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Music Friendly Communities

Shakey Graves
Texas Music's Shakey Graves performing at SuperBowl Live 2017 in Houston, TX. Photo by Rob Loud.
 

In 2016, Texas Music Office Director Brendon Anthony created the only Music Friendly Community Program in the US, and since then, the TMO’s Music Friendly Community Program has grown into a fully operational network of nearly 40 Certified Communities across the state. As the only standalone State Music Office in the US, the Texas Music Office is proud to be the gold standard for all states and cities across the US who wish to emulate our unique office and programming. Texas is leading the way in working to support the commercial music ecosystem, and we welcome all new partners who are interested in following the TMO’s example.

Becoming a Certified "Music Friendly Community"

Participation in the Texas Music Office's "Music Friendly Community" program provides Texas communities with a network for fostering music industry development, and sends a clear message to industry professionals that certified communities are serious about attracting and developing music industry growth.

Cities that have received the official Music Friendly Communities designation from the Texas Music Office include Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Denton, Lindale, Stephenville, Conroe, San Angelo, Nacogdoches, Abilene, McKinney, Waxahachie, Waco, Alpine, Bastrop, New Braunfels, Victoria, Arlington, Denison, Lubbock, Brenham, Dripping Springs, Round Rock, El Paso, Odessa, Vidor, Grand Prairie, Port Aransas, San Marcos, McAllen, Bryan, Wimberley, Salado, Harker Heights, Edinburg, Selma, and Marshall.

Cities that are currently working through the certification process include: Galveston, Carthage, Granbury, Texarkana, Sherman, Lufkin, Hutto, Grapevine, Rockwall, Kerrville, Frisco, Navasota, Tyler, and Corsicana.

Click the city point on the map below for each Music Friendly Community's official liaison contact info:

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Certification Steps:

  1. Host a Texas Music Office sponsored Music Friendly Community workshop.
  2. Establish a Music Office/Liaison within a division of city government (city office, economic development corporation, CVB/destination tourism office) that will be responsible for monthly reports concerning the progress of local music industry development programs.
  3. Register with the Texas Music Office’s Texas Music Industry Directory. The liaison’s organization also signs a mutually agreed upon Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that creates a working arrangement for the sharing of Music Directory data, and establishes protocols for keeping the directory information up to date.
  4. Demonstration of partnerships with the community's music-related 501c3 nonprofits in order to foster community development.
  5. Collaboration with music education programs, including area college or university music schools.
  6. Create an advisory board made up of local music community industry stakeholders.

Getting Started/Additional Info:

To take the first step in becoming a certified "Music Friendly Community," just click the button below: 

Get started 

Select Media Coverage of the Music Friendly Communities Program