Economics

In 1991, Austin, Texas became the Live Music Capital of the World because the city had the most live music venues per capita than any other place in the nation. Since then, the people of Austin have fully embraced this slogan, and altered the culture of the city to reflect the pride in the music scene. In fact, Austin’s music scene is a substantial component of the city’s economy. However, it is a paradox. Austin receives more and more money from people coming into the city for the music scene, but the local musicians quality of life decreases due to financial hardships.

 

The University of Texas is a notable part of Austin. With over 50,000 people, University students make up a significant portion of the population. Many of these students support and embrace Austin’s music scene. For example, Aparna Chandrashekar, a UT Freshman, has seen 11 different artists along with attending Austin City Limits.

 

“Austin is full of good venues, and the people are really nice and interactive — you get to meet famous people,” said Chandrashekar. 

 

Chandrashekar has discovered ways to budget her spending in order to attend all the events she wants to go to, this includes going to venues that sell tickets at a low price, buying tickets far in advance, and looking for volunteer opportunities at festivals. 

 

Despite financial issues, concerts continue to contribute to the withdrawal section of her bank account. Chandrashekar’s spending habits are not out of the usual. College students spend 40% of their money on discretionary items, like entertainment. 

 

Unfortunately, a lot of the money spent by people like Chandrashekar does not go directly into musician’s pockets. Local band, Summer Salt, have learned to look at their music as less of a career, and more of a “fun thing.” While the band has been successful in producing an EP, titled “Driving to Hawaii,” and booking shows in local venues, like Empire Control Room, they have discovered that music alone does not provide a steady salary. All three band members, Matt Terry, Phil Baier and Eugene Chung, have full-time jobs that are their main sources of income. 

 

 

 

 

Terry, Baier and Chung are all originally from Dallas. Like many others, they were seduced by Austin’s boisterous music scene. Despite the financial difficulties and the challenge of self-management, the band was not disappointed by Austin’s local music scene. 

 

“Local musicians here all play music together, whereas I feel like bands in other places stick together and work on finding a manager and becoming successful,” said Terry. “Here, bands create communities where they all do it together and do it themselves.”

Future plans for Summer Salt include a tour in July, followed by working on new music. 

 

 

 

 

 

Finances pose a major problem for many aspiring musicians. The city’s increasing rates make it hard for artists to live in the city they play in. However, there are some programs in place to support musicians in order to keep the music scene thriving. One of these programs in the SIMS Foundation. 

 

Founded in 1995 after Sims Ellison, a member of the band Pariah, committed suicide, SIMS was created to support musicians struggling to afford proper mental health services. Now, the organization services around 600 musicians per year with over 70 therapists, psychiatrists, and addiction specialists. Heather Alden, the managing director at SIMS, believes that musicians undergo unique stressors, like working in bars and clubs, which make them vulnerable to mental illness and addiction. 

 

“We started out working with musicians because it was a passion of the founders since they had just experienced this tragedy.” Says Alden. “But, as the organization grew, we noticed that there was a need for musicians who are out there putting their emotions on stage for the world to critique as their lifestyles.” 

 

In order to qualify for this health care, patients must reside in Travis County, or the contiguous counties around Travis County. They must also be an active musician, meaning that they make most of their money from music. Like Summer Salt, many of the artists they assist have moved to the city for music.

 

“All the musicians that have moved to Austin are amazed that we have this service because it’s unique. There’s not anything like it anywhere else in the country.” 

 

The service being exclusive to Austin does not come as much of a surprise when you consider the value placed on music in this city. A prime example of this is South by Southwest, which brought in 2,266 acts, over 30,000 people, and almost 3,000 music media personnel. Although the totals for 2015 are not available yet, in 2014, SXSW brought over $315.3 million into the Austin economy. There was a 45% increase in music venue revenues, and similar increases in other hospitality establishments. For example, almost 60,000 room nights were booked in 69 official hotels. 

 

“We keep musicians healthy and happy and performing. Because of that, they are able to keep venues populated with live music. More live music means more people going out and spending money in our city.” 

 

Right now, SIMS is dealing with a steady growth of incoming musicians. They are also starting a campaign, called We’re Listening, to attract more minority musicians as well as musicians from genres other than Rock. The foundation’s current demographic consists mainly of white males playing rock music, so SIMS would like to show other artists that they are listening to their music as well as listening to the issues they face. 

 

“It has a lot to do with promoting and supporting the brand of Austin, which is the Live Music Capital of the World.”