| Disclaimer: I support Brewster McCracken for Austin Mayor (Jeff Brooks is the paid political director for Brewster McCracken for Mayor)
If any single thing defines the city of Austin, it's the music. When you walk along any downtown street on any given night, the air is filled with music. We have world-class jazz at the Elephant Room, Irish folk at B.D. Riley's, indie rock at Emo's, incredible blues at Antone's, and every other kind of music coming out of countless classic Austin music venues. South By Southwest and the Austin City Limits Music Festival now rank among the highest-profile music events in the world. It all adds up to music scene unique in the world, which is the envy of many another city.
And it has to be protected.
Austin's music industry is under threat, and the present economic crisis has only made the situation worse. Local musicians, like everyone else, are having a difficult time finding affordable housing and quality affordable healthcare. The steady growth of downtown has put price pressures on our music venues, many of which are having trouble keeping their doors open. The result of this is that we're bleeding musicians, many of whom are leaving for other cities- not by choice, but out of sheer economic necessity. If we don't address these issues soon, we may wake up one morning to find that we're no longer the Live Music Capital of the World.
Much as I enjoy making my out-of-town friends jealous with stories of the Austin music scene, this is not a mere question of bragging rights. The problems facing our music scene have to be addressed not just for the sake of the music itself, but because we cannot afford to lose such an important contributor to the local economy. Our music scene annually generates more than $1.6 billion for the Austin economy, pumping $25 million of tax revenue into the city coffers and employing around 20,000 Austinites. The difficulties facing the Austin music scene are not only a moral and cultural issue, but an economic one as well.
Brewster McCracken has made the promotion of Austin's creative economic sector a key element of his mayoral campaign, and the music scene is obviously a huge part of this. It shouldn't surprise anyone, then, that Brewster has announced a series of detailed policy proposals designed to address the problems facing our music scene.
As was recommended last year by the city's Live Music Task Force, Brewster wants to create a Music Department at City Hall, which would serve as the principal organizing force in building up the necessary infrastructure to ensure a vibrant music scene. He is calling for efforts to help Austin musicians and others who make their living from the Austin music scene find affordable housing and quality affordable healthcare by working with local organizations like the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. And he wants to craft common sense development policies for downtown that will help keep existing music venues in business, as well as making it easier for new ones to open up.
Brewster already has a long record of supporting the Austin music scene. Bands have Brewster to thank for being able to load and unload their gear for free in the special loading zones in front of Austin clubs, which is a much bigger deal than you might imagine. He has pushed for exempting South By Southwest shows from the sound ordinance, and has proposed transforming the original site of the Armadillo World Headquarters into a premier central location for independent Austin musicians, to include recording studios and perhaps even a museum about the history of Austin music. I could go on.
In light of Brewster's innovative proposals and past record with the music industry, it should come as no surprise that some of the biggest names in Austin music have thrown their support behind Brewster's candidacy. They include country music legend Jimmie Dale Gilmore, singer/songwriters Sara Hickman, Troy Campbell and Jo Carol Pierce, Susan Antone (we miss you, Clifford!), Latin music advocate Luis Zapata and many, many others. Is it a coincidence that those who best understand the issues facing the Austin music scene are lining up solidly behind Brewster? I don't think so.
By contrast, I have not heard Lee Leffingwell say anything about the music industry since the beginning of the mayoral campaign. A quick check shows that there is no mention of the issue at all on his website- not one word. Considering the critical importance of the Austin music scene to our city's economy, I would expect any mayoral candidate to make it a high priority, even if he or she personally didn't care about music. The fact that Lee doesn't consider it worthy of even a mere symbolic statement of support should give pause to anyone who loves Austin music, and especially to anyone who makes their living from it.
I love Austin, and I love Austin music. I worry about the future of our amazing music scene, and I think that we need to elect a mayor who both understands these issues and will give them the attention they deserve. If you agree, you should cast your vote for Brewster McCracken on May 9. |
