What does it take to be a business-savvy creative in Austin? Local nonprofits want to make the answer clearer for performers and artists in the city.
This weekend, dance company Early Era Collective hosts the Embolden Workshop, a two-day professional development event at Dougherty Arts Center. The workshop is an extension of the community-centered educational work that the nonprofit dance company began through their Thoughts That Move podcast. The podcast, co-founded by Daniel Broxton and Lauren Parra Faudree in 2019, dissects the treatment of artists of color in Austin, promotes change through education and conversation, and celebrates successes in the community. Thoughts That Move returns to the airwaves with a live recorded taping, hosted by Broxton, on Friday night of the Embolden Workshop.
On Saturday, a panel titled “Matching Talent With Business” serves as the weekend’s cornerstone event. Professional artists, writers, and performers who work as curators, event coordinators, artistic directors, venue managers, studio directors, fundraisers, and more will unpack what it takes to successfully run an artistic business and share their insights into current trends in the arts industry. These panelists will also be taking questions from guests and offering guidance on specific business- and finance-related topics.
“I’ve heard from people in our community that this is more important than ever right now,” says Stephanie Patrick, founder of Early Era Collective, citing the critical cuts to arts funding happening on a federal and state level. The uncertainty these cuts have caused is further heightened in Austin by the city’s arts department restructuring plan, leaving many artists unsure how to navigate their financial future.
For Patrick, much of Embolden’s programming reflects advice she wishes she had heard as a young dancer and choreographer, and as a budding entrepreneur. She will host a movement-based workshop – “Tuning Your Instrument”– that teaches physical activities performers who spend time at the computer can integrate into their desk job life to stay nimble and avoid injury.
“I know the music side of the equation, but the business is a little difficult for me to figure out.” – Greilis Salazar
“I moved into a full-time desk job in 2019 and had that lifestyle for about four years. I’m a dancer, I move a lot, and sitting at a desk for that long was the most harmful thing I’ve ever done to my body,” she shares. “This [workshop] really comes from my experience and eliminating that mindset of ‘I don’t have time,’ because the time and the cost that is going to come out of not taking 10 or 15 minutes a day to pay attention to your body is really going to leave a mark on your finances and your ability to perform.”
As a lifelong musician and songwriter, Austin Texas Musicians CEO and President Pat Buchta also built the advocacy group’s Musician Masterclass around paying it forward to fellow performers.
At Pershing Hall earlier this week, the nonprofit featured sessions on management, touring, sync licensing, and legal issues, empowering musicians as business people through education and direct conversation with industry professionals.
Greilis Salazar is a singer-songwriter from Venezuela who moved to Austin four years ago after falling in love with the welcoming energy of the music scene. Working on her debut Latina pop EP, she realized: “I know the music side of the equation, but the business is a little difficult for me to figure out, and the things that you have to do to protect your work, so I came here specifically for that.”
As Salazar typically does when she spots an interesting arts event in the community, she invited friends. Guitarist and collaborator Spencer Ryan was happy to tag along.
“I was very interested in hearing about sync licensing stuff because I’m all over the place genre-wise,” Ryan says. “After that, my brain’s just going a million miles an hour.”
Local experts – like Angela Lee from Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts and Mike Tolleson, founder of Entertainment Law Institute (and Armadillo World HQ) – hosted the panels, giving attendees the opportunity to ask questions from people working expressly in the Austin music scene.
ATM plans to present similar panels once a quarter. Their monthly Nightshift series at Radio Coffee and Beer serves as a quick dose of education and connection in between classes and conferences.
At the end of the masterclass, Buchta polled the crowd: “Who wants to learn more about this?” Hands shot up.
“Out of these things we’ve seen sync deals happen, we’ve seen new bands form,” says Buchta. “It makes you realize that the industry and all the pros are here in Austin.”
This article appears in June 20 • 2025.
