The Austin Music Commission and Economic Development Department continue to tweak the ever-changing Austin Live Music Fund. At the commission’s March meeting, staff pondered the best way to allocate funds to local musicians, promoters, and venues – and how the newly formed Office of Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment will reshape the city’s creative sector.
The commission received an update from Music and Entertainment Division Manager Erica Shamaly on the 2025 edition of the fund, which currently has an award budget of $4.8 million – up from last year’s $4.5 million budget. Shamaly said the funds will be allocated as follows: $300,000 for 60 $5,000 grants to emerging artists (over a one-year agreement), $3.5 million for 175 $20,000 grants to professional musicians and independent promoters (over a two-year agreement), and $1 million for 17 $60,000 grants to live music venues (over a one-year agreement). Shamaly added that venues with smaller operating budgets can instead apply for a $30,000 grant, but said that last year all the applicants sought the higher award.
The differentiation between emerging versus “professional” musicians, and subsequent differing award amounts, follows backlash against last year’s Austin Live Music Fund, which offered higher amounts of money – $15,000 and $30,000 for musicians and promoters and $30,000 and $60,000 for venues – to fewer awardees. In 2024, 1,013 total applicants requested $23 million in support, and only 120 artists were selected for grants.
Shamaly also presented scoring priorities recommended by a working group featuring members of the Music Commission and the music scene, which emphasized past music industry accomplishments (50% of the score), economic development impact (25%), music marketing (20%), and accessibility (5%). Economic Development Department staff, however, proposed a slightly different ranking, prioritizing cultural tourism and marketing outreach – because the money in the Austin Live Music Fund derives from Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue, Shamaly explained – followed by Austin’s music economy development and emerging artist development.
“Ultimately, these funds are to help promote Austin as a tourist destination through these musical activities, and so we’re going to make that a first priority from our perspective,” Shamaly said. She presented a similar priority ranking for selecting live music venues for grants, with cultural tourism and marketing at the top followed by Austin economic development and venue development.
Compared to last year’s spring application timeline, Shamaly proposed pushing applications for the 2025 Austin Live Music Fund to the fall, citing “the new laws and regulations from the state of Texas [legislative] session and the federal government that could affect ongoing city government operations and policies.”
“We have a lot to get organized to be sure that we can properly support any launch with good marketing and outreach,” Shamaly said.
“It was a recommendation from back in 2007 to have a dedicated office for culture, arts, and music, so this is very exciting to see that the city manager has listened to the community and has taken this step.” – Music Commission Chair Nagavalli Medicharla on Austin’s New ACME Office
Responding to the Economic Development Department’s proposed scoring criteria, Austin Music Commission Chair Nagavalli Medicharla took issue with an application question about how much of a musician’s income comes from their music. “It is a given that most, or a lot of, stakeholders from the music industry, especially musicians, cannot have a living wage without doing another job,” she said. “It starts looking like we are penalizing somebody for having a day job and also passionately pursuing their music careers.”
Instead, Medicharla said, “we want to center the grants around what [musicians] have accomplished. I think that’s what it [comes] down to – center around accomplishments and let that be a determining factor for what kind of tourism impact [the musician] had in the past and may continue to have.”
Additionally, the commission discussed the newly established Office of Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (ACME), created on Feb. 24 to consolidate cultural programming previously housed in five city departments. ACME will coordinate efforts related to music, special events, cultural and heritage centers, and the arts, streamlining services and enhancing accessibility for residents and visitors. The office is expected to transition into a full-fledged city department under the leadership of Director Angela Means. Means previously worked in leadership roles across various city of Austin departments, including Development Services, Austin Code, Housing, and the Parks and Recreation Department.
“It was a recommendation from back in 2007 to have a dedicated office for culture, arts, and music, so this is very exciting to see that the city manager has listened to the community and has taken this step,” Medicharla said. “It’s been a long time coming and enables a dedicated focus on these aspects of our community.”
When asked by Music Commission Vice Chair Anne-Charlotte Patterson if she already had a defined mission for ACME, Means, who notably does not have a background in arts and entertainment, said: “It is definitely going to be to come. Here shortly we will be kicking off community engagement as well as a strategic visioning for the office, working closely with our stakeholders in the community and our creative industries, so we are looking forward to having that community conversation as to where we go.
“This is a very exciting time, but we want to make sure that we are working together with our community.”
This article appears in March 28 • 2025.