Preliminary music census findings present altering panorama for Austin creatives – Austin Monitor

Early findings from a latest census of the Austin music neighborhood present some enhancements within the state of native creatives, although there are nonetheless areas of concern for music stakeholders.

At Monday’s assembly of the Music Fee, a presentation from Sound Music Cities founder Don Pitts supplied a glimpse of some noteworthy particulars from the total knowledge set that’s anticipated to be launched in early November.

Among the many findings from the two-month survey with 85 questions that drew greater than 2,200 responses: Solely 64 % of respondents really feel positive they may keep in Austin over subsequent three years; solely 35 % of creatives are enjoying greater than three exhibits per 30 days at present; and 20 % of venue operators and live performance presenters rank property taxes as their greatest enterprise problem.

Pitts, who consults with cities throughout the nation on music coverage and sound points, was closely concerned within the metropolis’s 2015 music census that was carried out when he was the pinnacle of the Music and Leisure Division. That research was the primary complete evaluation of the financial and cultural challenges going through musicians as the town’s price of dwelling has elevated.

The total findings of the brand new census will likely be introduced in late October to neighborhood organizations that helped conduct it. A sequence of infographics are deliberate for public launch in November to assist unfold the findings extra simply by way of social media.

The fee handed two resolutions associated to the census. One requested the town to current the total knowledge gathered from the a number of alternative questions by way of the town’s digital knowledge portals. The opposite decision requested workers to additionally current the 1000’s of text-based solutions electronically to the general public after Pitts and his crew have scrubbed the responses to guard the anonymity of the respondents.

“I personally assume this type of entry to this info will permit us, organizations and different entities to freely use it, and make use of the information to make choices,” Commissioner Nagavalli Medicharla mentioned.

Commissioner Oren Rosenthal expressed related sentiments, saying the information and feedback may function the idea for in-depth evaluation and analysis by faculties and universities or different organizations within the state of the town’s inventive class. Noting a knowledge level that advised just below 40 % of respondents reported struggling to pay their hire or mortgage every month, Rosenthal requested Pitts to do a geographic evaluation of respondents within the five-county space to see what number of Austin musicians are having cost-of-living points.

“I’d encourage you to check out correlating the 38 % who’re struggling to pay their mortgage with those that have already left and people which can be uncertain they may keep in Austin for the subsequent three years,” he mentioned. “I’m stunned to see it so low and if we wish to make a case that musicians want help in housing that low of a quantity would make it more durable, in order that’s why I wish to dig extra into it.”

The census was carried out freed from cost by Sound Music Cities with assist from native nonprofits and different organizations in addition to music enterprise college students at Austin Neighborhood College.

Pitts and his colleagues are working to create a course of that may ship a worthwhile motion plan to cities all for music economies for lower than $10,000 whole.

“Our purpose is to make this extra inexpensive, so cities can measure this stuff. The worst issues that we see on this work is cities will spend $50,000-$70,000 on a survey, get the outcomes and a 150-page report and that’s it,” he mentioned. “It’s extra about having an motion plan, and the final three or 4 years have taught us the world adjustments shortly for creatives. Extra frequent measurement each two or three years provides you the power to deal with the information units that you really want.”

Picture made obtainable by way of a Creative Commons license.

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