Economic Development
Economic Development
Building a Sustainable Future for Austin’s
Creative Workforce
Creating real economic opportunity for Austin’s musicians and the venues that keep live music alive.
Preservation
We collaborate with civic leaders, sponsors, and community partners to restore historic music spaces and create new ones.
Projects include:
Doris Miller Auditorium Revitalization
Texas Music Museum Preservation
Downtown Creative Hub Plan with free community space, parking, and safe escorts for performers.
Paid Performances
Through partnerships with The Trail Conservancy, Easy Tiger, Workforce Solutions, and Armadillo World Headquarters, we’ve distributed $200K+ in paid gigs at or above Austin’s $200 standard pay rate.
Equity & Opportunity
By deeply engaging with Austin’s Black, Latinx, AAPI, LGBTQIA+, Women, and Disabled musician communities, ATXM builds solutions that improve access, representation, and safety.
Community Impact through Economic Development
2018 ACL Fest crowd waiting for Austin local, Gary Clark, Jr.
Vulcan Gas Company. Photo Courtesy of Vulcan Gas Company.
Dylan Gosset at ACL Fest 2025. Photo courtesy of Izzy Nuzzo.
Success Stories
Austin Texas Musicians works to strengthen Austin’s music economy by advocating for policies and programs that provide direct financial opportunities for working musicians. Through collaboration with the City of Austin and local music leaders, ATXM helped advance the creation of the Live Music Fund, which now distributes approximately $4 million annually in grants to support musicians, venues, promoters, and music industry professionals. ATXM also played a key role in establishing the City of Austin’s $200 minimum pay standard for city-funded music performances, helping set a baseline for fair compensation.
In addition, ATXM has helped generate more than $200,000 in paid booking opportunities for local artists through partnerships and programming. Together, these efforts provide meaningful income opportunities while strengthening the long-term sustainability of Austin’s live music ecosystem.
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Through collaboration with the City of Austin and local music leaders, ATXM helped advance the creation of the Live Music Fund, which now distributes approximately $4 million annually in grants to support musicians, venues, promoters, and music industry professionals.
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ATXM played a key role in establishing the City of Austin’s $200 minimum pay standard for city-funded music performances, helping set a baseline for fair compensation for musicians working City-sponsored events.
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Secured more than $200K in paid performance opportunities for ATXM PRO members
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Secured $35K to revitalize the historic Doris Miller Auditorium, serving East Austin’s Black and Latin communities
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Currently working on a permanent home for the Texas Music Museum, a downtown creative hub including parking and safety solutions, and an anti-theft solution for musical instruments.
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Offer virtual job fairs and jobs lists for musicians through partnership with Workforce Solutions
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Connected musicians with unemployment benefits, during the COVID pandemic, through partnership with Texas Workforce Commission.
Make an impact today
Economic development is about dignity, opportunity, and keeping Austin’s music alive. 💡 Help us grow Austin’s creative economy.
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.