT BECOMES THEIR DAY IN THE, THE CALENDAR OF AUSTIN HISTORY, WHAT HAVE YOU.
UH, THEN MUSIC COMMISSION MEETINGS.
YOU GUYS ARE TOTALLY FAMILIAR WITH THAT AT THIS POINT.
UH, WE SAW ONE OF THOSE FANTASTIC, UH, VIDEOS THAT WAS PRODUCED BY A TXN.
UH, MY COLLEAGUE SHELBY HANDLES THAT.
AND FINALLY, THE VINYL BRUNCH, AGAIN, SHELBY'S WHEELHOUSE.
BUT, UM, JUST IN SHORT, THAT'S COLLABORATION WITH THE CARVER BRANCH LIBRARY THAT HAS A FANTASTIC VINYL COLLECTION.
SO THEY BRING IN VINYL DJS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY PERFORM THEIR OWN VINYL AS WELL AS INCORPORATING VINYL FROM THE LIBRARY AND GET PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR LIBRARY CARDS AND JUST KIND OF RAISE AWARENESS OF SOME OF THE AWESOME CONTENT THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR THE COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN LIBRARIES.
AND THEN THE NEXT COUPLE PAGES ARE JUST LIST OF MUSIC PROCLAMATIONS THAT WE'VE GIVEN OUT IN 2023.
YOU CAN SEE ALL THESE DIFFERENT ARTISTS.
YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S A VERY DIVERSE SET OF ARTISTS, ALL SORTS OF STYLES AND SOUNDS FROM INDIVIDUALS AND DJS, HIP HOP ARTISTS, COUNTRY ARTISTS, WHAT HAVE YOU, YOU KNOW, INTERNATIONAL BANDS.
AND THEN TO 2024 AS WELL, WHICH OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT THROUGH WITH 2024.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THE LAST FEW NAMES ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, HAVE A ASTERISK, AND THAT SHOWS THAT THOSE ARE UPCOMING, UH, PERFORMANCES.
YOU CAN TUNE INTO A TXN STREAMING AND SEE IT HAPPEN LIVE.
AND LIKE I SAID AFTERWARDS, IT'S KIND OF CURATED INTO PIECES ON YOUTUBE.
THEY'RE CALLED THE CITY HALL SESSIONS, AND YOU CAN VIEW THOSE POSTHUMOUSLY.
UH, AND THEN ON THE FINAL PAGE OR FINAL SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE OTHER COLLABORATIONS YOU DO.
THESE ARE NOT NECESSARILY ONGOING OR PRODUCED BY US DIRECTLY.
UH, USUALLY THIS IS MORE LIKE THEY REACH OUT TO US AND SAY, CAN YOU HELP US PAY FOR THESE ARTISTS? OR CAN YOU, UM, OTHERWISE SPONSOR THESE EVENTS? SOMETIMES IT'S CURATING, SOMETIMES IT'S JUST CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH ARTISTS SO THAT THEY CAN CURATE IT ON THEIR OWN, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT HAVE SOMEBODY IN MIND ALREADY.
UH, SO YOU COULD SEE BRUSH SQUARE, HAM DAY, INTERNATIONAL BREAKFAST DURING SOUTH BY THE SMALL BUSINESS DIVISION, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND OF COURSE, THIS ALSO DOESN'T INCLUDE THE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST COMMUNITY CONCERTS, WHICH WE ALSO SPONSOR.
AGAIN, THOSE ARE NOT CURATED BY US, BUT BY THIRD PARTIES, HOW WE PAY ALL THE ARTISTS.
UH, DID Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR ACTUALLY, ERICA HAD SOMETHING, SAY VINYL.
THERE IS A VINYL VINYL BRUNCH THIS WEEKEND AS WELL.
NONE OF THE CARVER LIBRARY FREE FOR ANYBODY TO GO CHECK OUT, UH, EVERY SUNDAY.
UM, I JUST HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, UH, ARE YOUTH ABLE TO QUALIFY FOR ANY OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES? I AM NOT AS A EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY, I, I CANNOT PERFORM AT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE.
I, I'M SORRY, Y-O-T-Y-O-U-T-H-I CAN'T EVEN SPELL IT BECAUSE I'M A MUSICIAN.
UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE CAN'T HIRE PEOPLE UNDER 18.
ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION? COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND? I, I GOT A FEW.
UH, DOES THE, UH, CITY TAKE A A, A BOOKING FEE FOR BOOKING ARTISTS TO, TO DO THINGS? NOT AT ALL.
WE ACTUALLY PREFER, UH, WE PAY USUALLY THROUGH PAYPAL, UH, AS LONG AS THE, THE PERFORMANCE COSTS LESS THAN $3,000, AND WE PAY THE FEE AS WELL.
SO ARTISTS AREN'T ON THE HOOK FOR ANY OF THOSE FEES, SO THAT THEY ARE ASSURED THAT $200 RATE, THAT IS THE CITY RATE.
UM, THE, UM, SO THE MONEY GOES STRAIGHT TO THE ARTIST.
THE, UH, WORKING PRIMARILY WITH CLIENTS, THE, THE, IS THE CITY BOOKING OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE SEPARATE FROM CLIENTS, LIKE IS THE CITY BASICALLY EMPLOYEE MUSICIANS TO KIND OF, LIKE, THERE WAS A PROGRAM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHERE, UM, LIKE YOU, I MEAN, I SAY BUSING ON THE STREET, BUT BASICALLY IT WAS LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC, THEY HAD A PROGRAM WHERE YOU COULD, YOU KNOW, PLAY ON THE STREET, MAKE A COUPLE HUNDRED BUCKS, THAT KIND OF THING.
UM, OR THAT WAS PRIOR TO MY TENURE WITH THE CITY.
I, SO I, I CAN'T TOTALLY SPEAK TO THAT.
MY UNDERSTANDING, THOUGH, IS THAT THAT FUNDING CAME FROM THE SECOND STREET, UH, REDEVELOPMENT FUND THAT WAS PUT ASIDE.
ERICA COULD SPEAK TO THAT THOUGH.
THAT WAS A STREET PERFORMANCE PROGRAM, WHICH IS PART OF PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO, UM, THAT WAS PAID FOR THROUGH THE TRAMBLE CROW FUND.
THAT IS THEN, YOU KNOW, TURNED INTO THE STREET SERIES THAT WE HAD HERE OUTSIDE THE GOOGLE BUILDING,
[01:50:01]
UH, AND THAT WE'RE WORKING ON SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR 2025.AND THAT WAS VERY POPULAR PROGRAM.
WHAT HAPPENED IS THERE WAS A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION, SO IT WAS, IT BECAME TO A POINT WHERE IT WAS SO MUCH CONSTRUCTION, YOU COULDN'T HEAR EVERYBODY.
AND NOW THAT EVERYTHING IS FINISHED, IT'S BUSY, FINALLY, DOWNTOWN IS PRETTY BUSY, AND IT'S HARD TO FIND THAT RIGHT SPOT FOR MUSICIANS.
UH, BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY WILLING TO THINK ABOUT BUSKING THIS, YOU KNOW, THAT COMPONENT WITH BRUSH SQUARE, THAT'S OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR THE ELECTRIC.
UH, YOU PROBABLY HAVE HEARD ABOUT THIS AT PREVIOUS UPDATES.
WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR THE ELECTRICITY TO FINALLY GET EVERYTHING INSTALLED.
IT'S, UH, GONNA BE USED BY, SO BY SOUTHWEST, AND THERE'S A STAGE BUILT OUT THERE.
SO IT'S BRUSH SQUARE, RIGHT BY THE CON, THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO BUILD A WHOLE WEEKLY PROGRAM, DAILY MUSICIANS WITH PARD.
UH, AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE A HUGE PROGRAM THAT WILL PROBABLY LAUNCH IN 2025 ONCE THEY KIND OF GET ALL OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, COMPONENTS AROUND ELECTRICAL FINISHED UP.
THE, UH, COMMISSIONER GOULD, UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT, WE, WE HAVE THIS SAME KIND OF, UH, WE'RE VERY ADAMANT ABOUT MUSICIANS IN PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, DURING THE SLOWER MONTHS OF THE YEAR, WINTER AND SUMMER, UM, HAVING OPPORTUNITIES TO, YOU KNOW, PLAY MUSIC IN THE CITY WHEN THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IF THEY CAN'T TOUR OR DON'T TOUR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO A ANY, I MEAN, THAT'S A GOOD UPDATE.
UH, BUT YEAH, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO SEE HAVE THAT HAPPEN.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT COMING THIS WINTER, IF POSSIBLE.
YOU, UH, ANYTHING ELSE? UH, COMMISSIONER PRICE.
THE WATERLOO GREENWAY? YES, SIR.
HELLO? SO WATERLOO GREENWAY IS BUILT ON A PART ON A CITY PARK.
UM, IT IS TECHNICALLY PARKLAND, BUT IT IS ORGANI.
IT IS, UH, MANAGED BY A THIRD PARTY, WHICH IS THE WATERLOO CONSERVANCY.
AND SO THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A GENERAL MANAGER, UH, LIZ LAND, WHO WAS THE PREVIOUS, UH, SHE WORKED AT THE, IT WASN'T THE MOODY CENTER, IT WAS BEFORE THE MOODY CENTER, WHAT THE IRWIN CENTER.
AND SO SHE HAS A TON OF EXPERIENCE.
THEY HAVE A WONDERFUL FACILITY.
THEY RUN EVERYTHING INDEPENDENTLY THROUGH THAT NONPROFIT, UH, AND HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH C3 AND OTHER PROMOTERS TO, UM, TO FOCUS ON THAT.
BUT THEY ALSO HAVE, STEPHANIE RA WORKS FOR THEM, AND SHE CURATES ALL OF THEIR LOCAL PROGRAMMING FOR THE CONSERVANCY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, THEY'RE DOING THE NEXT PHASE OF THE WORK THERE.
SO I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD WAY FOR US TO KIND OF GO AND GET AN UPDATE.
I'M GONNA HAVE LUNCH WITH LIZ ACTUALLY IN A COUPLE WEEKS, AND I CAN ASK IF SHE COULD COME AND PRESENT TO YOU GUYS ON WHAT THE LATEST IS.
AND THE LAST QUESTION FOR ME, I'M SORRY.
DID YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE CRITERIA IS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE MUSIC PROCLAMATIONS OTHER THAN REACHING OUT TO YOUR COUNCIL? UH, YOU JUST HAVE TO BE OVER 18 YEARS OF AGE.
UM, AND THEN THE PACE STRUCTURE, OF COURSE, IS, UH, SIX OR FEWER BAND MEMBERS GET $200 PUT MEMBERS FOR PERFORMANCE ARE, IN THIS CASE, ONE SONG.
UH, IF IT'S SEVEN TO NINE, IT'S $150 PER HOUR.
AND THEN BEYOND THAT, IF IT'S 10 OR MORE MEMBERS, THEN IT'S, UH, $1,500 FLAT RATE.
AND THAT'S JUST THE PAY SCALE.
IT WAS ESTABLISHED BY CITY COUNCIL.
UH, THERE, THERE IS ONE OTHER CRITERIA, SORRY, I, I JUST, UH, THAT THE, THE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE THERE, THE SOUND SYSTEM AND WHAT HAVE YOU IS NOT LIKE A CLUB OR SOMETHING.
AND ADDITIONALLY, THEY BROADCAST EVERYTHING LIVE ON A TXN.
SO THE MICS AND WHATNOT ARE KIND OF MULTIPURPOSE.
IT'S LIKE, SO YOU CAN HEAR IT IN THE ROOM, BUT REALLY THEY WANT IT TO SOUND GOOD ON THE AIR.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER CRITERIA THAT HAS TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, YOU KNOW, SO A LOT OF TIMES BANDS LIKE REALLY EXCITED.
THEY WANNA BRING LIKE HUGE DRUM SET OR SOMETHING, AND I'M LIKE, YOU'RE GONNA GET ONE MIC ON THE DRUMS, BRO.
YOU'RE PLAYING ONE SONG, YOU GOT FIVE MINUTES TO SET UP.
YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE OTHER CRITERIA TO CONSIDER.
SO DO YOU, SO SOMEBODY JUST COMES, HAS NO NAME IN THE CITY, AND THEY WANT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS.
ARE THEY ABLE TO DO THAT BY RECOMMENDATION OF THEMSELVES? THEY, THEY HAVE NO, THEY HAVE NO NAME IN THE CITY, RIGHT? IT'S JUST A NEW PERSON.
I'M ASKING BASICALLY THROUGH AN APPLICATION PROCESS, LIKE THE LIVE MUSIC FRONT, ALL THESE THINGS THAT YOU KIND OF HAVE TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF DATA ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AS AN ARTIST.
DO YOU NEED THAT FOR THIS? NO, YOU JUST NEED A, A COUNCIL MEMBER TO ADVANCE YOU.
UH, AND YOU HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT OF THE CITY.
UM, YEAH, JUST REAL QUICK, UH, JUST ALL MUSICIANS, ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED IN THAT, ALL THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR COUNCIL STAFF IS ON A, ON EACH OF THEIR WEBPAGES.
[01:55:01]
THEIR STAFF TO SAY, HEY, I, YOU KNOW, I HAVE SOMEONE THAT I HAVE IN MIND FOR A PROCLAMATION, AND THEN THEY START ADVANCING IT WITH GREG AND GETTING THAT ALL DONE.BUT PLEASE ALSO RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE, YOU KNOW, TO GET YOUR INFORMATION, THE PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES DATABASE AS WELL, BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT REACH OUT TO US AND SAY, WHO ARE MY MUSICIANS IN DISTRICT SEVEN? OR WHATEVER.
AND THAT HAS THAT INFORMATION WITHIN THAT DATABASE.
SO, UM, WHEN YOU COLLABORATE WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UH, YEAH.
WHEN YOU COLLABORATE WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UH, UH, IS THERE, IS THERE A PROCESS FOR THAT OR, UM, WHEN THE CASE SHOWS ARTISTS, ET CETERA, THEY, THEY JUST CONTACT US, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF WHENEVER THEY DECIDE.
SO FOR INSTANCE, UH, SOMEBODY MIGHT WANNA HAVE A RETIREMENT PARTY FOR SOMEBODY, UH, OR, OR AN INAUGURATION EVENT.
FOR INSTANCE, WHEN THE, THE MAYOR WAS INAUGURATED FOR HIS, YOU KNOW, TWO YEAR TENURE, THEY WANTED TO HAVE A SINGER TO COME SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.
SO THEY REACHED OUT AND WERE LIKE, CAN YOU SUGGEST SOME SINGERS AGAIN? ANYTIME THEY WANT A MUSICIAN AND THEY, AND IT'S FOR A CITY, UH, ORIENTED EVENT, THEY CAN REACH OUT TO US.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? ALRIGHT.
[5. Update on live musical performances for Music Commission meetings by Vice Chair Patterson. ]
TO DISCUSSION ITEMS. WE HAVE UPDATE ON LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCES FOR MUSIC COMMISSION MEETINGS.ACTUALLY, ERICA, I THINK, I THINK I MIGHT NEED ERICA'S HELP WITH THIS A LITTLE BIT.
SO WE DO HAVE A EXCITING UPDATE ON THIS.
UM, WELL, I COULDN'T TELL IF SHELBY WAS GOING YEAH.
UM, SO, UH, AFTER TRYING TO WORK THROUGH ALL THE CHALLENGES AROUND QUORUM AND ACCESSIBILITY FOR PEOPLE TO, UH, CALL INTO A MEETING AND WATCH THE MEETING, UM, THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AND SHELBY AND THE MUSIC OFFICE, UM, HAVE, UH, FOUND A SOLUTION SO THAT WE CAN HAVE LIVE MUSIC AT A, A MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING.
SO INSTEAD OF TRYING TO TAKE THE COMMISSION TO, UH, ANOTHER LOCATION AND BRING IN MUSIC WHERE ARE GONNA BRING MUSIC INTO A MEETING.
AND SO THIS TIE IS A REALLY NICE SEGUE WITH EVERYTHING THAT, UH, GREG WAS JUST DESCRIBING.
SO, UH, ON THE MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING, THAT'S THE MONDAY FOLLOWING THE, UH, ZILKER TREE LIGHTING, WHICH IS A, A PAID OPPORTUNITY FOR MUSICIANS HERE AND A, YOU KNOW, A NICE HIGH PROFILE EVENT.
UH, WE'RE GONNA DO A FOLLOW UP WITH THAT, WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE LIVE MUSIC AT THE COMMISSION MEETING, THE WHOLE AGENDA, OTHER THAN OF COURSE, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, WHICH IS ALWAYS AN IMPORTANT PART OF IT.
UH, WE'LL BE LIVE PERFORMANCE.
UH, SO WE'LL HAVE A PERFORMER FROM EACH DISTRICT, OR SELECTED BY EACH, UH, COMMISSIONER.
UH, MY HOPE WOULD BE THAT WE DO, UH, SELECT THAT FROM THE LIST OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE ASKED TO BE PART OF THE PAID, UH, MUSICIAN PROGRAM THAT HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO APPLY TO THAT.
AND, UM, SO THAT'S THE EXCITING NEWS.
I'M NOT SURE IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE THAT AT SEA HALL OR AT THIS LOCATION.
WE'LL MAKE THAT DETERMINATION.
BUT THE IDEA IS IT WON'T, IT WON'T BE SO MUCH A MEETING LIKE THIS WHERE IT'S SO FORMAL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LOTS OF MEMBER, UH, PEOPLE ON TV CAN'T SEE, BUT WE HAVE LOTS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS HERE TONIGHT, WHICH IS GREAT.
UH, SO, BUT THIS MEETING WOULD BE MORE INFORMAL.
LOTS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS INVITED A MUCH MORE RELAXED ATMOSPHERE.
AND BASICALLY IT'S A LITTLE, IT'S A LITTLE SHOWCASE.
THANK COMMISSIONER PATTERSON TO DO SOME MORE WORK.
UH, ERICA SHELBY AS WELL FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
AGENDA ITEMS. UH, WE HAVE, UH, APPROVAL OF MINUTES, MUSICAL PERFORMANCE NEXT MONTH, AGAIN, UNDER STAFFED BRIEF BRIEFINGS.WE WILL HAVE, UH, LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS UPDATE BY KIM MC CARSON.
UM, THE 5 24 AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND BRIEFING BY R RICO CHALEY.
I THINK WE SHOULD RETAIN THAT FOR, UH, FURTHER UPDATES.
WE'LL LEAVE THAT ON THERE AND, UH, WE'LL, UH, IF WE UPDATE, I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE I GET A SECOND.
[02:00:01]
YEAH.UM, WHAT ELSE? COMMISSIONERS DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY, SO I THINK, UM, COMMISSIONER
UM, I'D LOVE TO TALK ABOUT ACE PERMITS OR SPECIAL EVENTS PERMITS OH.
AND HOW THEY ARE AFFECTING ESTABLISHED MUSIC VENUES IN TOWN.
UM, THERE'S ALSO A RAISE IN FEES THAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR, ABOUT 10% FOR EVERY ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT CHARGE YOU FOR ACE PERMITS AND THE CHALLENGES OF RUNNING A MUSIC VENUE IN AUSTIN.
AND, AND HAVING APPLIED FOR THESE THINGS FOR EVERY ONE OF THE EVENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, NECESS THESE.
SO SOMEONE FROM AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS FOR GENERALLY SPECIAL EVENTS PERMIT, NOT JUST THE AMPLIFIED SOUND PERMIT.
UM, THERE'S A HUGE PART OF IT, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S HEALTH, FIRE, UM, ALL OF THAT STUFF.
MAYBE SOMEBODY THAT KIND OF HAS A GENERAL YEAH.
IT'S PART OF THE OVERALL SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT.
SO I'LL TALK TO BRIAN BLOCK, UH,
AND IF WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T CONFIRM HIM FOR THEN WE'LL JUST TRY TO GET THEM NAILED DOWN FOR A DATE.
BRIAN BLOCK IS LIKE THE GURU OF ALL THIS STUFF.
HE KNOWS MORE THAN ANYBODY EVER.
SO IF HE CAN SPEAK, THAT WOULD BE REALLY COOL.
JUST, UH, FIGURE OUT WHO THE SPEAKER NEEDS TO BE THERE.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONERS FOR NEXT MONTH? UM, A TX MUSICIANS THAT, UM, WE DIDN'T GET CONFIRMATION IN TIME.
SO FOR NEXT MONTH, SO THIS IS AROUND FEEDBACK ON LIVE MUSIC FUND FROM COMMUNITY BY A T XM.
SO WE'LL ADD THAT, UH, THAT COMES UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS. UH, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER CAVALLO ITEM ALSO IS UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS. UM, ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONERS.
I THINK WE'LL, UM, UH, JUST TAKE A, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL OF THOSE, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? YEAH, I MOTION TO APPROVE THE SLATE OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. OKAY.
ALL IN FAVOR? I THINK WE DON'T NEED A VOTE HERE PARTICULARLY, RIGHT? WE HAVE A SECOND
IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID? JUST, THAT'S WHAT I SAID.
UH, DO I HAVE A SECOND? COMMISSIONER READY? THANK YOU.
THANK STAFF, THANK MEMBERS FROM.