A Policy You Should All Know About
sharing a best practice that should be implemented everywhere.
As part of developing the Center for Music Ecosystems website, we have been compiling reports to showcase best practices worldwide where music - and the broader creative economy - are being incorporated into urban planning, practice, and regulation (it’s here). Given that my Substack is focused on exploring how we can improve the places we live, I wanted to do the same here - periodically showcase a policy, practice, or initiative that is making a difference in how music and culture are governed in place. As I am just coming off the back of a month of touring my book (there will be more posts about learnings from the tour as a whole in the coming weeks), I wanted to showcase one particular policy today that I feel, at least in North America, could be replicated in every state, province, city, and region. This is the Texas Music Incubator Rebate Program, led by the state-funded Texas Music Office.
What is It
Established as a support tool for recovery from the impact of the pandemic (which continues to be felt everywhere), the program provides a rebate of up to $100,000 in sales and liquor tax incurred by a music venue or festival that hosts - and prioritizes - live music. $20.2m was made available to fund the program.
Why Does It Matter
From the United Kingdom to Australia, Canada, and, of course, the United States (and loads more places, I’m sure), small to medium-sized music venues are - in many places - struggling to remain solvent. Costs for all commercial businesses, from energy to staffing, deliveries to rent, have increased, which has led to increased calls for model ways to invest in the sector, be it through an increased ticket levy (as is done in France and being advocated for in the UK) or a reduction in sales or value-added tax (VAT). For example, some venues are deprioritizing music, preferring to focus on increasing their food and beverage operations because it can be more cost-effective. It is also true that most of the profits in a small-to-medium-sized music venue are made at the bar. As a result, music is often inextricably linked to alcohol and liquor sales because, in some circumstances, one can’t happen without the other (which is itself a big challenge that I will tackle in future posts because alcohol and liquor regulations governing if and how one can host live music also impedes venues). Here, the venue or festival must pay the tax regardless of whether music is involved. Therefore, creating such an incentive - not specifically about the music but focused on protecting and preserving it by incentivizing something else - is clever.
The rebate is also only available to venues under 3000 capacity and festivals under 100,000 capacity, which earmarks the support more towards the grassroots and away from those who may not require it as much.
Why Is This Important
This is not a direct grant; money has to be spent for it to be rebated, and in many cases, again, the money will be spent anyway (should the bar or venue open and sell alcohol). At the same time, alcohol and liquor taxes are often burdensome expenses. I’d argue this is justifiable to mitigate the harmful impacts of it. Still, this surgical approach - focusing on live music venues and festivals and defining what they are - is a statement. These are not wet-led venues that only care about selling alcohol. These are music venues with cultural and community benefits, which should be rewarded.
This is the first year of the program. Hats off to the Director of the Texas Music Office, Brandon Anthony, and his team for lobbying for and creating the rebate program. This is a model that could be replicated everywhere and should be celebrated.
Other Things To Share:
I want to highlight a new book by Global Citizen’s policy chief (and fellow Subtack writer) Mick Sheldrick (writer of
). It’s called From Ideas to Impact. I look forward to reading it.If you want to dig deeper into how music venues can be or are being reimagined, I’d recommend this report by
at Wavelength in Toronto. Reimagining Music Venues is a thoughtful, well-researched, and engaging deep dive into what music venues are, can be, and should be viewed by governments.I also want to highlight this terrific report from the Reset Network (led by Arty Farty, a very cool promoter/arts collective in Lyon, France) looking at how to reimagine the culture and media sector across the continent.
I wrote a blog for the UN Development Program, which chronicles the Center for Music Ecosystems's work with them over the past few years. This post has been a long time coming.
And Finally:
Over the next weeks and months, I will bring back the Agents of Change series, where I profile folks we all need to know more about. If you want to be featured or nominate someone, please leave a comment below.
I also want to thank all the paid subscribers of this Substack. So far, we’ve raised over $700 USD, which has gone directly to the Center for Music Ecosystems. It all helps, so thank you.