Year of Austin Music Meeting

Monday night me and Shade went to this meeting because we knew there would be no Hip Hop Representation there. It's funny because all of the rock and jazz artist there complained about the same things that Blacklisted does. There is no hip hop scene in Austin. When we perform at shows, it is usually for free. The only money we make is off CDs and Merch. Most of the crowds we perform for are full of fellow musicians waiting their turn to perform. Here's the article from the meeting: (you can see Da'Shade in the background)



"Some musicians are calling for change in the Austin music scene. They said in the Live Music Capital of the World, many musicians are struggling to survive.
"It's a huge sector of our economic community, and that affects the well-being of every single Austinite. It brings in tourists, it brings people to live here," said concerned citizen Jeff Kehoe.
There's a lot of lip service given to being the Live Music Capital of the World.
"We've created a lot of food on our economic table for Austin, but we don't have a seat at the table," said Troy Dillinger with a group called the Year of Austin Music.
The Year in Austin Music is trying to come up with some solutions. They have a five-part plan to support Austin's music scene, including city recognition, discussion groups to brainstorm solutions and a public awareness campaign.

They want to create a political action committee to get things like financial incentives and tax breaks for musicians.
Education is the final part of the proposal.