This episode is all about our listeners. We asked what they thought we should do to support the Austin Music Scene, and they answered! Plus, you’ll learn about one listener who started a business to employ Austin musicians — the Handyband Collective.
Miles Bloxson
Nonprofit aims to reverse Austin’s 1928 master plan and get SXSW money to the BIPOC community
SXSW brings in millions each year, but Black and brown Austinites don’t always benefit from the influx of money. DAWA, a local nonprofit, has put together a series of music shows and panels to elevate and direct resources to Austin’s BIPOC community. Find more information about everything happening during Vision:8291 here.
What Touring is Like Now
Musicians talk about what it’s like to tour on this side of the pandemic. You’ll hear from Jane Ellen Bryant and Daniel Leopold of Jane Leo, Eimaral Sol, Blakchyl, Matt the Electrician, Ali Holder, Sean Michael Giddings, Scott Collins + Janet Weiss and Sam Coomes of the band Quasi.
Black Artists discuss the state of the Austin Music Scene
You’ll hear from four Black musicians – Anastasia Hera, Cam the Tastemaker, Blakchyl, and Brannen Temple – about how they’ve navigated the Austin music scene, and what support they’d like to see.
All About the Census
In the latest episode, Peter Schwarz from Sound Music Cities about some of the results of the Greater Austin Music Census. You’ll also hear from Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone about why some Black community leaders didn’t feel included in the census.
Austin has a music union? Here’s what it is and how it works.
Learn all about the Austin Federation of Musicians –– how it works, what benefits it provides for freelance musicians, and why you may not know it exists.
Read more about the Musicians Union
Check out Tell Tchaikovsky The News
How can people get money into the hands of musicians, outside of being fans and going to shows?
Sonic Guild and DAWA are two Austin based that actually give musicians money. In this episode you’ll learn what they do, how they work, and why they were founded.
You’ll hear from Matt Ott, co-founder of Sonic Guild, formerly known as Black Fret, and Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone, founder of DAWA.
Do Musicians Need Corporate Support to Survive in the New Austin?
Miles and Elizabeth explore different forms of corporate support for music, and look at one company that’s making a big investment in Austin music.
Take note U.S.: Canada actually gives its musicians money
Hosts Miles Bloxson and Elizabeth McQueen explore the Canadian system of support for the arts in general, and for commercial music specifically. They explain what they know to Pause/Play audio engineer Jake Perlman, with help from Jessica Deljouravesh from the Ontario Arts Council, Marina Adam from Ontario Creates, Eric Owen from Black Pistol Fire , and KUT transportation reporter Nathan Bernier.
Why doesn’t commercial music in the U.S. get any financial support outside of, say, fans?
Austin is home to a thriving music scene, but that scene hasn’t received much financial support outside of fans buying music and going to shows. That’s not uncommon in the U.S. While some art forms like the opera and the symphony get regular public and private investments, commercial music typically gets left to fend for itself. Why is that?
In the first episode of Season 4 of Pause/Play, Hosts Miles Bloxson and Elizabeth McQueen try to answer that question with the help of UT Professor Charles Carson. They also examine the idea that the best music comes from struggle. And they explore what the city of Austin owes the music scene, and how the city might better support the for-profit music sector.
NFTs and Music: What is a NFT? The Song!
Here’s your very own, very fungible copy of the soon-to-be hit song, “What is an NFT?”
NFTs and Music: Minting an NFT
Miles and Elizabeth go on a journey to mint an NFT. But in order to do that they have to write and record a song, buy cryptocurrency, set up a wallet, and list an NFT for sale. But things don’t quite go as they planned.
NFTs and Music: What is an NFT?
In this first episode of our mini-season about NFTs and you’ll learn all the things you need to know in order to understand what music NFTs are and how they work.
You’ll hear from musician, DJ, composer, and founder of the web 3 community Mashibeats Mark de Clive-Lowe, and President of Blockchain Creative Labs, Melody Hildebrandt.
Bonus! A City Department just raised their rate for musicians to $200 per hour.
The City of Austin’s Economic Development Department just raised their rate of pay for musicians to $200 per hour per musician. Hear why that happened, and how they hope this change will inspire other departments.
What Mayor Adler has to say about the Live Music Fund
Hear what Austin Mayor Steve Adler has to say about the history of the Live Music Fund, why he raised concerns about the Live Music Fund Event Program, and what he thinks should guide the conversation moving forward.
The city has millions of dollars to support the Austin music scene. But who gets the money?
We’re looking at the Live Music Fund. We’ll tell you what it is, how it came to be, and we’ll explore the conversation around who gets the money.
Musician pay for live shows in Austin hasn’t changed in 40 years. Here are some other ways they’ve found to make money with music.
Austin musicians are making the same amount of money per gig as they did in 1979. In the latest episode, we look at gig pay through the years and talk to musicians Greg Clifford and Beto Martinez about how they’ve found ways to make money from music that don’t involve playing live.
Live music doesn’t always pay the bills. So what else can you do?
In this episode, you’ll learn how much money the average Austin musician makes per gig, and why it can be hard to make a living playing live music.
Then you’ll learn all about an alternate revenue stream for musicians — sync licensing. Nathalie Phan, founder of SoundSync Music, will explain the ins and outs of sync licensing from an agent’s perspective and Austin rapper Tee-Double will walk you through the artist’s perspective.
During Nathalie’s segment you’ll hear the song “Black Tea” by Slug, Elijah Fox, Soul Food Horns and Yasper.
During Tee-Double’s segment you’ll hear “Caped Up” from his album Local Transplant.
Could affordable housing save Austin’s music scene?
In the latest episode, you’ll learn how Austin non-profit Foundation Communities helped musician James Shelton find affordable housing the central Austin. And you’ll get a crash course in how affordable housing works from Foundation Communities Executive Director, Walter Moreau.
Read “The Artist Loft: Affordable Housing (for White People)” from the Atlantic
Bonus! Gina Chavez and Joe Greenwald at ACL Music Festival
Miles Bloxson speaks to Latin Grammy nominee Gina Chavez and artist manager Joe Greenwald at Austin City Limits Music Festival back in October of 2021. They talk about navigating the pandemic and issues facing the Austin music scene.
