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ATXM News & Happenings
When the Music Stopped: How ATXM Helped Unlock $6M for Austin Musicians
When SXSW collapsed in 2020, Austin’s entire music economy went silent overnight. ATXM moved fast. Within weeks, Patrick Buchta and Nakia Reynoso were inside City Hall asking one urgent question: How do we get money into musicians’ hands—now? Their advocacy helped draft and pass the resolution that created the Austin Music Disaster Relief Fund, delivering $1,000 emergency grants across two rounds totaling $6 million. ATXM not only pushed the policy forward—they educated musicians on how to apply, partnered with MusiCares to ensure musician-centered administration, and gathered feedback that made the second round smoother. This support kept hundreds of artists afloat during the city’s darkest moment.
Community Partners
Are You a Central Texas Musician?
Austin Texas Musicians is for you! We are musicians working for musicians.
Our community of Central Texas musicians is over 6,000 strong and growing.
We represent those we serve on city, state, and federal policy and provide basic needs and services to improve our quality of life.
Advocacy, Education, and Economic Development are the three pillars of our work to empower you to “Show Up, Speak Up, and Be Heard"!
Make an impact today
🎵 Join us in protecting Austin’s creative future.
Every bit of support goes a long way in helping us help musicians. We’ve got some very impactful new initiatives in motion for 2026, including:
Expanded Paid Performance Opportunities for Musicians
Expanded Education Programming, in Partnership with Local Higher Education
A Downtown Creative Hub, Parking and Safe Escort for Musicians
To continue doing this work, we need your help. Cultivating new partnerships, investment, and donor relations both public and private will be key to our sustainability.
We're putting out a call to all interested corporate partners, angel investors, and music community members and imploring that we all come together to lift up what has proven to be a crucial service to the health of our music community, which truly serves as the cornerstone to Austin’s economic well-being. We hope you’ll help us continue our work by donating, or by contacting us directly to discuss options.