About Us
Our Values
Community
Music is the heart and soul of Austin. It is an important part of our identity and economy. As the self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital of the World", Austin has a rich musical history that includes such world renowned acts as Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Janis Joplin and Lyle Lovett and is the birthplace of the nationally broadcast television show
Austin City Limits.
Austin is home to over 1,200 recording artists and 1,600 music-related businesses providing more than 16,000 jobs.
1 Each year Austin hosts 66 music events that entertain more than a million attendants.
2 Music adds over $616 million dollars in economic activity and $11 million in tax revenue to the City of Austin each year.
3
The Austin Music Foundation provides a vehicle for uniting and empowering the music community by:
- Building a membership-based non-profit organization to bring together Austin's musicians, music industry professionals, businesses and music fans.
- Offering community seminars to encourage professional development and networking within Austin's music industry.
- Creating a forum for the discussion of industry practices, and the challenges and changes facing music businesses.
1. "State of the Austin-Area Music Industry", Texas Music Office. April 2001. www.governor.state.tx.us/music.
2. "State of the Austin-Area Music Industry", ibid.
3. "The Role of Music in the Austin Economy" by John Hockenyos. Texas Perspectives. September 25, 2001. www.txp.com.
Music
Music is an essential means of communicating the human experience. No other mode of expression fully communicates our emotions or captures our history in the same way. Music allows the individual to connect with society and serves as a placeholder in the events of our lives.
Music is a $40 Billion dollar international business1, yet a recent Rand corporation study found that the median annual wage for musicians and composers in 1998 was only $10,0002. The inability of artists to make a sustaining wage has forced most musicians to work under considerable personal and financial stress, often holding two jobs, living with inadequate housing and without health insurance.
The Austin Music Foundation assists artists in the pursuit of their work in four key areas: community services and life needs, education and mentoring, professional development, and finance. For a description of our programs and services please click here.
1 "Music and the Internet: A Celestial Jukebox" (Industry Report) pg. 18, by Heidi Fitzpatrick and Andrew Hogley. Lehman Brothers, Internet Europe, November 9, 2000.
2 The Performing Arts in a New Era, a Rand Corporation study by McCarthy, Brooks, Lowell, & Zakaras. 2001, Rand. Pg. 42.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development was a term first applied at the UN World Commission on Environment and Development in a 1987 publication titled Our Common Future. In that publication, sustainable development is described as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising future generations ability to meet their own needs." This is also commonly referred to as the Brundtland Definition, after Gro Harlem Brundtland, the then chairwoman of the commission.
Sustainability is about choosing development that strikes a positive balance between three basic areas, often referred to as the Three E's of Sustainability: Economics, Environment, and Equity (Social).
The Austin Music Foundation is committed to incorporating the principles of sustainable development into its programs to ensure:
1. maximum impact of donor dollars and the development of alternative sources of funding for long-term growth,
2. the growth of a strong local music environment that encourages both artistic and economic growth, and
3. a viable non-profit that is reliable, offers equitable services and solutions which economically empower musicians without creating undue reliance or a charity mentality.
The Austin Music Foundation will pursue the goal of sustainability by designing programs (or groups of symbiotic programs) that:
1. have the potential to generate enough revenue to be self-sustaining once mature,
2. are non-competitive and encourage smart economic development of music businesses,
3. are socially equitable.
Related Links:
UN Sustainability Division
Conoco Venn Diagram
sustainabledevelopment.org
sustainablebusiness.com
sustainable.org
