Austin News

Austin’s designation as the “Live Music Capital of the World” may be at risk after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, partly because of the havoc wrought by the crisis, according to an assessment by Patsy Dolan Bouressa, director of the SIMS Foundation.

Bouressa told Austin 360 that local musicians no longer feel the city of Austin supports the music industry and the artists are leaving.

The loss of live music venues, the number of Austin musicians and support from the community have all declined for several years. In 2018, more than 1,000 live music venues existed in the city — more than 46 venues per 100,000 residents. In 2020, the biggest annual event, SXSW, was the first to cancel on account of the pandemic.

Nashville, San Diego, Las Vegas or another city may pick up the title in the near future.

Austin was already dealing with venue capacity losses as beloved neighborhood clubs and legacy venues shut their doors. Other venues also struggled, and many have shut down since the coronavirus outbreak. Bouressa suggests that Austin could lose 70-90% of its live music venues when the dust has settled.

Programs are available to struggling music venues, however. The Austin Creative Space Disaster Relief Program has spent $417,000 on 14 separate venues, while the Austin Small Business Relief Grant spent $377,000 on 20 music venues for a total of $794,000, or more than 60% less than what Nashville intends to spend, according to the Austin Economic Development Department.

Many spaces that closed were mid-sized venues and did not qualify for relief funding — a double blow because many of the venues also employed the musicians in town.