Austin Live Music Fund

The Austin Live Music Fund is a municipal grant program administered by the City of Austin through its Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment Department, established to strengthen and sustain the city’s globally recognized music ecosystem. The fund is supported through the Municipal Hotel Occupancy Tax and is designed to promote tourism by investing in music-related activities that attract visitors while supporting local musicians, promoters, and venues. As outlined in the ACME Funding Guidelines, the program aligns with broader city goals of economic development, cultural preservation, and expanding access to arts and music experiences for both residents and tourists. The primary purpose of the Austin Live Music Fund is to encourage, promote, improve, and showcase Austin’s diverse music industry. The program supports a wide range of eligible activities including live and online public events, studio and video production, merchandise development, promotional tours outside of Austin, broadcasting, and marketing campaigns. These activities must be designed to reach visiting or potential tourists and contribute to Austin’s cultural tourism economy. Program goals include increasing tourism, generating revenue for music professionals, supporting job creation in the creative sector, and fostering artist development within the local music community. Funding is available in multiple tiers depending on applicant type. Professional musicians and independent promoters may apply for awards of twenty thousand dollars with a twenty four month grant agreement or five thousand dollars with a twelve month agreement. Live music venues with at least a sixty thousand dollar operating budget may apply for up to seventy thousand dollars with a twelve month agreement. Funds must be used for eligible expenses such as compensation, marketing, production costs, insurance, and rentals, with at least fifty one percent of expenses occurring within Austin or its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Certain costs such as travel, fundraising, and debt repayment are not allowed. Eligibility is restricted to for profit applicants who meet specific definitions for professional musicians, independent promoters, or live music venues. Applicants must demonstrate operational history, provide documentation of activities or financials, and meet geographic requirements tied to the Austin metropolitan area. Nonprofits, government entities, and applicants who do not meet the defined criteria are not eligible. Additional requirements include compliance with city policies, maintaining insurance, and ensuring public accessibility of funded activities. Applications are submitted through an online portal managed by a third party administrator. The process includes application completion, submission of required documentation, eligibility verification, and evaluation based on established scoring criteria. For this program, evaluation relies on documented evidence of music industry accomplishments, marketing outreach, and contributions to the Austin music economy. Applications are reviewed and scored objectively, and awards are determined based on available funding and ranking outcomes. For the current cycle, applications open on July 7, 2026 and close on August 18, 2026. The program operates on an annual cycle, with funding decisions announced after review and verification processes are completed. Awardees must complete grant agreements, submit required reports, and fulfill marketing and tourism promotion obligations. Payments are distributed in installments tied to reporting milestones, and projects typically operate within a twelve or twenty four month performance period depending on award type.

Provide strong documented evidence of accomplishments demonstrate tourism impact align activities with Austin music economy goals and ensure compliance with eligibility definitions