You need to know that our positive organized action over the last 18 months has gotten us a lot of attention, but it has also ruffled some feathers and has some people organizing against us. Others in our Arts Community and in our City Government are threatened by our attempts to gain power as an industry and they're not going lightly. We thought the Neighborhood Groups were against us, and we found out they want to work together, but there's another set of roadblocks we have to overcome.

Many of you have said "The City of Austin can't fix all our problems like the national government is doing for other industries". And you are correct if you feel that way. Regardless, our City government does have to take our industry seriously and work with us the way they work with other industries. There's nothing Socialized about that. It's business in a free market system.

The proposed Music Office would create a working liason between our industry and the City to deal with issues like giving us tax incentives, helping with infrastructure building, parking and permit issues, and noise issues. It's good for our industry and now, even the Neighborhood groups support the idea.

But we've hit a brick wall with our fellow creatives and with our new City Manager, Marc Ott. Arts organizations are seeing our industry as a threat to their financial stability, even though we create much of the money that funds their endeavors through hotel bed taxes and sales taxes. And we're seen as not viable in the City's budget. It's time to demand representation for our taxation.

We have to tell the City that we generate part of this budget that's not big enough for us and that if they want our votes, they're going to have to create a Music Office BEFORE ELECTION DAY on MAY 9th. We also have to break away from the "Cultural Arts" designation we have with the City.

The Fine Arts community doesn't want us standing out on our own. Not because they hate to see us go - it would mean division of funds and attention. What they fail to see is that the Fine Arts are philanthropic in nature and we are an industry which returns a lot of funds to the City's tax base. Simply put; they are non-profit and we are for-profit. That requires a different designation and different consideration. But they currently get almost all of the money and they won't let loose without a fight. Do we want to fund the Fine Arts? Of course we do. But we are starving as an industry while they are thriving. This isn't sharing fairly. We don't have a brand new Long Center, a funded Ballet, Symphony, Galleries, and Theatres. But the hotel bed tax we generate goes to pay for many of these. It's not unreasonable for us to expect say, half of this revenue. We currently can't figure how much we actually get, but it's well under 10% at first glance.

Our new City Manager has given strong indications that he won't create a Music Office, despite all the time and effort we have put in over the last year and a half to participate in the Live Music Task Force and its recommendations. All your trips to City Hall are being pushed aside because of our 2009 budget deficit. The City refuses to make use of our ability to create economic development and help us through this recession. They've basically patted us on the head and dismissed us like patronizing parents. One of Marc Ott's first Council appearances was the day we filled City Hall to support the LMTF's recommendations. He doesn't seem to acknowledge that he's supposed to be working for us and that we have given our support to Council and the Music Office.

Are you outraged yet? You're going to have to stand up on our behalf. We started making noise for a change and now we have to follow through. How?

We have to apply pressure on our City Council. It's election time and we have to get involved. We have to demand action in return for our votes. Which means that you'd better be registered and you'd better vote! There's only a month left to get our message to the candidates.

The current Council has asked Marc Ott to create a Music Office and he is stalling until after the elections. There's no guarantee that the new Council will apply any pressure to the issue after election day. So we have to act now. We asked Council and Council has asked the City Manager. We won't get what we want without applying pressure. It's why there's enough money for new bath houses at Barton Springs, new parking meters, a new $750,000 CoA website - but no Music Office. Others are making sure they get theirs and we have to demand ours and stand up for ourselves.

Otherwise, you can continue working 2 or 3 jobs to pay for all the money you lose making music in the Live Music Capital of the World. You can keep generating $47 million a year in bed taxes and seeing none of it. You can continue having nowhere to park, being afraid of noise ordinances, and you can keep being mad that the City isn't doing its part to earn our City Motto. It's up to YOU.

So what can you do?
Tell everyone you know about how the City is being unresponsive and the Arts community is trying to keep us from separating.
Register and VOTE ON MAY 9th - http://www.traviscountytax.org/pdfs/VoterRegistrationApplicationForm.pdf
Bring 5 friends to the Candidates forum on April 1st and demand that a Music Office be created before election day
Write City Council & the City Manager and tell them that we are not "the Fine Arts" and we want a Music Office before election day!
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/groupemail.htm
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/connect/email_marcott.htm