AUSTIN (KXAN) — A rally to save live music venues sounded off in front of Austin City Hall on Monday morning.
The non-profit advocacy group Austin Texas Musicians joined forces with the Amplified Sound Coalition to demand a Music Venue Preservation Fund.
Local musicians say they’re concerned that the culture of Austin will be changed forever without this funding.
So they’re now coming forward to make their voices heard.
“I am so heartened to see the support by our community to see people coming together and it’s not just musicians,” said local musician Lauryn Gould. “It’s venue owners, it’s sound engineers, stage managers, bartenders. Everybody who works in this industry is struggling right now and it’s really beautiful to see everybody coming together to support each other.”
The Austin City Council recently voted to find extra relief funding for local music and art venues. Back in July, a survey commissioned by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce found that the majority owners of live music venues, restaurants and bars in Austin believed they could close or be closing by Halloween.
The survey, which polled 1,050 participants, found that 62% of live music venues and 55% of restaurant bars in the Austin area said they could endure for four months (or less) under their current conditions.
The survey also found the live music industry laid off the most full-time employees among these businesses.
One survey respondent said, “I think there’s a real risk of losing 90% of independent music venues in the next few months.”