2023: Texas Music Office Year in Review
Greetings and Happy New Year! As we all give thanks for another unprecedented year, the Texas Music Office (TMO) staff and I have recommitted ourselves to assisting our amazing Texas music industry community.
I would like to thank Steve Ray, Chip Adams, Chris Patin, and Jenny Perkins of the TMO staff - and our hardworking 2023 fellowship interns, Emily Hill, Julian Byrne, Nosakhare Aduwa, Margaret Neuberger, and Derya Yilmaz, for all that they have contributed during the past year. I’d also like to thank Governor Greg Abbott and his staff, as well as Adriana Cruz, Executive Director of the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, and her team for their continued support of the TMO and the entire Texas music industry.
Public service during these unique times within the music industry and across the great state of Texas is an absolute honor. Our most important work in 2024 will find us all continuing to assist in growing one of the most influential music ecosystems in the country and world.
At the beginning of 2023, we released our biennial Economic Impact Study after working with Texas economist Jon Hockenyos of TXP Inc. The study showed that by the end of 2022, the music industry in Texas, including music businesses and music education, created nearly 90,000 permanent jobs, with $4.6 billion in annual earnings, and generated over $10.8 billion in annual economic activity, comparable to the results pre-pandemic. The ripple effects associated with the direct injection related to music businesses and music education brought the total impact (including the direct effects) to more than 192,000 permanent jobs, $9.4 billion in earnings and $26.6 billion in annual economic activity. Texas also realized $470 million in tax revenue from these impacts.
On September 1, 2023, the Texas Music Office launched the Texas Music Incubator Rebate Program (TMIR) along with a standalone website and online application portal. The TMIR Program was signed into law by Governor Abbott following the 87th Legislative Session, with $20.2 million in biennium funding then approved in the 88th Legislative Session. The rebate program allows qualifying Texas music venues and festival promoters to receive up to $100,000 in tax rebates on gross receipts and sales taxes on mixed beverages. The first round of applications closed on November 30, 2023; to date, the TMO has received and is processing nearly 300 applications.
The Texas Music Office was instrumental in getting multi-year contracts signed to bring both the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs – Frisco) and the Country Music Television Awards (CMTs – Austin) to Texas. I worked with stakeholders at both organizations, as well as with local, city, and state leaders, to secure their relocation to the Lone Star State, allowing each organization to apply for and receive funding through the Events Trust Fund. I was also proud to welcome a new music label imprint to Austin, Big Loud Texas, a joint venture between Big Loud and Texas musicians Jon Randall and Miranda Lambert.
We continued expansion of the Music Friendly Texas Certified Community Program to foster best practices among music communities, to create a more interconnected music industry, and to grow local jobs in Texas. After months of stakeholder workshops and collaboration with the office, 15 new cities were added to the Music Friendly Texas program in 2023: Amarillo, Clear Lake Shores, College Station, Corpus Christi, Corsicana, Dalhart, Frisco, Granbury, Kerrville, Linden, Lufkin, Marshall, South Padre Island, Sweetwater, and Weatherford. The Music Friendly Texas program grew in 2023 from 38 cities to 53.
With collaboration between communities being a key component of the program, TMO hosted the 5th Annual Texas Sounds & Cities Conference, bringing together Music Friendly Texas Certified Community Liaisons and potential MFT cities from across the state for a day of panels and round table discussions at multiple venues throughout the city of Houston. A huge thank you to all of our partners in Houston for making this year's conference happen, including the Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, The Heights Theater, The Alley Theatre, and more. Another huge thank you to our Music Friendly Texas Certified Community liaisons for continuing to work hard on behalf of their local industries. A more connected Texas music industry is a stronger one, and events like our annual Texas Sounds & Cities Conference are a great tool for helping to bring our cities together.
Throughout this year, I had the pleasure of being a part of some significant conferences and round table discussions surrounding our industry, Music Friendly Texas cities, and concert safety. I spoke to approximately 2,000 individuals at: Music Cities Convention (Huntsville, AL), Americana Music Festival & Conference (Nashville, TN), Music Business Association Conference (Nashville, TN), NOLA MusiCon (New Orleans, LA), Coastal Bend Music Symposium (Corpus Christi, TX), Texas Sounds & Cities (Houston, TX), and the Longhorn Ballroom Ribbon Cutting and Opening Night (Dallas, TX). At the 2023 NIVA (National Independent Venue Alliance) Conference in Washington, D.C., I was honored to accept the Live Entertainment Policy Champion Award on behalf of the TMO from NIVA’s Executive Director, Stephen Parker.
TMO Staff (Chip, Steve, Chris, and Jenny) also represented the TMO at multiple events, including Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival (Nashville, TN), Fort Worth Music Festival and Conference (Fort Worth, TX), Texas Travel Alliance College and Summit (College Station and El Paso, TX), San Antonio Music Artist Forum (San Antonio, TX), STEP (Society of Talent and Entertainment Professionals) Conference (Austin, TX), Bob Wills Day (Turkey, TX), and much more.
Due to these speaking engagements, and the rising visibility of the TMO as the gold standard and only standalone state music office in the country, with the only Music Friendly Community Program, I have been called upon to share the office’s experience with other states and cities, such as Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia, as they use the successful TMO model to create their own state and city music offices.
As part of our outreach strategy for this year, we were fortunate to have partnered with Travel Texas, Kessler Presents, BMI, Mechanical Licensing Collective, Music Managers Forum-US, Sonic Guild Austin, ATX Musicians, Women in Music Austin, and the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association to promote Texas music business opportunities nationwide and internationally at events such as Key West Songwriters Festival (Key West, FL), Newport Folk Festival (Newport, RI), Americanafest (Nashville, TN), South by Southwest/SXSW Sydney (Sydney, AUS), Folk Alliance International (Kansas City, MO), Music Managers Forum-US Summit (Austin), and South by Southwest/SXSW (Austin). We estimate that attendance and reach for all 2023 TMO activations, events, and speaking engagements by all staff was over 20,000.
The TMO continued its digital marketing and communications outreach, including monthly newsletters, website news posts, and social media, which reached more than 1.5 million constituents in 2023. The TMO’s industry directory continued to streamline and grow: at the end of 2023, the TMO had 15,980 confirmed businesses in the Texas Music Industry Directory hosted on the TMO’s website.
Finally, the TMO’s Education & Community Grant Program, funded through the sale of Texas music specialty license plates, continued to provide opportunities for the next generation of Texas musicians: $22 from the purchase of every Texas music specialty license plate goes directly to providing music instruments and lessons to school children in need around the state. In addition, this program partners with non-profit organizations to foster the development of young musicians throughout the state so they can continue the development of their craft, regardless of financial challenges. In FY 2023, our grant program issued $6,000 in grants to underserved communities and well-deserving nonprofits for music programming and music education throughout the state.
I am personally honored to serve in my role as Director of the Texas Music Office, working daily to foster a welcoming environment for job creation and economic growth for Texas music businesses and individuals like yourself. We’ll continue our meaningful dialogue between Texas cities large and small as we never cease to work on improving communication and creating opportunities for industry professionals statewide. I look forward to continuing to support the Texas music industry in 2024 and the opportunities for continuing growth and positive change it affords.
All our best from the Texas Music Office…and Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Brendon Anthony, Director
Texas Music Office, Office of the Governor
**Download our 2023 TMO Impact Infographic Here**
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The Texas Music Office in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism is the only state music office in the nation. Since 1990, TMO has fostered the economic development of Texas music businesses, Texas musicians, and Texas communities. TMO operates an extensive network of certified Music Friendly Texas community partners across the state, serves as a clearinghouse for Texas music industry information, acts as a liaison between music businesses and government offices, publicizes significant industry developments, and attracts essential music industry to the Lone Star State. A vibrant Texas music industry supports local job creation while drawing visitors from around the globe, attracting a talented workforce across industries, and supporting business recruitment and expansion efforts throughout the state.