Our Mission

The Year of Austin Music is a not-for-profit organization that promotes Austin music and its relationship with our musicians, audiences and local business and political communities.

Our immediate goal is to have every Austinite go see one Austin band each month in 2008. This goal will accomplish several things:

1. It will infuse millions of dollars of revenue into the local economy in 2008, especially into the performing community and venue owners
2. It will create new interest in one of Austin's most valuable assets, our vibrant music community
3. It will encourage and vitalize the artistry and creativity of Austin music
4. It will open the door to positive changes in the business and political aspects of one of Austin's largest economical contributors, musicians and the local music business economy
   
   Why is this so important?
   Because we are in danger of losing Austin Musicians - which will cost us quality of life and lose billions from Austin's economy
   

Austin is the self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital of the World", and Austin's music has infused billions of dollars into our local economy. Austin's music also creates a quality of life that our city uses as incentive to draw new businesses and residents to our city, creating additional billions of dollars in revenue to our city. The basis of this economy cannot function without one element: musicians.

But this economic model is an upside down pyramid. The element that is supplying the most precious commodity is dangerously underpaid. And those who capitalize upon it make exponentially more than those who make it. Austin musicians are receiving less than ever for their contribution to this billions-of-dollars economy they are used to create. In fact, many recieve less than minimum wage for the time they spend rehearsing, writing music, performing, publicizing, and promoting their music. Many take full-time jobs to pay for their musical contribution to our city. But many cannot keep up and are abandoning performing or Austin altogether.

To use a metaphor, it's as dangerous as not paying oil drilling crews. If you lose them, you won't get oil, and you'll lose your economy.

If Austin's musicians were performing manual labor instead of creating music (as many do to earn a living), many socially-conscious individuals and organizations would come to their aid to demand their rights as equals in our society. But this is not the case for the most part, although organizations like SIMS Foundation and HAAM have responded to this crisis very effectively. Something more must be done to compensate and encourage musicians for their contribution to our economy and our way of life. Solving the health problems of musicians alone will not keep them creating the music our economy has come to rely so heavily upon.

The Year Of Austin Music proposes more than a 'pat on the back' or charity, it is an attempt to create fair compensation for work performed by stimulating the market. A plan to institutionalize fair pay would be too controversial, of course. But a community-supported campaign can create an economic surge and create fair pay. Not just for the principle of doing creating fair pay, but to ensure the continuation of this economic resource. Creativity is more than an ethereal concept that has no material value. It is the stock-in-trade that creates music, which translates to billions of dollars in Austin's economy.

Musicians aren't the only ones who need help!
Venue owners and music related businesses are suffering from the loss of income, as well as from oversights in laws and codes.

Austin's venue owner/operators and related small businesses are heavily taxed and subjected to certain conditions which make doing business incredibly difficult. Heavy taxes, prohibitive ordinances, and other issues make keeping the doors open for a business which supports live music incredibly difficult. Many could survive and thrive with the tax and legal incentives offered to corporations and large businesses. But a united business community is required to make such changes.

The Year Of Austin Music PLAN: In 5 Stages

Austin's musicians, venue owner/operators, and other music-related businesses will meet in public forums to further define our mission and our goals. Our plans to unify and revitalize Austin's priceless music scene are as follows:

More details on each of these mission items can be found below

NEED SUPPORTING DATA?

There have been a small number of impact studies to investigate and analyze aspects of Austin music. Many have ultimately only supported the agenda of the organization making the study. But we realize facts are needed to support our cause. We currently lack the funding to create a study that will corroborate our goals, but we have collected some informal data which can be supported and confirmed anecdotally by scores of Austin musicians.

We will continue to provide anecdotal evidence that will help us make our case. As related research surfaces we will present the findings we discover in them. Please understand that we have a lot to accomplish on very limited resources and we must act immediately.

If you insist that this data must be validated for you to accept the problem as real (or for you to take action) we can offer you a method to confirm our claims. We ask that you simply discuss these points with some Austin musicians that have been participants in our scene for more than a few years, they will largely confirm our assertions. We have done this for the last 20 years, and it is how we collected this data. We ask you to take this action because it will (a) give you the confirmation you require directly from the source instead of a study which may not be impartial; (b) give you the opportunity to have a dialogue with someone who is actually experiencing this problem; and (c) save our energy for solving the problem instead of proving to you that it exists.

We believe you will be fully aware of the problem as its solution takes shape in the form of more audiences, more music, more creative music, and a better local economy. Otherwise, we will prove the problem for you as we find documentation, but we will not wait to begin solving it. We have lost much ground in years past arguing about these issues instead of solving problems, only to see them get worse. That being said, the data we have collected shows:

1. Audiences at local music venues have decreased by 60-70% in the last 15 years while Austin’s size has more than doubled
2. The rate of performance pay for an Austin musician is the same or less now than it was 20 years ago
3. Most Austin musicians do not make their living playing music and often pay to do each performance after promotion and other expenses are tallied
4. The number of Austin music venues has steadily decreased in the last 10 years and that 6th street has fewer than 12 live music venues

The PLAN: In Detail

This plan will be updated based on the input we recieve and the strategies we create as a community. We will meet in public forums to further define our mission and our goals, but this is the starting point upon which we can discuss further ideas and plans:

Step 1. Have Austin City Council proclaim 2008 "The Year Of Austin Music" and recognize our organization's mission

Rationale:
While our activities are based on "action over beaurocracy", a certain amount of documentation and civic record is required for us to be effective. For many important people, businesses, and organizations to see a legitimacy in our agenda, it must be backed with a quantifiable statement and support of an established civic entity. Because we are just starting this organization, we also need all the help and backing we can garner to achieve the unity that our agenda requires.
A statement that our Mayor and City Council recognizes our agenda will, in theory, found our organization and make it known that we have the support of our city government to better our music community and economy.
This proclamation also creates the first action which will bond us as a "community action organization" together and with our City government and make our intentions known by all.

Implementation:
This simple grassroots campaign will call on all interested participants to lobby our Mayor and City Council to proclaim 2008 "The Year Of Austin Music".
Using email and word of mouth, we will create a person-to-person movement to visit TheYearOfAustinMusic.org mainpage and email the supportive language we have provided to the Mayor and City Council. We will encourage this movement until such a time that the proclamation has been made and presented.

What Can You Do?
Email the Mayor and City Council using the wording on our main page and encourage everyone you can to do this too. Whether they are from Austin or not, their message as fans and supporters of Austin music will be vital to our City government understanding the wide support of our mission.

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Step 2. Create a working relationship and/or forum between Austin's musicians, venue owners/operators, related small business owners, media, and local government and city organizations to further the economic well-being, functionality, and growth of music in Austin

Rationale:
If we are creating a solution that infuses revenue for the Austin economy, we need to see to it that we solve our current problems completely - and keep them from happening again. This will require some dialogue and organization, and its benefit will be a unified business community that creates a greater good and a more profitable future through banding together. Creating a discussion that will include all in a "town hall" or coalition format will allow us to voice problems and solutions as a community and benefit our local economy and profitability as a whole.

Currently, the following issues are to be addressed in relation to each sector of our music + business community:

Musicians - how to create a living income through performing locally; how to be recognized and rewarded as a business entity and overcome logistical issues with performing locally; how to reach audiences and grow creatively in a do-it-yourself business atmosphere

Venues and Music-Related Businesses - how to grow profitably in the face of audience apathy and ever-changing musical and recreational trends; how to reach potential audiences and ensure a consistent clientele that supports music; how to recieve the same financial and tax incentives that large businesses and corporations recieve from local and state government

City Government and related agencies - how to ensure the growth, quality of life, and economic contribution created by Austin's music community; how to offer similar incentives to musicians and music-related businesses as for corporate businesses; how to solve practical issues involved with conducting Austin's music-related business such as parking and noise issues; how to involve Austin's music community in local politics as contributors and voters

Implementation:
A serious of regular meetings and smaller "sector meetings" will allow us to focus our communications, concerns, and solutions based on our participation in the music community. Groups of musicians can meet to focus on their agenda and bring it back to the main committee, while venue owners, media, small business, and political committees can do the same. This will allow for a focus of ideas and interests as well as a larger community forum.

Step 3. Create a public relations campaign for local media outlets as Public Service Announcements urging Austinites to "see one Austin band each month of 2008"

Rationale: and immediate way to remedy the financial problem facing Austin's music community is to get audiences into music venues. The best way to get Austinites into live music venues is to make them aware that they are welcome and needed, and of the importance and ease of doing so. A simple campaign that features notable Austin musicians and personalities urging citizens to "see one band each month of 2008" will mobilize large numbers of Austinites to venture into live music venues. Even a small response (1% of Austinites) to this campaign would send tens of thousands of new audience members to venues over thecourse of the year.
Since our organization is created for community betterment, and is not established to create a profiit, we enjoy the benefit of receiving Public Service Announcement air time from local media outlets. These PSAs are required by the FCC and a certain amount of broadcast time must be dedicated to them by law. In print media, these PSAs are granted out of a sense of community responsibility.
In addition to this community-based agenda, our organization will also be of great interest to media outlets because they will increase the broadcaster's community service profile and create future advertising revenue based on the effectiveness of the PSA campaign. When TYOAM Agenda Item #3 is implemented, the importance of a variety of advertising will help to create ad buying incentive for music-related businesses, furthering the benefit of airing these PSAs.

Implementation:
Using well-known Austin musicians, celebrities, and politicians, TYOAM will produce a series of television, radio, and print media PSAs.
The message of these PSAs will point out (a) the depth and importance of Austin music; (b) the ease and availability of live Austin music; (c) the impact that the audience has on our local economy and quality of life.

Here is a sample script for one of these PSAs:
"Do you know that over 100 bands are playing in Austin tonight, and many are performing within 15 minutes of your home? Did you know that it costs less than a movie, popcorn and sodas to see most Austin bands, including drinks? I'm ____________ and I'm asking you to see one Austin band perform each month in 2008. You can contribute to Austin's musical legacy and help our local economy too. You can make 2008 The Year Of Austin Music."

Step 4. Propose and support Local and State legislation that will create financial, tax, and other incentives for Austin's music-based businesses

Rationale:
When a corporation or large business considers Austin as a potential location to do business, certain incentives are offered to make to make the choice more attractive to the company. These incentives give tax breaks and considerations that greatly help a business set up and continue to function in the local marketplace and abroad.
While this tactic is commonplace with million and billion dollar companies, it has not been widely implemented with Austin's local music business community, which itself is a multi-million or billion dollar entity. Incentives of this type will help musicians and small businesses compete and create profits which will further benefit our local economy.
This phase of the plan will be especially helpful for venue owners and operators, who are especially affected by high taxes, fees, and ordinances associated with conducting their business. Most club owners experience great difficulties doing business with these high costs and many of Austin's favorite establishments have fallen by the wayside as a result.
This aspect of the plan will be vital to the continued growth and long term success of TYOAM's plan.

Implementation:
This aspect of the plan will require a coalition of musicians, venue owners/operators and other small business owners working with political professionals to address these issues with local and state government. Traditional political avenues will be taken to achieve these goals.

Step 5. Create ongoing educational and mentor programs to increase the efficiency and success of all aspects of Austin's music and business communities, present and future

Rationale:
Long term success and growth of our music community will be greatly benefitted by taking the knowledgeand experience we have gained as a cooperative and presenting it to current and future generations of our community. Educational and mentor programs that can share information on how to create and maintain a successful music business can be compiled, published, shared, or mentored with subsequent generations of music business professionals.
One of the aspects that has harmed our current community is a lack of knowledge about what strategies are and have been successful in our community. This information collective creates a healthy combination of mentoring and friendly yet competitive commerce in which the volume of business increases to affect all involved in a positive manner.

Implementation:
Traditional methods such as publications, seminars, and individual sessions can be provided and sponsored by existing entities and local and state governments.

Your suggestions and input are invaluable! Please email them to us at
info@theyearofaustinmusic.org