Austin Music: A $616 Million Industry

A 2001 study by Texas Perspectives found that Austin's music industry generates $616 million a year in economic activity -- a little more than half from "music related industries" (live performance and recording/production) and the rest from music-related tourism.

In both cases, retail trade accounts for the bulk of the money, with professional services, manufacturing (for music-related industries), and transportation (for tourism) delivering most of the remainder.

What's the difference between "direct," "indirect," and "induced" activity? Basically, if you go to a club and buy drinks, that's direct activity; when you pay the cab driver to take you home, that's indirect activity; and when the cab driver buys gas with your fare, that's induced activity.