[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,86],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6504903,"mediaKeyId","5528701-8bf47ed31946d4fc7b7874563c74a68e","parentId",5528701,"title","ACME funding guidelines near finalization; city staff target September council action and October application opening","audioSeconds",915,"startMs",3210000,"endMs",4125000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5528701-8bf47ed31946d4fc7b7874563c74a68e&start=3210&end=4125","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5528701-8bf47ed31946d4fc7b7874563c74a68e/thumbnail_3210000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6504903/Austin/Travis-County/Texas/ACME-funding-guidelines-near-finalization-city-staff-target-September-council-action-and-October-application-opening","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6504903-af674e2bcf6ea3d5e8c4b8b13096f49f/orig.mp4?Expires=1775173441&Signature=KdOJI2nOkOAN3d1fpG4hMtdhPEMozP~00hwZ2j2qduw48v~5kX8YUrpt24Gr1M2FOS0oik4MlY9X-rg-MlH0iDLugjb-7eRLif7XkPsq-tWGA-ARoz6mQS~BTfKHqAc5K2lbQYwKq1UjmUq8hhyMw97vM5AMoGramBBGYidlFMoxN2XeEpz2X4uQyCzo9qWtztFZwBtf3QcYi9iNC3EEVelZ43dG~qCYNlCQ8n7-WT1BvInVc23d6oqTWJ--dqRn6JRZOHU6PAgFKi9qIT7vJ5tobGKhO17PYhGYzAkpIE7BoRJQcLB-Nj7NU-WJ-aNHW8Sqiie30kP5RRReonWoKg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Austin","date","2025-08-04T00:00:00Z","article","Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) staff told the Music Commission they are finalizing funding program guidelines and intend to post application materials and intake forms ahead of a planned October application opening.

Morgan Messick, assistant director at ACME, said the department has collected community feedback through focus groups, surveys, listening sessions and meetings with commission members and city leadership and is incorporating that input into updated guidelines. Messick described governance and internal review steps and said the draft guidelines had been finalized internally and were in the director’s hands for legal and staff review.

Key changes and program details presented by staff included: an operating-budget eligibility threshold for several programs lowered from $100,000 to $60,000 to align across department programs; a three-tier Live Music Fund structure with professional musicians and independent promoters eligible for awards up to $20,000 and an additional $5,000 funding level for lower awards; separate scoring rubrics (up to 100 points) for applicants and venues and a live music-venue award amount that “still stays at $70,000,” as Messick described it. Staff said the Creative Space Assistance Program will similarly use the $60,000 operating-budget threshold and include bonus points for entities that have not received City of Austin grants in the last five years.

Messick laid out the approval and outreach timeline: intake forms and technical-assistance work with the Long Center and Submittable beginning in August; Arts Commission presentation Aug. 18; return to the Music Commission Sept. 8; Economic Opportunity Committee review Sept. 19; and a request for council action (RCA) targeted for the Sept. 25 City Council meeting. If approved, staff expect to open applications in October for a 4–6 week application period with workshops and technical assistance offered after council approval.

Commissioners asked for access to the full package before making a recommendation and for the scoring questions and rubrics to be posted publicly in advance of the application opening. Messick said the companion questions and scoring rubrics will be part of the package brought to council and that draft questions will be posted for public review ahead of the application window. Staff also said they will coordinate marketing and outreach to maximize community awareness and provide technical assistance through partner organizations.

ACME staff asked commissioners for continued feedback and signaled readiness to return with final documents at the next scheduled commission meetings.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Austin - Music","oneSentenceSummary","ACME staff presented draft changes to grant guidelines, including lowering the venue operating-budget eligibility threshold to $60,000 and clarifying award levels; staff seek Arts Commission review in mid-August and aim for council consideration Sept. 25, with application intake via Submittable and a tentative October opening.","taxTitle","Austin, Travis County, Texas","taxId",2819,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":44,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6504907,"Austin Bergstrom Airport transfers music programming to ACME; staff report staffing fix and plans to expand to 25 weekly shows",1802,1408000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5528701-8bf47ed31946d4fc7b7874563c74a68e&start=1408&end=3210","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5528701-8bf47ed31946d4fc7b7874563c74a68e/thumbnail_1408000.jpg","/articles/6504907/Austin/Travis-County/Texas/Austin-Bergstrom-Airport-transfers-music-programming-to-ACME-staff-report-staffing-fix-and-plans-to-expand-to-25-weekly-shows","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6504907-3e8cbcbf7dade5f4a6f254749356c233/orig.mp4?Expires=1775173441&Signature=fjaPG2VPGewAljkf~S0kHtmbKnYgwt-HnnjVAj~TWjBP~JWp7uyafmJqJhe6N1Wpc~fKcpVEJ0~lWMv5Mw9Sj8e-6nUdEOk9sYqYayEWWO89CVvk-Y1sTY6K8dlvMPVUpEfC2aHN3BJZFZJe~MyvQjMDML0C-Rxsz7KHoKpnVMalYmtiC0SBHXeDPU~GdKhZ4zlLfXssthgqdsxWuCTusC2n~jUHzUvEYWUWKhcQHMsfyf9pIkp12Wtjgcqkn2MXclbeG7VxSisO8aCABwkGOHN4a~mSLBbTO61BZnM1qSu2ztKxSNC-tCbhxcjj~QbYvmxwM4JB0yFxBSxCQT1myg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Airport staff and the Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) told the Music Commission that Austin Bergstrom International Airport’s longstanding live-music program will move into ACME oversight, with staff handling booking, databases and expansion plans.

Ramonica (Ramónica) Carr, Austin Bergstrom International Airport guest services officer, gave a brief history of the program and described recent operational challenges. She said the airport’s live-music program began one month after the terminal opened, has grown to eight stages — “1 main stage that can accommodate a full band, 1 medium stage that can accommodate 4 performers, and 6 stages for solo performers” — and that AUS “hosted 1,351 live music performances featuring over 200 local bands and musicians” in 2024.

Carr said the program paused during the COVID-19 crisis, pivoted to virtual events and then relaunched with safety protocols. In March 2025, staffing disruptions forced four shows to be canceled after two sound engineers left in quick succession; AUS contacted affected musicians, paid shows canceled within seven days in full and contracted a sound engineer on March 26. Carr said AUS has since hired a full-time sound engineer and was securing a temporary engineer to increase capacity. “All performance canceled within 7 days were paid their full performance fee,” she said, and most canceled shows were rescheduled.

ACME staff described the operational transition. Erica Shamley said ACME and airport staff are drafting a memo to clarify roles, schedules, storage, reporting lines and timelines for the transfer. ACME expects to complete the technical transition and information access by October 1: “we think that the transition will be done by October 1.” ACME staff said they must consolidate musician data that currently lives in multiple systems, move booking and intake into a single application, and ensure city staff can view shared calendars and documents across servers.

Staff described near-term programming changes: AUS increased performances from 15 to 20 shows a week and planned to launch 25 weekly shows in August, with performances Monday through Friday and an anticipated 105 shows per month. Commissioners asked for operational details — set lengths, engineer coverage, opportunities for internship or training partnerships with area technical schools, and how residencies versus rotational bookings would affect equity in access. Staff said larger bands typically perform two 50-minute sets on the main stage and that solo performances are shorter; ACME signaled a preference for rotating many musicians through the program rather than locking in long residencies so more artists can benefit from paid airport appearances.

Several commissioners suggested partnering with Austin Community College or other training programs to expand sound-engineering capacity and offer workforce pathways. Commissioners also asked staff to communicate change timelines compassionately to artists who may be affected by the booking-policy changes.

Airport and ACME staff agreed to provide regular updates to the commission during the transition and welcomed ongoing feedback from commissioners and the community.","Airport and ACME staff briefed the Music Commission on the airport’s music program history, recent operational disruptions from staff departures, the hiring of a full-time sound engineer, and a planned transition of booking and programming to the city’s ACME department with an October target and an immediate increase to 25 shows per week.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6504912,"Live Music Fund collections steady; staff report 41 awardees remain noncompliant on reporting",1296,84000,1380000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5528701-8bf47ed31946d4fc7b7874563c74a68e&start=84&end=1380","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5528701-8bf47ed31946d4fc7b7874563c74a68e/thumbnail_84000.jpg","/articles/6504912/Austin/Travis-County/Texas/Live-Music-Fund-collections-steady-staff-report-41-awardees-remain-noncompliant-on-reporting","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6504912-fad12a43873ffad7d10aef723c96a517/orig.mp4?Expires=1775173441&Signature=ktHOFYaqOs~a8SRSVvrTDmy2~qipy7Q9lYxTZO-D-hu6Jl6mvo0-gjwKUn4D2tbCGwzrYToowg-Bxq9MlpH39RQ3Z93892TNnWQ4ujnJP5Zb6C3SDO~d8musBGNSbjo9DkLiYhfphDYzQxIDkfvCeSjKxBR2EN~tiaXdpps5IyfZiS9Oz6q83rDGZJhorD5rSg6dM3p2B7A4j5tWMVa1mSHPF~~Awsd1xyTRcVQ5KwNd~FhAmjJLtZOd1PmVYQ91eGpofA1d6CGmsEJOkZFqvxhN6fMhspzd~46-zYY8L-ZiuK9f7AXF~6UWwVYlDuz8hG0iRTkJ~6auYI~72D6vfQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a Music Commission meeting staff said hotel-occupancy-tax collections for the Austin Live Music Fund were largely unchanged year to date, while grant-reporting problems left dozens of awardees out of compliance.

Kim McCarson, program manager in the Music and Entertainment Division of the Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME), reported that June 2025 collections for the Live Music Fund were $16,485, bringing the year-to-date total to $3,233,024. McCarson said that percent change in the year-to-date total was “about down by about a half percent.”

The reporting problems were the central issue in staff briefings. Erica Shamley, division manager for music and entertainment, said the FY2023 grant round initially had 367 awardees and that “4 awardees forfeited before receiving any funds.” She told commissioners the count of noncompliant awardees had fallen from 56 last month to 41: “the number was 56 last month, and now it's 41 remaining noncompliant awardees.” Shamley said 20 of the 41 had submitted an interim report showing the first payment but had incomplete or no final report; 21 had submitted incomplete or no interim report.

McCarson described the barriers she and staff encountered while following up with grantees: communication gaps when applicants changed email addresses or phone numbers, unfamiliarity with spreadsheets and budget forms, and the operational disruption caused when the city’s in-house application portal was replaced with a mix of spreadsheets and Google Forms. “I am the one who is managing the review of the reports for the Live Music Fund, which would include the interim reports and the final reports,” McCarson said. She summarized common problems as email/phone updates, technology gaps and unfamiliarity with budgeting tools: “those are the 3 big ones that I've noticed.”

Commissioners pressed staff on consequences and on how the city will support grantees. Commissioner Price asked whether technical training or certification (for Submittable or spreadsheet use) would become a requirement; staff said Submittable has built-in technical assistance through a third-party partner and that the new system’s user experience should reduce spreadsheet burdens. Shamley said staff had been discussing sanctions in the guidelines, including a possible multi-year ineligibility, but emphasized uncertainty: “I think that's a question, you know, of what does the city feel like it has to do at that point. If it's flagrant year over year, you know, that's 1 thing.” She said a five-year bar from City funds had been discussed but required review with the city manager and legal departments and that she personally favored “the side of grace” for the program’s first round.

Commissioners voiced a mix of caution and concern. Several commissioners supported continued technical assistance and more teaching resources, while others noted the public money involved and urged mechanisms to protect fiscal accountability. Commissioners asked staff to return with a final accounting of remaining noncompliant awardees and the dollar value involved once the August window for additional submissions closes.

Staff said next steps include continuing individualized outreach (phone, email and texting) to awardees, completing the last compliance reviews after the final submission deadline, and returning to the commission in September with a full accounting of who remains noncompliant and the amount of funds involved. Shamley and McCarson emphasized staff efforts to make future reporting clearer by using Submittable, improving written instructions, and providing more hands-on technical assistance.

Votes at a glance
- Motion: Approve July meeting minutes. Mover: Commissioner Carvalho; Second: Commissioner Price. Outcome: approved (voice vote; tally not specified). (Transcript segment: approval of minutes at start of meeting.)
- Motion: Add listed items (ACME funding recommendation, airport update, bond engagement and Austin Tech item) to the agenda. Mover: Commissioner Silva; Second: Commissioner Carvalho. Outcome: approved (voice vote; tally not specified).
- Motion: Adjourn meeting. Mover: not specified; Second: Commissioner Price. Outcome: approved (voice vote; tally not specified).","City music staff told the Music Commission that June 2025 hotel-occupancy-tax collections for the Live Music Fund were essentially flat year to year but that grant reporting problems left 41 awardees noncompliant, delaying final payments and prompting staff outreach and policy discussions about future eligibility.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

ACME funding guidelines near finalization; city staff target September council action and October application opening

Austin Bergstrom Airport transfers music programming to ACME; staff report staffing fix and plans to expand to 25 weekly shows

Live Music Fund collections steady; staff report 41 awardees remain noncompliant on reporting