Sep 09, 2024 Music

[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]

WE HAVE.

UH, OKAY.

YOU COULD PLEASE COME UP AND SPEAK AND ASK A LITTLE.

I ASKED, I ASKED CARSON AND SHE WAS LIKE, THE ONLY LADY.

THANK YOU.

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.

I'M JUST, YEAH, THERE YOU GO.

MY NAME IS I, I'M COLOMBIAN LIVING IN FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS.

FOR SUPERCON LOCAL BAND'S.

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.

THANK YOU.

LIKE TO REQUEST, UH, TO COME UP AND SPEAK.

THANK YOU.

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 THANK YOU GUYS.

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]

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.

THIS IS HAPPENING.

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.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, PAT.

MOVING ON

[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.

ALL IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT.

WE STILL HAVE, UH, SIX FOLKS HERE.

OKAY.

UH, THE MOTION IS APPROVED, UH, WITH ONE ABSENTEE.

OH, YEAH, I SAW THAT.

YEAH.

YES, WE, SO WE HAVE SIX COMMISSIONERS, RIGHT? UH, WHO VOTED IN FAVOR.

AND WE HAVE ONE, UH, ONE ABSTAINING.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, .

AND MOVING

[MUSICAL PERFORMANCE]

UH, WE HAVE THE MODERNISTS TODAY.

UH, THIS WAS A NOMINATION FROM COMMISSIONER AL.

THE TIME IS LIKE THIS.

[00:10:28]

I'M PURPLE.

MY BOYFRIEND SWEARS MEANS ARE WE ALL JUST ONE PIZZA? THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

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.

SO THANK YOU AGAIN.

MOVING ON TO

[2. Live Music Fund collections briefing by Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Economic Development Department.]

UM, WE HAVE LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS, BRIEFING BY KIMON PROGRAM MANAGER AND MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, EDD.

THANK YOU, KIM.

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.

RIGHT AT 3:00 PM YEAH.

SO THAT'S ALL THOSE ITEMS DIDN'T MAKE IT IS WHAT I WAS TOLD.

OKAY.

YEAH.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

UM, YEAH, I MEAN, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD, OR, OR IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.

THAT'S OKAY.

WE'LL, UH, MOVE ON WITH THE CURRENT AGENDA ITEM.

JIM CARSON, UH, PRESIDENT MANAGER WITH MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

A NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

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.

AND THAT'S THIS FISCAL YEAR.

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]

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.

RIGHT.

SO WE'RE CLOSING IN ON THE END OF THE YEAR.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? THANK YOU, KIM.

COMMISSIONERS.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT.

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.

THANK YOU.

I WILL.

THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

UM, MOVING ON TO

[3. FY24 Austin Live Music Fund briefing by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Economic Development Department. ]

THANK YOU, ERICA.

ONE SEC.

AH, SO IT IS, OH, THAT WAS SO FAST.

HELLO.

HELLO, COMMISSIONERS.

ERICA SHAMLEY, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER.

HOPE YOU'RE DOING WELL.

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.

OKAY.

SO I WANNA JUST REMIND EVERYONE HOW WE GOT HERE.

IT IS 2024.

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.

OKAY.

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.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

BECAUSE I, I PRESSED SHARE RIGHT WHEN IT SHARED.

ALL RIGHT, THERE WE GO.

ALL RIGHT, SO I WILL NOW GO THROUGH THESE SLIDES.

HERE'S THE TIMELINE.

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.

PLEASE CLICK ON IT.

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.

AND YOU CAN START

[00:20:01]

AND THEN AS YOU CAN SEE ON THAT CATEGORY, IT BREAKS DOWN TO THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THAT PARTICULAR PIE PIECE.

SAME THING HERE.

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.

THERE WE GO.

WELL, IT'S WORKING.

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.

LET'S SEE.

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.

ALL RIGHT, THERE.

SO INTERESTING INFORMATION.

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]

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.

ALL RIGHT.

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.

IT MAY TURN INTO THAT.

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.

ALSO.

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.

WE GET SOME MORE.

OKAY.

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.

THAT WAS ALWAYS THE INTENT.

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.

OKAY.

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 SO THAT'S EXCITING.

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]

AND THAT IS IT.

I, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, HAPPY TO ANSWER.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

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.

UM, EVERYBODY TIME.

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 PERSPECTIVE, I SEE THIS AS A PILOT ROLLOUT, EVEN IN THE SECOND 'CAUSE IT WAS REALLY A FIRST TIME ROLLOUT FOR ONE YEARS.

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.

THEY RANGING FROM 1530.

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 , UH, THAT, THAT WE SEE.

RIGHT.

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.

HMM.

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.

THAT'S WHAT, YEAH.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

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]

UM, AND SO THE APPLICATION WAS REALLY SIMPLIFIED COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

UM, IT WAS ALL THAT MUCH.

IT'S GONNA GET A LOT BETTER.

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.

YEAH.

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.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

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.

YEAH.

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.

YEAH.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER HERE.

BUT, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BRINGING OUT MM-HMM.

THIS YEAR.

OF COURSE, COMMISSIONER.

YES.

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.

EXACTLY.

RIGHT.

YOU GOT MORE POINTS WHERE LESS ACCESS.

RIGHT.

OKAY.

SO THAT INCLUDES HAVING A BANK ACCOUNT.

MM-HMM.

.

OKAY.

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.

THAT WOULD PUT HIM OVER ME.

YES.

RIGHT? CORRECT.

OKAY.

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.

RIGHT.

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]

SURE.

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.

ABSOLUTELY.

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.

OH, SURE.

AND I GET THAT.

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.

THIS HELPS US GET THERE.

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.

THAT'S JUST ONE SECTION.

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.

YEAH.

UM, ANYONE ELSE WANNA TALK? I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, BUT I WANT TO GIVE THE FLOOR TO SOMEONE.

OKAY.

UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.

WELL GO TO COMMISSIONER AND COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.

UH, LEMME COME BACK TO YOU.

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.

YEAH.

YOU NEEDED AT LEAST A 98.

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 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.

THANK YOU.

MM-HMM.

.

THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER.

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 AND NEXUS GRANTS, THERE WERE 134, I'M SORRY, 154 APPLICANTS FOR THE, UM, THRIVE GRANT, 29 APPLICANTS ACTUALLY RECEIVED THE FUNDS.

THAT'S, THAT'S A 19% BASICALLY AWARDEE RATE.

THE ELEVATE GRANT HAD 447, 447 APPLICANTS WITH 199 ACTUALLY AWARDED.

SO THAT'S A 44% SUCCESS RATE.

UM, THE, UH, NEXUS, EXCUSE ME, UM, HAD 193 APPLICANTS WITH 52 AWARDED.

SO THAT'S A 26% SUCCESS RATE.

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.

THAT'S A 16% SUCCESS RATE.

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.

WELL, YEAH.

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.

YEAH.

RIGHT.

BUT THE, THE DENOMINATOR IS, IS BIGGER IN THIS FUND.

AND SO I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES.

RIGHT.

BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS ARE OVERSUBSCRIBED, UNFORTUNATELY, ALL OF THEM.

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.

THAT'S TRUE.

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.

FUND.

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.