* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [ CALL TO ORDER] [00:00:03] IT'S MONDAY, DECEMBER ONE. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO ORDER AT, UH, 6:40 PM DECEMBER ONE. UM, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS? I DON'T HAVE ANYBODY LISTED. OKAY. UH, MOVING [ APPROVAL OF MINUTES] ON TO APPROVAL OF MINUTES. IF, UH, EVERYBODY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE MINUTES FROM, UH, THE LAST NOVEMBER MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING, IF SOMEBODY COULD PLEASE MOTION TO APPROVE. WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER PRICE. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER POST. ALL IN FAVOR, THE MOTION'S APPROVED. AND, UH, MOVING [2. Staff briefing on Live Music Fund collections by Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Austin Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment (AACME). ] ON TO STAFF BRIEFINGS. SO I THINK, UH, OKAY, ERICA IS ONLINE AND, UH, SO YEAH, WE CAN PROCEED WITH THIS. THE FIRST AGENDA ITEM ON THE STAFF BRIEFING IS STAFF BRIEFING ON LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS BY KIM MC CARSON. I BELIEVE ERICA IS GONNA GIVE THE UPDATE, UM, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION. ACME. THANK YOU. HELLO EVERYBODY. SORRY I COULD NOT BE THERE IN PERSON. ERICA SHAMLEY, DIVISION MANAGER FOR MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT. UM, I WISH I COULD BE THERE WITH YOU. UM, SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS OUR FISCAL YEAR, 2026 YEAR TO DATE OF THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS. UM, YOU CAN SEE WHAT IT WAS IN FOR FY 26. THIS IS USUALLY KIM FOR HERE WE ARE AT, IF YOU GO TO THE FINAL COLUMN FOR FY 26, YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE WERE IN COMPARISON TO LAST YEAR FOR FY 25. AT THIS TIME, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OVER WHAT WE WERE AT AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR. AS YOU KNOW, UH, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS VARY MONTH TO MONTH DEPENDING ON THE, UM, COLLECTIONS THAT COME IN THAT PREVIOUS MONTH. AND, UH, AND SO THEY'LL VARY FROM MONTH TO MONTH, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW FOR THE FIRST PART OF FISCAL YEAR 2026 AT 7,660 767,348. UM, ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, ERICA. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COMMISSIONERS? OKAY, THANK YOU. JUST, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF WE HAD SPOKEN ABOUT IT AT LAST MEETING. UH, WHEN, WHEN WILL WE START SEEING SHORT-TERM RENTAL NUMBERS IN HERE? UM, I NEED TO CHECK. THEY ARE COLLECTING IT ALREADY AND IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IT WOULD BE REFLECTED STARTING WITH THE NEW FISCAL YEAR, BUT I CAN'T SAY WITH ANY CERTAINTY RIGHT NOW IF THOSE NUMBERS REFLECTED IN THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE FOR YOU RIGHT NOW. UM, THEY USUALLY LAG BEHIND A MONTH, LIKE SO THIS COULD BE, UM, IN SEPTEMBER STILL. SO IT COULD BE THAT OUR NEXT PRESENTATION WILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, COLLECTED TO THE POINT, YOU KNOW, STARTING IN OCTOBER. THAT WILL BE REFLECTED IN HERE. UH, SO I'M NOT VERY SURE, BUT, UM, WE WILL MAKE SURE IT IS, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE AT AT THE NEXT MEETING. OKAY, PERFECT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER. PRICE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. MOVING ON. UH, [3. Staff briefing on FY24 Austin Live Music Fund final reports by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, AAACME. ] THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS STAFF BRIEFING ON F 5 24 AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND. FINAL REPORTS BY ELLI, DIVISION MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, ACME. HELLO EVERYBODY. AND I'M PULLING THAT UP RIGHT NOW. UM, SO I DON'T HAVE A PRESENTATION BECAUSE IT'S JUST A FEW NUMBERS TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM LAST TIME. SO, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAD 136 AWARDEES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2024 PROGRAM, AND OF THAT A HUNDRED, UH, 36 GRANT AWARDS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED. 136 SIGNED AGREEMENTS SO FAR HAVE BEEN SIGNED, UH, 136 COMPLETED GRANT AGREEMENT ORIENTATIONS AND 136 COMPLETED FINANCIAL INFORMATION FORMS. UM, SO 135 FIRST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN PAID OUT SO FAR, AND 103 SECOND PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN PAID OUT SO FAR. AND 53 FINAL PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN PAID OUT SO FAR OF THE 136. SO JUST OVER HALF OR NEARLY HALF OF THE SECOND PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE. AND 53 PEOPLE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, OUT OF THE 136 HAVE CLOSED OUT THEIR GRANT AGREEMENTS. THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. UH, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS YEAR'S, HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THIS YEAR'S. OKAY. ALRIGHT. [00:05:01] UM, THANK YOU ERICA. MOVING ON, THE NEXT NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS ALSO AN UPDATE [4. Staff briefing on Austin-Bergstrom Airport (AUS) live music performances/booking by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, and Greg Gonzalez, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, AACME. ] FROM ERICA STAFF BRIEFING ON, UM, THE AIRPORT LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES, BOOKING BY RICK ELLI, DIVISION MANAGER AND GREG GONZALEZ, PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION. ACME. HELLO EVERYBODY. HELLO AGAIN. SO WE HAVE POSTED THE POSITION FOR THE MUSIC, UH, COORDINATOR AT THE AIRPORT. THE POSITION IS NOW CLOSED AND WE'VE HAD A WONDERFUL RESPONSE TO THE POSITION. WE'RE VERY EXCITED. I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE A WONDERFUL FIELD OF QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR THE POSITION. WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE HIRING PROCESS THIS MONTH WITH INTERVIEWS HAPPENING STARTING THIS MONTH SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS PERSON ONBOARDED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. UM, UH, IN THE MEANTIME, UM, PERFORMANCES HAVE BEEN BOOKED THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, AND WE WILL WORK WITH OUR COUNTERPARTS AT THE AIRPORT TO, YOU KNOW, FILL IN ANY OUTSTANDING SPOTS BEFORE THE NEW PRO, THE NEW MUSIC COORDINATOR STARTS. UH, AND SO, AND ALL, YOU KNOW, ALL IS GOING WELL AND ACCORDING TO PLAN AND HOPEFULLY BY OUR NEXT MEETING WE SHOULD HAVE A, UH, CANDIDATE TO SHARE WITH YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER'S. QUESTIONS? COMMENTS. IT'S VERY EXCITING TO HEAR ABOUT, UM, UH, THE POSITION, GETTING A GOOD POOL OF CANDIDATES, AND WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE, UM, UH, WHO FILLS THAT ROLE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW THIS CAN BE BUILT OUT FURTHER WITHIN ACME AND WITHIN YOUR TEAM. ERICA, THANK YOU. UH, COMMENTS. YOU'RE WELCOME. QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, NEXT AGENDA [5. Staff briefing on AACME funding programs by Laura Odegaard, Acting Division Manager, AACME. ] ITEM IS, UH, STAFF BRIEFING ON ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS BY LAURA ARD, ACTING DIVISION MANAGER. ACME. THANK YOU, LAURA. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, I'M LAURA ODEGAARD, ACTING DIVISION MANAGER FOR ACME'S FUNDING DIVISION HERE TO GIVE YOU A FEW UPDATES ON OUR CURRENTLY OPEN PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, AGAIN, JUST WANTED TO HAVE, UM, SOME EASY LINKS FOR YOU ALL IN CASE YOU WANTED, UH, QUICK ACCESS TO OUR PROGRAM GUIDELINES. AGAIN, THIS IS FOR ALL PROGRAMS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH THAT CAME OUT OF THE CREATIVE RESET PHASE ONE EARLIER THIS YEAR. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WE'VE HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHEN THE DEADLINE IS, SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THE PROCESS AGAIN WITH YOU ALL, UM, AS, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. UM, SO APPLICANTS, THEY MUST SUBMIT THE INTAKE FORM FIRST AND INDICATE WHAT PROGRAMS THEY'RE INTERESTED IN APPLYING FOR, AND THEN THEY WILL RECEIVE ELIGIBILITY FORMS FOR EACH OF THE PROGRAMS THEY SAID THEY WERE INTERESTED IN. AND THEY MUST SUBMIT THOSE ELIGIBILITY FORMS FOR EACH PROGRAM BY THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4TH AT 6:59 PM SO AGAIN, INTAKE AND ELIGIBILITY FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 6:59 PM THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4TH. AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS IS, CITY STAFF, LONG CENTER STAFF, DEPENDING ON THE PROGRAM, THEY REVIEW THE ELIGIBILITY FORM AND IT'S GONNA BE A VERY INTENSE DAY ON FRIDAY TO TRY TO GET THROUGH AS MANY ELIGIBILITY REVIEWS AS POSSIBLE ON FRIDAY. SO FOLKS HAVE AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE, UM, BECAUSE THEN THEY HAVE TO COMPLETE THEIR APPLICATION BY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11TH AT 6 59. SO AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE THE INTAKE AND ELIGIBILITY BY THIS THURSDAY, AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR APPLICATION UNTIL NEXT THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11TH AT 6 59. NEXT PAGE, PLEASE SLIDE. THANK YOU. UM, SO AGAIN, JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYONE THE FOUR PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE OPEN RIGHT NOW. OBVIOUSLY AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, WHICH YOU ALL SHOULD BE MOST FAMILIAR WITH, AS WELL AS CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, ELEVATE AND HERITAGE PRESERVATION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. GREAT. SO THIS IS, UM, THESE ARE THE NUMBERS AS OF AROUND NOON TODAY, UM, FOR ALL PROGRAMS. SO THIS IS KIND OF THE MEAT OF, UH, WHAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL TODAY. SO WE'VE HAD 1,360 INTAKE FORMS SUBMITTED SO FAR. EIGHT OF THOSE HAVE BEEN IN SPANISH, AND THEN I HAVE IT BROKEN DOWN BY PROGRAM. SO FOR THE SAKE OF MUSIC COMMISSION, WE CAN FOCUS MOSTLY ON THAT ONE. UM, WE HAVE HAD 508 ELIGIBILITY FORMS SUBMITTED, UM, IN ENGLISH AND ONE ELIGIBILITY FORMS SUBMITTED IN SPANISH. AND THEN THOSE GO THROUGH THE REVIEW PROCESS. APPLICATIONS ARE SENT TO FOLKS WHO ARE [00:10:01] ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM. AND THEN WE'VE ALREADY HAD 127 APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED ALREADY, UM, WHICH IS PRETTY GREAT BECAUSE THEY HAVE UNTIL NEXT THURSDAY. UM, SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE HIGH LEVELS FOR AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND. I'M ALSO HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL THAT OF THOSE 127 APPLICATIONS, EIGHT OF THOSE ARE FROM VENUES, 103 OF THOSE ARE AT THE $20,000 LEVEL AND 19 OF THOSE ARE AT THE $5,000 LEVEL. UM, SO THIS WASN'T, UH, IN THE DECK, BUT I'M HAPPY TO, UM, SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOU ALL AFTERWARDS AS WELL. AND NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. GREAT. UM, SO AGAIN, I SAID THIS LAST MONTH, BUT JUST AS A REMINDER, UM, THE INTAKE FORM, MULTIPLE CATEGORIES CAN BE SELECTED AT THAT STAGE. UM, AND THEN SPECIFICALLY FOR LIVE MUSIC, JUST A REMINDER THAT PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS OF THIS FUND ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY IN THE FY 26 CYCLES, SO THEY CAN APPLY NOW EVEN IF THEY'VE RECEIVED IT IN THE PAST. UM, ADDITIONALLY, YOU CANNOT APPLY IN BOTH THE 20,000 AND THE 5,000. YOU HAVE TO PICK ONE AND STICK WITH THAT AND APPLY FOR THAT ONE. AND FINALLY, AGAIN, THIS IS THE SAME REMINDER I GAVE LAST MONTH, THAT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY ACCOMPLISHMENT SECTION, THOSE QUESTIONS AND THE SCORING CRITERIA IN THE GUIDELINES ARE ONLY FOR THE $20,000 APPLICANTS. UM, AND THEN FINALLY, IF , THE PANELIST RECRUITMENT. SO THIS IS THE, UH, SCORING PROCESS FOR ELEVATE AND FOR OUR HERITAGE PROGRAM. UM, SO WE'VE ALSO BEEN RECRUITING FOR PANELISTS TO SERVE AS PEER PANEL REVIEWERS. UM, WE'VE RECEIVED 257 INTEREST FORMS TO DATE FOR THAT. AND YOU HAVE EIGHT MORE MINUTES TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION FOR THAT IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS INTERESTED IN BEING, UH, A PANEL REVIEW PERSON FOR OUR PANEL PROCESS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NEXT, ALSO JUST WANTED TO SHARE SOME APPLICATION ASSISTANCE, UH, REMINDERS WITH EVERYONE AND SOME, SOME FIGURES AS WELL. SO WE'VE ACTUALLY, STAFF HAS SPENT OVER 160 HOURS SO FAR ON APPLICATION ASSISTANCE. UM, WE HAD 10 WORKSHOPS IN TOTAL. WE'VE HAD 168 ATTENDEES AT THOSE WORKSHOPS. SIX WERE IN PERSON, ONE WITH AN A SL INTERPRETER, ONE WITH A SPANISH. IT WAS DONE IN SPANISH, UH, AND WITH A SPANISH INTERPRETER ON SITE FOR QUESTIONS. UM, THE RECORDINGS ARE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH ON OUR WEBSITE IN CASE ANYBODY WANTED TO WATCH THE PRESENTATIONS. UM, OUR OPEN OFFICE HOURS ARE EVERY TUESDAY FROM 10 TO NOON, SO MOST OF THEM HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED. WE STILL HAVE ONE TOMORROW MORNING FROM 10 TO NOON. UM, AT THE SEVEN WE'VE HAD SO FAR, WE'VE HAD 69 ATTENDEES. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME SPECIAL SESSIONS COMING UP. SO THIS IS REALLY WHERE I WOULD PUSH ANYONE THAT NEEDS ASSISTANCE WITH THEIR APPLICATION ON DECEMBER 4TH. SO THIS THURSDAY, ALL DAY FROM 10:00 AM TO 4:00 PM YOU CAN COME BY THE OFFICE OR YOU CAN JOIN VIRTUALLY ONLINE. UM, SO THE FOURTH, THE NINTH AND THE 11TH. SO STAFF IS REALLY, UM, TRYING TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO GET THAT APPLICATION SUBMITTED BECAUSE WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING ANY APPLICATIONS AFTER THE DEADLINE. UM, ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS AVAILABLE FOR STAFF, UM, AND APPLICANTS THAT ARE INTERESTED THROUGH OUR BOOKING LINK. AND WE'VE HAD 80 MEETINGS SO FAR THROUGH THAT LINK, UH, WITH 94 ATTENDEES. WE'VE ALSO HAD OVER 1600 ATTENDEES AT 20 COMMUNITY EVENTS AND COUNTING. UM, AND THEN FINALLY, JUST ANOTHER SHOUT OUT TO OUR PARTNERS AT THE LONG CENTER, YOU CAN ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS EMAIL THEM AT APPLICATION HELP@THELONGCENTER.ORG OR GIVE THEM A CALL AND THEY'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH OR IN SPANISH. AND I THINK THAT IS ALL THAT I HAD TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL THIS EVENING, BUT HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE. LAURA, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONER CARDENA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. UM, CAN YOU TELL ME, SO APPLICATION SENT VERSUS APPLICATION SUBMITTED AND SAME THING. SO SENT, IS THAT JUST LIKE THE MASS, THE MASS IS SENDING IT AND THEN SUBMITTED IS AFTER THE THEY'VE GONE THROUGH A CLEARING OR WHAT IS THAT EXACTLY? SO APPLICATION SENT, SO IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE, WE'VE REVIEWED YOUR ELIGIBILITY FORM, YOU ARE INDEED ELIGIBLE, THEN YOU GET A NOTIFICATION THAT SAYS, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND. HERE IS [00:15:01] THE LINK TO ACCESS YOUR APPLICATION. SO APPLICATION SENT IS THAT PROCESS OF US SAYING, YES, YOU ARE ELIGIBLE. HERE IS YOUR APPLICATION, APPLICATION SUBMITTED, IS YOU HAVE THEN FILLED EVERYTHING OUT, APPLY, LIKE PUT ALL YOUR DOCUMENTATION IN, AND THEN YOU HIT SUBMIT IN THE SUBMITTABLE SYSTEM. AND THAT IS LIKE CHECK YOU HAVE SUBMITTED YOUR APPLICATION. OKAY. AND THEN HOW IS IT ON PAR LIKE TRACKING NUMBERS WISE FROM PREVIOUS YEARS? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. SO IN 2024, WE HAD 904 APPLICATIONS AND 136 AWARDS. AND SO THIS YEAR WE ARE, UM, AIMING FOR 384 AWARDS. SO HOPEFULLY WE WILL HAVE A BIG PUSH LATER THIS WEEK. UM, WE ALREADY HAVE 508 ELIGIBILITY FORMS SUBMITTED, WHICH IS GREAT. UM, I'M SURE THERE WILL BE MANY, MANY MORE, UH, OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS BECAUSE PEOPLE ALWAYS WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE WITH MOST GRANT PROGRAMS. UH, AND THEN IT'S JUST THAT PUSH BETWEEN THIS THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND NEXT THURSDAY TO GET THOSE APPLICATIONS ACTUALLY SUBMITTED, UH, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE SO MANY ASSISTANCE HOURS, UM, AVAILABLE FOR THE COMMUNITY. AWESOME, THANK YOU. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER ENGLAND. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. UM, QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU FOR THE, UH, NUMBERS INVOLVING CSAP. UH, YOU ONLY HAVE ONE APPLICATION SUBMITTED AT THE MOMENT FOR THE PROGRAM? MM-HMM. THAT'S CORRECT. SORRY, I DIDN'T GO OVER THOSE NUMBERS AS MUCH. WE'VE SENT OUT 50 25, UM, APPLICATIONS SO FAR FOR CSAP AND WE'VE HAD ONE APPLICATION SUBMITTED. UM, WE'VE HAD 51 ELIGIBILITY FORMS SUBMITTED FOR THAT PROGRAM. UM, I WILL SAY THAT THE, THE DOCUMENTATION FOR C SAP, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF APPLICATION RIGHT? THAN AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, RIGHT? SO IT IS A PRETTY ROBUST, UM, TIME COMMITMENT MM-HMM . TO DO THAT. SO I WOULD ANTICIPATE THE MAJORITY OF APPLICANTS ARE GONNA BE MUCH CLOSER TO THAT 11TH DATE. GOTCHA. UH, THANK YOU. I ALSO WANTED TO, TO ASK, UM, I HAD BEEN CURIOUS WITH THE $5,000 VERSUS THE $20,000 FOR, UH, LMF INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, UM, THAT MANY ARTISTS WOULD JUST TRY TO GO FOR THE $20,000 WITH THE EXTRA QUESTIONS IN THE APPLICATION. UM, HOW MANY AWARDEES FOR THE 20,000, UM, AWARDS WILL BE GRANTED? BECAUSE IF, WHAT WERE THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SAID? YES, WE, UM, I CAN TELL YOU WHAT, WHAT OUR GOALS ARE FOR EACH LEVEL AS WELL. SO OUR GOAL FOR THE VENUES IS 22 AWARDS FOR VENUES. MM-HMM . 242 AWARDS AT THE $20,000 LEVEL AND 120 AWARDS AT THE $5,000 LEVEL. OKAY? MM-HMM . SO, SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE 103 APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED AT THE $20,000 LEVEL, UM, AND 19 APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED AT THE $5,000 LEVEL. HMM. UH, IS THERE ANY WORRY WITH THE, UH, HAVING TO CHOOSE EITHER OR WITH 5,000 VERSUS 20,000, UH, AND ALSO FOR THE QUESTIONS INVOLVED FOR THE 5,000 ARE THE SAME FOR THE 20,000, THEY'RE JUST ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. RIGHT. AS FAR AS SCORING IS CONCERNED, UM, ARE YOU AT ALL WORRIED THAT, UH, TOO MANY ARTISTS ARE TRYING TO GO FOR THE $20,000 IN, IN, UH, THE 24 MONTH, UH, PERIOD INSTEAD OF MAYBE BEING ABLE TO ACCESS, UH, THE $5,000 GRANTS MORE EASILY? I MEAN, HONESTLY, ALWAYS A LITTLE WORRIED, RIGHT? YEAH. UM, I THINK BECAUSE THE WAY THAT WE'RE DOING IT THIS TIME AROUND, I THINK MOSTLY IT'S JUST SEEING WHAT, WHAT THE DATA LOOKS LIKE ONCE WE ACTUALLY HAVE THOSE APPLICATIONS IN. UM, YOU KNOW, ANY KIND OF APPLICATION IS A BIT OF A GAMBLE. I WILL SAY TO ALL FOLKS THAT ARE APPLYING AT THE $20,000 LEVEL, AND THEY MIGHT NOT GET IT THIS TIME AROUND, THE PROGRAM WILL BE OPEN AGAIN IN JULY. AND SO THERE IS GONNA BE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THAT MUCH LONGER TO WAIT TO TRY AGAIN AT THAT LEVEL. AND THEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THE FAMILIARITY OF THOSE QUESTIONS AND WHAT IS INVOLVED IN THE APPLICATION. BUT PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, UM, WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO REACH OUT TO STAFF IF THEY DO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO ANSWER SOME OF THOSE. UM, AT THE $20,000 LEVEL SPECIFICALLY, UM, STAFF IN THE LONG CENTER, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BEING REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL AS FAR AS LIKE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT FOLKS HAVE. UM, SO IF THERE ARE, IF THERE ARE SOME CONCERNS [00:20:01] FOR FOLKS HOW TO ANSWER THOSE MUSIC INDUSTRY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, QUESTIONS, UM, WE'RE HAPPY, WE'RE HAPPY TO HELP AS MUCH AS WE CAN WITH THAT. GOTCHA. THANK YOU. UH, MY LAST QUESTION FOR YOU, UM, DO YOU THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE ANY CONCERN INVOLVING, UH, THE QUESTIONS FOR 5,000 VERSUS $20,000? UH, IN MY MIND, AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BECAUSE ABSOLUTELY. UH, IF I FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AS AN INDIVIDUAL ARTIST AND I MEET THE CRITERIA AND SCORE AND I PASS FOR THE 5,000 AND THEN THE RESIDUAL QUESTIONS THAT ARE LEFT OVER FOR THE 20,000, MAYBE I CAN ANSWER. I THINK I CAN. SO I'M GONNA GO FOR THE 20 IF I DON'T GET AWARDED THE $20,000, BUT I STILL MEET THE CRITERIA AND THE SCORING BASED ON THE QUESTIONS THAT WOULD BE ALLOWED IN THE 5,000, WHY WOULDN'T AN ARTIST GET THE $5,000? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. IT'S, I, I THINK THE, THE QUICK ANSWER IS JUST THE WAY THAT THE SUBMITTABLE PLATFORM IS BUILT OUT, UM, THERE'S NOT A WAY TO HAVE THAT TIERED LEVEL OF APPLICATION THE WAY THAT IT'S CURRENTLY BUILT OUT, BUT 100% HEARD. UM, WE'LL BE DOING SOME SURVEYS WITH APPLICANTS AFTER THIS IS ALL OVER AS WELL, BECAUSE THIS IS A NEW, UM, THESE ARE NEW GUIDELINES, SO 100% WE WANNA HEAR FROM COMMUNITY SUGGESTIONS LIKE THAT. WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE LONG CENTER TO SEE WHAT MIGHT BE FEASIBLE IN THE FUTURE. UM, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK. SURE. YEAH, THAT'S, LIKE I SAID, MY ONLY WORRY IS THAT IF SOMEONE IS APPLICABLE FOR THAT MONEY, BUT OBVIOUSLY WANTS TO GO FOR MORE IF THEY CAN, UH, AND THEN IS DENIED IT COMPLETELY, UH, I FEEL LIKE THAT KIND OF DEFEATS THE PURPOSE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ALREADY MEET THE CRITERIA. SO, UM, I'M INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT THE DATA LOOKS LIKE AFTER THESE HAVE BEEN GONE THROUGH. AND CAN I JUST, OH, I'M SORRY, LAURA, GO ON. I WAS JUST GONNA SAY YES, AND THE 5,000 IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT OF A DESCRIPTION. LIKE THE PROJECTS THAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE DOING AT THE $20,000 CORRECT LEVEL ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THE PROJECTS THAT FOLKS MIGHT BE DOING AT THE $5,000 LEVEL. RIGHT. SO I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER THING TO, TO RE TO REMEMBER AS WE'RE MOVING THROUGH THIS. GOTCHA. RIGHT. AND THE INTENT WITH THE 5,000, AND THIS WAS AFTER WE HEARD FROM PEOPLE THROUGH THE CREATIVE RESET PHASE ONE, IS TO PROVIDE A MORE SIMPLE APPLICATION FOR SOMEONE WHO SIMPLY JUST WANTS TO APPLY FOR $5,000. AND IT IS NOT ABOUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE MY BEST CHANCES ACROSS THE BOARD? IT TRULY WAS ABOUT A CUSTOMER SERVICE POINT OF PROVIDING A SIMPLER APPLICATION FOR SOMEONE WHO ONLY REALLY NEEDS $5,000, NOT 20. AND SO IT WAS REALLY MORE HEARING FROM COMMUNITY OF THAT NEED AND US ADDRESSING THAT NEED. SO IT WAS MORE OF A REQUEST THAT WE HEARD OF LIKE, HEY, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW I WANNA DO 20, EITHER YOU'RE BRAND NEW JUST STARTING OUT AND YOU WANNA START OFF WITH A FIVE, OR YOU COULD BE WELL ESTABLISHED AND SAY, I JUST DON'T NEED THAT 20, I JUST NEED FIVE TO DO A MARKETING PLAN. AND SO IT WAS JUST REALLY TO CREATE A SIMPLER PROCESS FOR, FOR THE NEED. UM, AND SO THAT WAS OUR INTENT THERE. OKAY. THANK YOU ALL. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. UM, COMMISSIONER, HI SPEAKING. SO EVERYTHING THAT YOU DID, I MEAN, IT, IT AMOUNTS TO 7 MILLION. SO FOR SOME REASON, THE VENUES, THE ARTISTS, THE PROMOTERS, THEY DON'T FILL OUT THEIR APPLICATIONS OR THEY DON'T QUALIFY. THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT ARE WRONG WITH IT. HYPOTHETICALLY, WHERE WOULD THAT POOL OF MONEY, WOULD THAT JUST LIKE ROLL OVER TO JULY? SO YOU'RE ASKING IF WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH ENOUGH APPLICANTS TO FILL 'CAUSE YEAH, JUST AT THE WAY, I MEAN, YOU'D HAVE TO DOUBLE THE NUMBERS. YEAH, I, I MEAN, I THINK, I THINK WE'LL GET THERE, TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST WITH YOU. WE HAVE 508 ELIGIBILITY FORMS AND WE NEED 384 TO, TO HIT THAT, UM, TO HIT THAT 7 MILLION LEVEL, I THINK WE WILL HIT THAT. IF WE DIDN'T FOR SOME REASON, THEN WE STILL HAVE THAT, THOSE FUNDS AVAILABLE THAT CAN BE ROLLED OVER INTO FUTURE, UM, PROGRAMS. OKAY. YEAH. 'CAUSE I WAS JUST SAYING 'CAUSE IF THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THOSE APPLICATIONS, YOU KNOW, AND FOR SOME REASON THEY GET DENIED, SO WE CAN HAVE THEM MM-HMM . LIKE YOU SAID, SUBMITTED, BUT IF THEY DON'T QUALIFY OR SOMETHING'S WRONG, THEN I MEAN, NO, I HOPE WE HIT IT FOR THE SAKE OF THE GRANT AND THE FUND. SO YEAH, IT WOULD BE WHATEVER BALANCE WOULD BE ADDED TO THE 7 MILLION IN JULY BECAUSE THE MONEY IS QUOTE UNQUOTE ENCUMBERED, WHICH IS A VERY CITY TERM. SO THE MONEY'S THERE, IT'S NOT, IT HASN'T, IT WON'T GO BACK INTO THE FUND UNTIL [00:25:01] THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. AND IF, IF THE MONEY'S NOT COMMITTED TO AN AWARDEE, THAT'S WHEN IT GOES BACK AND, AND KIND OF GETS SUCKED BACK INTO THE OVERALL FUND. BUT OF COURSE, UH, IF WE HAVE A BETTER, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE APPLYING IN JULY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST MORE MONEY IN JULY. SO, UM, REALLY IT WOULDN'T BE UNTIL THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 2026 THAT WE WOULD NEED TO WORK. WE WOULD SEE IF THERE ARE ANY BALANCES THAT WOULD GO BACK INTO THE LIVE MUSIC FUND. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. UM, I, I, I THINK THE INTENTION OF THE $5,000 GRANT, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NOT, I MEAN IT'S OPEN TO EVERYBODY, WAS TO ESSENTIALLY SUPPORT NEW EMERGING ARTISTS. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AND, AND OF COURSE AS AS THIS EVOLVES IN THE FUTURE, IT CAN BE LOOKED INTO. I, I, MYSELF PERSONALLY HAVE NOT SU OUT IN MY MIND, BUT, UM, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND'S SUGGESTION IS, UH, I, I THINK IT'S, IT'S REALLY WORTH LOOKING INTO AND, YOU KNOW, SEEING IF WE CAN, WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN TO WHERE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU HAVE A CUT LINE, BUT EVERYBODY BELOW THE CUT LINE MIGHT HAVE ALREADY DONE A LOT MORE WORK THAN THE NEWER EMERGING ARTISTS. AGAIN, IT CHANGES THE INTENTIONALITY OF WHY WE ALL KIND OF, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT THE $5,000 GRANT, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT IT, IS THE, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT YEAR, UH, AFTER THE CUT LINE COULD AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY FOR THE 5,000 AS OPPOSED TO IT BEING AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GRANT. UH, JUST DO TWO LEVELS WITHIN THE SAME APPLICATION PROBABLY. UM, I THINK IT'S, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION. UM, UH, COULD YOU, UM, SPEAK TO THE MARKETING EFFORTS THAT WENT BEHIND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, JUST PUBLICIZING, UH, ABOUT THESE APPLICATIONS AND GRANTS, UH, AND WHAT, WHAT KIND OF, UH, MARKETING EFFORTS WERE DONE THIS YEAR? AND ALSO IF THERE'S ANY WAY TO PROVIDE A COMPARISON ON WHAT THE DELTA IS BETWEEN SAY, HOW THEY MARKETED LAST YEAR VERSUS THIS TIME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION. UM, I DON'T HAVE THE BEST INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL. UM, THE WAY THAT OUR NEW DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN FOCUSED, THERE'S BEEN ONE TEAM THAT'S BEEN FOCUSED ON THE ACTUAL MARKETING, AND I'VE BEEN FOCUSED MOSTLY ON THE STAFF AND THE APPLICATIONS AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LONG CENTER. SO I CAN SHARE, UM, THAT WE'VE SENT OVER 10,000 EMAILS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, TWO PREVIOUS AWARDEES IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, UM, TO PEOPLE IN THE PIPELINE, ESSENTIALLY. SO, SO I, I KNOW THAT INFORMATION AS FAR AS THE PROMOTION AS A WHOLE IN GENERAL TO THE CITY, I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, BUT I AM HOPING THAT MAYBE NEXT MONTH WE CAN HAVE SOME KIND OF REPORT FROM, UM, FROM OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM WHO'S BEEN HANDLING THOSE EFFORTS. THANK YOU. YEAH, I, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE CAN ADD THAT TO THE AGENDA NEXT TIME. AND ALSO, LIKE A DELTA, LIKE WHAT, WHAT WAS DIFFERENT THIS TIME COMPARED TO LAST TIME? WHAT, WHAT WORKED WELL OR WHAT PERHAPS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE WORKED WELL. UM, AND ALSO, YEAH, ANY, ANY KIND OF DATA THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE AROUND THAT. AND ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST SOME ANALYTICS AROUND, YOU KNOW, THESE, THIS MARKETING EFFORT YIELDED, YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF RESULTS VERSUS SOMETHING ELSE. I'M JUST CURIOUS. THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW. UM, AND, UH, OKAY. LET ME YIELD TO THE COMMISSIONERS IF I HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS. I'LL GO AT IT LATER. COMMISSIONER ENG ENGLAND. UM, THIS IS ACTUALLY A QUESTION FOR SHELBY. MM. IS IT POSSIBLE, UM, TO GET THOSE SLIDES WITH THE, THE DATA POINTS EMAILED TO US, PLEASE? YEAH. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . I JUST HAVEN'T SEEN IT POP UP IN MY INBOX YET FOR WHAT IT WAS. AND SO I JUST WAS GONNA ASK JUST FOR THE RECORD, ALL THE DOCUMENTS THAT ARE SHARED HERE. 'CAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO GO PAPERLESS, A LITTLE LESS PAPER, IF YOU WILL. IT'S ALWAYS SHARED TO THE CALENDAR INVITE. BUT AS FAR AS WHAT'S DISCUSSED TONIGHT, I JUST TRIED TO POST IT TO ON THE BOARD AND COMMISSION PAGE. SO HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE LIVE TOMORROW, BUT IT'S IN YOUR CALENDAR INVITE ALL THE TIME. FOR SURE. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE, COMMISSIONERS? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND, UH, UH, DEFINITELY I WOULD, UH, REQUEST, UH, COMMISSIONERS AND, UH, MAKE A NOTE FOR MYSELF AS WELL TO PLEASE PUT THE WORD OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THE DEADLINE IS FAST APPROACHING ON DECEMBER 4TH, UM, AND THEN THE FINAL DEADLINE ON DECEMBER 11TH FOR APPLYING. I WOULD, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THE, THE $20,000 GRANTS WITH, UM, KIND OF MORE INVOLVED QUESTIONS THIS TIME AROUND ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT DIDN'T, UM, EXIST BEFORE, [00:30:01] UM, OR AT LEAST MORE IN DETAIL THIS TIME. UM, I THINK DEFINITELY CREATES, UH, A HIGHER BAR, UH, IN BEING ABLE TO APPLY FOR THE $20,000 GRANT. UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THAT HAS OR WILL IMPACT THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS WE GET. UM, AND, UH, BUT THEN I WOULD EXPECT THAT IF PEOPLE ARE WELL AWARE, THEN THERE WOULD BE A BUMP IN THE, IN THE 5K APPLICATIONS TO COUNTER THAT. SO, UM, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN FOR PROVIDING THE INFORMATION. UM, I SEE, UH, FOLKS FROM THE LONG CENTER HERE. THANK YOU FOR, UH, UH, BEING HERE, UH, AT THE COMMISSION MEETING. UH, I THINK THAT JUST, I THINK HELPS ALL OF YOU BE INFORMED, UH, ABOUT, UH, THE GOING ON, UH, FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE. UM, ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM? THANK YOU. UH, THE NEXT ITEM IS STAFF BRIEFING. THANK YOU, LAURA. THANK YOU, ERICA. THE NEXT ITEM IS STAFF BRIEFING ON THE CREATIVE [6. Staff briefing on The Creative Reset Phase II by Candice Cooper, Acting Chief Administrative Officer and Marion Sanchez, Acting Public Information & Marketing Manager, AACME. ] RESET PHASE TWO BY CANDACE COOPER, ACTING CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, AND, UH, MARIANNE SANCHEZ, UH, ACTING PUBLIC INFORMATION AND MARKETING MANAGER. ACME. THANK YOU. WE'LL HAVE TO SKIP THIS EVENING. THEY'RE NOT HERE. SOMEBODY'S OUT SICK. SO WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET, UM, BOTH PEOPLE HERE THIS EVENING, BUT WE WILL RETURN IN JANUARY WITH A REPORT OR AN UPDATE ON THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SHELBY. SO WE'LL, UH, TABLE THAT FOR NEXT MONTH. UH, DISCUSSION ITEMS WE HAVE, UH, [7. Downtown Commission update on priorities and recent actions by Parliamentarian Silva. ] I THINK, UH, NUMBER SEVEN WILL ALSO HAVE TO GO TO NEXT MONTH DOWNTOWN COMMISSION UPDATE ON PRIORITIES AND RECENT ACTIONS, UH, BY COMMISSIONER SILVA. WE'LL MOVE THAT TO NEXT MONTH AS WELL. UM, THE LAST [8. Music Commission strategic planning for 2026. ] ITEM ON THE AGENDA UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS IS MUSIC COMMISSION STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR 2026. I ADDED THIS HERE LAST TIME, UM, ALSO BECAUSE THERE WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME DISCUSSION AND ASK AROUND TALKING ABOUT WHAT DOES THE COMMISSION WANT TO FOCUS ON IN 2026. UM, AND, UH, I THINK, I THINK WE CAN GET STARTED TODAY AND, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND ALSO SHARE, UM, THERE'S A, YOUR ANNUAL REPORT THAT I HAVE TO PUT OUT, UH, SEND IT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE EVERY YEAR, AND I CAN SHARE WHAT I PUT SHARED IN THAT. UH, AND, UH, WE CAN ALSO, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT, UH, LIKE, IT'S NOT BOUND TO THAT WHAT WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT YEAR, RIGHT? THESE ARE THINGS, SUGGESTIONS, SO WE CAN GO WITH THAT. AND THEN ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSIONERS TO HAVE, HAVE ANY, ANYTHING ELSE THAT THEY WANNA SUGGEST AT THIS TIME, OR WE'LL, UH, TALK ABOUT THIS IN JANUARY AGAIN. YEAH, IS THAT A GOOD WAY TO GO ABOUT THIS? ALRIGHT. UM, THIS IS A BIT LENGTHY, SO, UH, PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. UM, SO THESE ARE, UM, BOTH GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE NEW CALENDAR YEAR, UH, THAT HAD PUT IN THE REPORT. UM, I'M JUST GONNA READ IT OUT VERBATIM. UH, MAYBE TRY TO BRIDGE IT A BIT. AS AUSTIN CONTINUES TO GROW AND EVOLVE THE MUSIC COMMISSION'S GOALS FOR FI 2025 AND 26, FOCUS ON ADVANCING INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT WHILE STRENGTHENING THE SUSTAINABILITY AND GROWTH OF CITIES, MUSICIANS AND MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, AS WELL AS THE OVERALL MUSIC ECOSYSTEM THROUGH STRATEGIC CITY POLICY BUDGETING AND RESOURCES. KEY GOALS AND INITIATIVES INCLUDE CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND AND HOT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, REFINE GRANT PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS THROUGH ONGOING STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, DATA ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF EV AWARD OUTCOMES TO ENSURE INCLUSIVE AND EFFECTIVE IMPACT. THE SECOND ONE BEING ADVOCATE FOR ACCESSIBLE AND IMPACTFUL OUTREACH STRATEGIES TO ENSURE PARTICIPATION IN GRANT AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FROM ACROSS THE CITY'S VAST DIASPORA. PROVIDE POLICY GUIDANCE TO ENHANCE THE VISIBILITY OF CITY GRANTS PROGRAMS AND OPPORTUNITIES BY PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITY RADIO, UH, HYPER-LOCAL MEDIA AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. WE DIDN'T SPEAK IN THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL, BUT WE HAD AN EMPHASIS ON MARKETING EFFORTS IN THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAD PROVIDED FROM THE COMMISSION THIS YEAR AS WELL. AND I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT IT AT THE COMMISSION. UM, AT THAT POINT, CONTINUE ADVISING ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND ROLLOUT OF CREATIVE AND CULTURAL DISTRICT TOOLS TO HELP CREATIVE BUSINESSES BENEFIT FROM NEW LAND USE AND PLANNING INCENTIVES, INCREASE VISIBILITY AND BRAND OF MUSIC VENUES OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN. I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO MAYBE RESTATE THIS TO SAY, UH, TO INCREASE VISIBILITY AND BRAND OF MUSIC VENUES IN DOWNTOWN [00:35:01] AND IN DOWNTOWN AND OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN. UH, THIS HAS COME UP A FEW TIMES IN CONVERSATIONS WHERE THERE ARE VENUES ALL ACROSS TOWN, UM, AT THIS POINT. AND, UH, HOW DO WE, UM, JUST, JUST BRING THEM INTO THE FOLD AND INCREASE THE VISIBILITY INTO ALL THINGS MUSIC THAT ARE GOING, UM, ACROSS AUSTIN AND IN THE MSAS COLLABORATE WITH PRESERVATION. AUSTIN, UH, THIS IS A NEW ONE. I WOULD, UH, LIKE SOME FEEDBACK FROM, UH, THE COMMISSIONERS ON THIS IS COLLABORATE WITH PRESERVATION AUSTIN ON DESIGNING PROGRAM TO CREATE MARKERS IN 10 COUNCIL DISTRICTS TO HIGHLIGHT THE BROAD AND SIGNIFICANT MUSIC HISTORY IN AUSTIN AND LINKING PEOPLE OF THE PAST WITH BUILDINGS OF THE PRESENT. SO ESSENTIALLY, KIND OF AGAIN, UM, EXPAND MUSIC AND MUSIC SPEAK AND RECOGNITION OF, UH, AUSTIN'S MUSIC CULTURE ACROSS ALL 10 DISTRICTS. DISCUSS AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY OF HAM AND SIMS STUDY AND RESPOND TO MARKET CHALLENGES REGARDING HOT IN LIGHT OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, RESIZING OR DOWNSIZING. UM, I UNDERSTAND THEY'RE NOT CALLING IT A DOWNSIZING BECAUSE TECHNICALLY THE NUMBER OF MUSIC, UH, DAYS HAVE GONE UP, BUT, UM, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS FOR THE FESTIVAL HAS GONE OUT. AND ALSO IN VIEW OF THE, UH, THE CONVENTION CENTER, UH, RENOVATION, EXPLORE AND ADVISE ON NEW AND SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING SOURCES TO ENSURE THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABLE OF, UH, THE MUSIC SECTOR. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I UNDERSTAND. ACME ALSO HAS, IT HAS IN ITS GOALS TO EXPLORE ADDITIONAL, UH, SOURCES OF REVENUE BEYOND HOT, UH, TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE MUSIC AND THE MUSIC SECTOR. MUSICIANS AND THE MUSIC SECTOR OFFER POLICY GUIDANCE ON EVOLVING PRIORITIES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, RECORDING AND TOURING, MENTAL HEALTH BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, ET CETERA. SUPPORT CITY INVESTMENTS IN AFFORDABLE CITY OWNED OR SUBSIDIZED REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE SPACES. I PROMISE YOU THIS IS THE LAST PAGE. IDENTIFY AND RECOMMEND SOLUTIONS TO CHALLENGES INCLUDING PERMITTING, COMPLEXITY, ZONING ISSUES, AND RISING OPERATIONAL COSTS. ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF SAFETY SUPPORT PROGRAMS THAT DO NOT PLACE ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL BURDENS ON MUSIC VENUES. AND THIS COMES UP A LOT IN, UH, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF, UH, VENUES ON SIXTH, UH, STREET AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT AS WELL. SUPPORT INITIATIVES SUCH AS FREE OR SUBSIDIZE PUBLIC TRANSIT TO MUSIC AND CULTURAL RELEVANCE CONTINUE TO AUTHENTICALLY ENABLE SPACE DURING COMMISSION MEETINGS FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND PRESENTATION FROM INDIVIDUAL MUSICIANS, CREATIVES, NON-PROFITS FOR-PROFIT BUSINESSES AND OTHER INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS. USE THESE ENGAGEMENTS TO IDENTIFY EMERGING TRENDS, COMMUNITY NEEDS AND INFRASTRUCTURE GAPS THAT INFORM FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND THE LAST ONE BEING, CONTINUE CROSS COLLABORATION WITH OTHER RELEVANT BOATS AND COMMISSIONS TO ADVANCE SHARED SYNERGISTIC GOALS AND ALIGN EFFORTS IN SUPPORT OF AUSTIN'S CREATIVE SECTORS. SO LONG READ, I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, SHARE THE DOCUMENT WITH EVERYBODY AS WELL. UM, BUT I MEAN, WITH THAT, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IF IN THIS MEETING, UM, IF ANYBODY HAD ADDITIONAL, UM, IDEAS OR AREAS OF INTEREST THAT THEY WOULD LIKE FOR THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO FOCUS ON IN 2026. AND, UH, WE CAN ALSO CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION NEXT, NEXT MONTH. COMMISSIONER BLEVINS? UH, YES, I, I DEFINITELY WANNA CONTINUE NEXT MONTH WHEN I HAVE A CHANCE TO ABSORB. IS THERE SOME GOOD STUFF IN THERE? BUT YOU MENTIONED, UH, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, FREE TRANSPORTATION FOR CERTAIN EVENTS. YES. UM, SOMETHING THAT JUST KIND OF POPPED INTO MY HEAD BEFORE YOU SPOKE TO THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, MUSICIANS, WHATEVER, THAT ARE DOWNTOWN WORKING DURING THE WEEKEND, AND THEN THEY'RE TRYING TO GET AN UBER OR A LYFT HOME WHEN PRICES ARE SURGING. AND SO TO ME, IF YOU'RE GONNA FOCUS ON DISCOUNTED OR FREE TRANSPORTATION, THAT'S THE FIRST GROUP THAT I WOULD GO FOR THAT AT LEAST SOMEHOW THAT THEY GET, UM, EXEMPT FROM THAT SURGE PRICING. THANK YOU. YEP, THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER BLEVINS. UM, COMMISSIONER ENGLIN, I HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, THAT I WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS ON FOR NEXT YEAR. UM, ONE OF THEM IS, UH, MORE ADVOCACY FOR, UH, THE GREAT MANY GOOD PEOPLE IN TOWN WHO PROVIDE PRODUCTION WORK. UM, WHILE THEY'RE APPLICABLE [00:40:01] FOR SIMS, UH, THEY ARE NOT APPLICABLE FOR HAM, SO YOUR SOUND PERSON AT EVERY VENUE, UH, ANYONE WHO WORKS FOR ANY OF THE FESTIVAL WORK, UH, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE THAT WORK IN TANDEM WITH WHAT THE ARTISTS PROVIDE, UH, CAN'T ACTUALLY APPLY FOR A LOT OF THAT AND ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED. UH, SO I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR HELPING OUT, UH, ALL OF THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN AUSTIN FOR PRODUCTION WORK. UH, THIS ALSO INCLUDES, UM, VISUAL ARTISTS WITHIN THE MUSIC COMMUNITY. I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE, UM, EMERGING ART LEADERS ON BOARD, UH, TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S A WAY FOR WHEN YOU HAVE VISUAL ARTISTS FOR SHOWS PROJECTIONS AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. UH, THEY OFTEN GET LOST IN BETWEEN THE TWO WORLDS, UH, BETWEEN MUSIC OR VISUAL ARTS. AND A LOT OF THE GRANTS AREN'T REALLY DESIGNED AROUND THOSE ADDITIONAL ASPECTS, UH, FOR VISUALS FOR SHOWS. UH, SO I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER GROUP THAT KIND OF HAS BEEN FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS AS FAR AS WHERE TO GO AND, AND, AND HOW TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR. UM, AND THEN I THINK ALSO AS WE CONTINUE WITH, UM, LOOKING AT WHAT THE GRANTS LOOK LIKE, I REALLY AM INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT THE DATA LOOKS LIKE FROM THIS FIRST CYCLE. I KNOW THAT, UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE CAN'T REALLY START TO GO THROUGH IT UNTIL AFTER THE NEXT CYCLE, UH, WHEN IT COMES BACK UP TO, TO DISCUSS WHAT MIGHT NEED TO CHANGE. UM, BUT I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO STAY ON TOP OF WHAT THAT DATA LOOKS LIKE. UH, SO I THINK THAT SHOULD BE A HARD PUSH AS FAR AS THE GRANT GUIDELINES AND MARKETING ACCESSIBILITY ARE CONCERNED. YEP. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER ENGLAND. AND I THINK, UM, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK AND ALSO BE PROVIDED AS PART OF THE CREATIVE RESET PHASE TWO, I WOULD, UM, IMAGINE, UH, YOU KNOW, BEFORE AND AFTER WE SEE THE DATA YEAH. UH, THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND OF COURSE AS PART OF THE COMMISSION. SO, UM, BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE KEEP FEEDBACK ONGOING. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER . SORRY. NO, YOU'RE FINE. UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE, I KNOW YOU SAID IT SOMEWHERE IN THERE IN NICE BEAUTIFUL LANGUAGE, BUT I WANNA JUST SAY IT VERY DIRECT THAT IF WE CAN HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS SPOTLIGHTING OUR INDEPENDENT MUSIC VENUES ARE NEW AND EMERGING ARTISTS AND PUTTING A SPOTLIGHT ON THEM, BECAUSE I DO FEEL, YOU KNOW, WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON THAT WE'VE ALL KIND OF INTERNALLY TALKED ABOUT WITH JUST THEM EITHER GETTING OVERLOOKED OR I JUST THINK IT KIND OF WILL ADD MORE CREDENCE TO WHAT THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING MM-HMM . BUT BEING ABLE TO GIVE THEM, AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT WITH LIKE PENNY, JUST FIGURING OUT HOW TO GIVE THEM A PLATFORM SOME WAY SOMEHOW, IF THAT'S, AND WE CAN KIND OF FIGURE THAT OUT THROUGH A BRAINSTORM OR WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE. BUT JUST REALLY KIND OF PUSHING MORE SUPPORT TOWARDS OUR INDEPENDENT VENUES, MUSIC FESTIVALS, ALL OF THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL FEEDBACK. UM, I'LL, UM, I'LL SEND WHAT I READ AND, UH, ANYTHING THAT'S NET NEW HERE, I'LL GET THAT INCLUDED IN THE DOCUMENT AS WELL AND SHARE IT WITH EVERYBODY. UM, SO WE CAN KIND OF LOOK THROUGH THAT, YOU KNOW, THINK OF ANY OTHER IDEAS OR UPDATES WE WANT IN THAT, UH, IN THE JANUARY MEETING HMM. PUTTING TOGETHER. OH, YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. UM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] WE HAVE, UM, APPROVAL OF MINUTES, PUBLIC COMMS, OF COURSE, STAFF BRIEFINGS. WE WOULD DO THE LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTION UPDATES FROM, UH, KIM CARSON STAFF BRIEFING ON, UH, THE FINAL, UH, FY 24 LMF REPORTS. WE'LL INCLUDE THAT. UH, WE'LL INCLUDE A BRIEFING ON THE AIRPORT, LIVE MUSIC BOOKING. UM, INCLUDE STAFF BRIEFING ON ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS. ALSO INCLUDE, UH, OR BRING, BRING BACK THE STAFF BRIEFING ON THE CREATIVE RESET PHASE TWO BY CANDACE COOPER AND MARIAN SANCHEZ. UM, UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS WE'LL HAVE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION UPDATE ON PRIORITIES AND RECENT ACTIONS BY COMMISSIONER SILVA. WE'LL CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION ON MUSIC COMMISSION STRATEGIC PLANNING OR AREAS OF FOCUS FOR 2026. UH, WHAT ELSE? COMMISSIONERS, I'M MISSING SOMETHING. DID WE, COMMISSIONER BLA DID LAST MONTH. DID WE FINALIZE, LIKE FOR NEXT YEAR IF WE WERE GONNA CHANGE THE MEETING SCHEDULE AT ALL? WE'RE GONNA STICK TO MONDAYS AND OKAY. I CAN'T REMEMBER. WE WOULD ON IT, YEAH, THE MONTHLY AND THERE WAS, I THINK THERE WAS ONE MONTH WHERE WE MOVED THE DATA AND IF I REMEMBER IT RIGHT, BUT [00:45:01] THE SCHEDULES THERE NOW. OKAY. PERFECT. ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONERS, YOU CAN ALWAYS SEND AN AGENDA ITEM AND GET A SECOND AND GET IT ADDED. UM, PLEASE TRY TO SEND IT AT LEAST LIKE A GOOD TWO WEEKS BEFORE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, BECAUSE SHELBY NOW HAS TO PUBLISH THE AGENDA, UH, AN ENTIRE WEEK BEFORE, UH, THE MEETING, CORRECT? YES. SO WE CAN'T MAKE AFTER THAT. IT'S, IT'S THE BUSINESS DAYS THAT MESS US UP BECAUSE WE'RE RIGHT AFTER THE WEEKEND, SO WE HAVE TO GET IT IN A FULL AMOUNT OF TIME. RIGHT. ALSO, UM, A GENERAL REQUEST TO PLEASE RSVP. UM, SO WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE QUORUM. UH, THERE WAS A BIT OF A SCRAMBLE TODAY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. SO, UH, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE COMMISSIONERS AND UH, THANK YOU. UH, MOTION TO ADJOURN. WOW. UH, COMMISSIONER BLAVIN AND I'LL TAKE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER KANA. UH, UH, ALL IN FAVOR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. AND, UH, THANK YOU STEPH. THANK YOU. AND, UH, HAVE A LOVELY HOLIDAY SEASON, NEW YEAR, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY. GREAT. WE'LL SEE EVERYONE IN THE NEW YEAR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.