I was wrong about Mosaic collective, turns out they were NOT the Wal-Mart of the Austin Music scene,
HAAM Day is coming you only have 13 days until we’re reminded that in Austin, being a musician is a pre-existing condition
And.. The newest music census has been extended, WONDER WHY?!?!
the answer, WON’T Surprise you.
THIS is AUSTIN MUSIC NEWS
Hello and welcome to Daily Austin Music, I am pastor Colin McDonald
Today’s top story, the Mosaic Sound Collective is losing it’s lease, and winding down operations.
When mosaic first came along in 2017, I called it the Wal-Mart of the music industry.. Turns out i was wrong. It’s Kmart.
Mosaic tried to offer a one stop shop for what they thought every musician needed,
recording studios, rehearsal spaces, backlines, and they even had their eyes on providing affordable housing.
Short of selling health insurance and used cars, they aimed to have musicians, save money and live better as Wal-Mart’s slogan goes, but as they’re five year lease ran out in 2021, they limped along on a month to month lease until now and could soon not even be able to use Kmart’s slogan, “We still exist”
As it Turns out you can’t tune a fish, and musicians don’t pay rent.
Stuff like this will never work as long as you base your revenue model off what musicians can pay
instead of what you can make off what they create.
So, was Mosaic a nonprofit or just not profitable?
According to the Austin Chronicle:
The project, which had always been intended to be at least partially operated as a nonprofit organization, had in 2016 arranged a five-year lease/purchase agreement – …[They] had been supportive and hopeful some of the $12 million approved by voters in 2018 to secure creative spaces in the city would be headed to Mosaic and give the group the money it needed to take over the property and partner with surrounding property owners in building affordable housing intended for creatives.” – Austin Chronicle
sounds like an Austin non profit to me!
But don’t worry, if mosaic doesn’t find a new place to rent,
I know for a fact there is at least two more copycat models with high hopes of building an extremely similar “music hub”
Because if at first you don’t succeed, let’s just build another Hindenburg!
Maybe the market just isn’t ready for a centralized music hub in one of the most sprawled out,
public transportation wasteland cities in Texas.
Maybe the musicians just aren’t hungry enough to buy more and spend less for services they can find all over the city/
Maybe, just maybe, what works in Chicago or Portland won’t work here,
maybe, just maybe, the Austin music ‘industry’ is just a homogenous mirror of the tech world that’s taken over the city.
A bunch of small companies that up close look like a mosaic of beautifully unique puzzle pieces,
but when you zoom out, there’s only 2 or 3 parent companies that are hedging their bets,
profiting from real estate investments, and short selling the creative community…
you know, maybe.
In other news, the musicians that these box store music hubs are relying on for revenue
are about to hit the street to beg for health care in just 2 weeks.
That’s right, HAAM day is coming.
On September 13th, you’ll be able to see live music in more places than during sxsw!
Musicians everywhere, in the bank, at jiffy lube, and even the airport bathroom –
Would you like to hear number one or number two?
Welcome to Austin, where being a musician is a pre-existing condition
where you have to Busk for birth control or bypass surgery,
Where’s that sad puppy Sara McLaughlin video when you need it?
With just 2$ a day, you can sponsor a degenerate Austin musician,
and feel great when you miss ALL their shows.
come one come all, come help enable the musicians that make the music you ignore!
But seriously, is HAAM good?
Does a bear like bacon? – sure, but it isn’t the best diet..
that bear needs an economy that encourages tourists to abandon their picnic baskets
and avoid paying ticket surcharges to get into our national parks.
moving on to the “Greater Austin Music census”
According to KXAN
Sound Music Cities said the 2022 Greater Austin Area Music Census will be extended until Sept. 9 instead of Aug. 15.
It said Sunday night the number of daily responses to the survey was picking up.
is this Census reboot a roll call or a liability list?
Join the cause? or a way to claim your identity as a dependent of the city gov’t
local musicians don’t only allow Austin to claim the “live music capitol of the world’
but they also create buckets for property taxes!
Who’s promoting this? well, a bunch of non profits that regularly enter the grant giving sweepstakes sponsored by tax write offs and organizations desperate to be associated with the ‘creative culture’ Austin has been overmining since, well, forever.
Collectively the “Wolf” to Austin’s little red riding hood.
Why, what a big area you are including as Austin grandma!
all the better to count you as dependants my dear!
Why, what inciteful questions you ask!
All the better to manipulate you my dear!
Why, what few questions about income you have!
all the better to … just ignore that, I’m sure you have other jobs, or a spouse in the medical field right?
Please, fill this out so we know how to exploit you better
But don’t worry, we all know how this tale ends, little red riding hood finds a music hub to save her,
and affordable housing to shelter her all provided by her 10% take of the bar on Saturday nights… right?
Where’s the music FAN survey?
how about we hear from the people that SHOULD be financially supporting the music community
instead of feeding the big bad wolf of corporate grant giving tax write offs that act like welfare for creatives
Let’s ask the music FANS what they want,
find out if they prefer supporting artists that are supporting themselves, or artists that are subsidized by city taxes
let’s find out if they want musicians to earn a living wage, or just qualify for one
Alright that’s it for Austin Music News,
Thank you so much for watching,
do more better faster
I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
I’ll see you tomorrow.