2024: Texas Music Office Year in Review

January 22, 2025 | News | Newsletter

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. This marked yet another great year for the Texas Music Office (TMO), and the TMO staff and I are ready to continue our work serving as the voice of the Texas commercial music industry. Looking back at the past twelve 12 months, I am filled with gratitude and pride for what has been a remarkable year for the Texas music community.

First, I must thank the hardworking staff of the TMO - Gini Mascorro, Steve Ray, and Jaclyn Zapata. I would also like to thank our 2024 fellowship interns - Zaina Asad, Lux Bauman, Garrett Guilianelle, Charli Houser, Prisha Mehta, Juliane Smouse, Mia Spidel, and Karsen Wilkerson. 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.

On September 1, 2024, the TMO opened the second round of applications for the Texas Music Incubator Rebate (TMIR) Program. The TMIR Program was signed into law by Governor Abbott following the 87th Legislative Session, with $20.2 million in FY 2024-25 funding approved in the 88th Legislative Session. The rebate program allows qualified Texas music venues and festival promoters to receive up to $100,000 in rebates of the mixed beverage gross receipts taxes or sales taxes attributed to the sale of beer and wine. For FY 2024, the program approved nearly $8.3 million in rebates for 168 venues and festival promoters. These funds were utilized by recipients in many ways, including operational costs, administrative expenses, enhanced marketing, and more. The second round of applications closed on November 30, 2024, and as of now, the TMO has received and is processing 250 applications.

The TMO continued its expansion of the Music Friendly Texas (MFT) Certified Community Program to foster best practices among music communities, create a more interconnected music industry, and grow local jobs in Texas. After months of stakeholder workshops and collaboration with the office, 18 new cities were added to the MFT program in 2024, including: Alvin, Angleton, Belton, Carrollton, Chandler, The Colony, Corinth, Galveston, Glen Rose, Marble Falls, Mexia, Mineral Wells, Mont Belvieu, Navasota, Rockwall, Sugar Land, Temple, and Tyler. The MFT program grew in 2024 from 53 to 71 cities.

With collaboration between communities being a key component of the program, TMO hosted the 6th 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 in Lubbock. A huge thank you to all our partners in Lubbock for making this year's conference happen, including the Lubbock Cultural Arts Foundation, The Cactus Theater, Texas Tech University, and more. Another big thank you to our MFT Certified Community liaisons for continuing to work every day 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.

TMO leadership attended and was invited to speak at multiple music industry conferences throughout the country, including:

• Americana Music Festival & Conference (Nashville, TN)
• Coastal Bend Music Symposium (Corpus Christi)
• Fort Worth Music Festival & Conference (Fort Worth)
• Music Biz Conference (Nashville, TN)
• MusicFest (Steamboat Springs, CO)
• National Independent Venue Association Conference (New Orleans, LA)
• Texas Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus Convention (Austin)
• Texas Sounds & Cities (Lubbock)

Staff also represented the TMO at multiple events, including:

• Arlington Amplified (Arlington)
• Austin City Limits 50th Anniversary television taping (Austin)
• Cheatham Street Block Party (San Marcos)
• Cindy Walker Days (Mexia)
• Corpus Christi Songwriters Festival (Corpus Christi)
• Festival of Texas Fiddling (Blanco)
• HAAM Day (Austin)
• Mariachi Extravaganza 30th Anniversary (San Antonio)
• Music Business Association (Dallas)
• Pollstar Live (Los Angeles, CA)
• Stable Hall's grand opening (San Antonio)
• STEP (Society of Talent and Entertainment Professionals) Conference (Kemah)
• Tejano Music Awards (San Antonio)
• Tejano Takeover's 20th Anniversary (Las Vegas, NV)
• Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival (Nashville, TN)
• Worldwide Music Expo (Manchester, UK)

In 2024, the TMO also partnered with BMI, Kessler Presents, Mechanical Licensing Collective, Music Managers Forum-US, Travel Texas, and the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association to promote Texas music business opportunities nationwide at events such as:

• AmericanaFest (Nashville, TN)
• Folk Alliance International (Kansas City, MO)
• Key West Fest (Key West, FL)
• Music Managers Forum - US Summit (Austin)
• Newport Folk Festival (Newport, RI)
• South by Southwest / SXSW (Austin)

By partnering in these events, we connected with a combined total audience of over 37,000.

Through the ongoing partnership with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and the custom Texas Music License Plate program, the TMO's Music Education & Community Grant Program issued $25,000 in grants in 2024 to underserved communities and well-deserving nonprofits for music programming and music education throughout the state.

This year the TMO will be celebrating our 35th anniversary. As the first and longest-running standalone state music office in the country, it is an honor to serve our constituents throughout our great state. We will continue our work growing one of the most influential music ecosystems in the country and world. Thank you for your continued support of Texas music. Together, we will ensure that Texas remains a beacon for creativity, culture, and economic opportunity.

Sincerely,
Chip Adams, Director
Texas Music Office