SUPPORTING AUSTIN’S CREATIVE CLASS

The Film Community’s Most Active Champion

“I’m supporting Brewster because he’s got a vision and he loves Austin for all the weird and wonderful aspects that make it Austin….and because I know him and think he is authentic and will follow through with promises/ideas and the aforementioned vision.” Sara Hickman, Singer Songwriter

Brewster McCracken on the importance of Austin’s Creative
Class

Austin possesses a rare asset among American cities: A rich, vibrant and prolific music scene. In fact, it is one of our single most recognized assets around the globe; our music culture is a large part of what makes our city so special. As a fiction writer and guitar enthusiast myself, I appreciate the importance of our artists, managers, booking agents, venue operators, studio engineers and other music industry professionals, all of whom make a living in our city.

However, musicians are leaving the city of Austin because we don’t have the infrastructure to support their careers. Other cities like LA and Nashville are enjoying the fruits of our local talent. This is unacceptable. We must create an infrastructure that truly makes Austin ‘The Live Music Capitol of the World’ where our artists can live and flourish. The good news is that we have many of the assets in place - talent, recording studios, digital media specialists, our own TV network, a tech-savvy community of entrepreneurs and much more. All we need is leadership and vision to pull this together. As Austin’s next mayor, I promise that I will do everything in my power to ensure that Austin’s music scene not only survives in years to come, but that it thrives as well.

I support the creation of a Music Department at City Hall.

As the Live Music Task Force recommended several months ago, we need a Music Department within city government that will operate as a standalone voice for promoting the growth our music community.With the creation of a specialized office at City Hall entirely focused on music issues, we will finally ensure that Austin’s music community has an official voice in municipal government. Additionally, the establishment of a city Music Department will act as the first step in developing a stronger infrastructure for Austin’s music economy. If elected, I will help ensure that this office is established and supported.

Musicians and Venues

Ensuring that local musicians can make a living from their art is central to a healthy music economy. If we’re going to build a stronger music industry in Austin, then our artists need all the support that we can give them. This means,among many other things, working with local organizations to ensure affordable housing and affordable health care for local musicians. In particular, I have proposed the Endowment for Opportunity, which is based on funds created by California’s Stem Cell bonds and Dell, Inc.’s commitment to investing in people in emerging countries. This endowment could fund public investments in health care, affordable housing, open space acquisition and other public interest areas prioritized by the community.

In addition, our venues — the cubicles where musicians work — need to be supported as they adapt to our growing downtown environment. This means creating smart solutions for long term sustainable growth of our existing venues while providing a path for new venues to enter the marketplace to enhance our existing industry. These are all important issues that the Music Department will be asked to address and that I plan to work to support.

Below you’ll find a partial list of specific efforts that I’ve made in the past to support Austin’s music community:

  • I proposed exempting SXSW events and venues from the sound ordinance.
  • I sponsored the successful proposition for free loading and unloading at clubs for bands.
  • I have put forth a proposal to turn the original site of the Armadillo World Headquarters into a center for Austin’s independent music scene that could include recording space, housing for musicians, music venue, a café and be a tourist draw (museum, gift shop, etc.).
  • I am working on a plan with music, film, and entertainment leaders to improve ME TV’s capability as an asset for promoting and distributing the Austin music scene to a global audience using the successful model that we adopted for Austin Studios.
  • When members of Ozomatli were arrested during 2004’s SXSW Conference for bringing their show out of a club and on to 6th street as a City Council Member, I spoke out on their behalf and invited them to come back and play at City Hall.

“I’ve been watching this mayoral election very carefully for the last couple months and after scrutinizing both campaigns, my path is very clear – I‘ve pledged my total support to Brewster.” Tim League; Owner & Founder Alamo Drafthouse