Live Music Fund reforms see improved compliance among local musicians
In contrast to the program’s pilot year, when dozens of musicians failed to complete the required paperwork, city staff informed Music Commission members on Monday that almost all recipients in the current cycle of the city’s Live Music Fund grant program are in compliance with reporting requirements. Staff credited structural adjustments made in response to problems during the first round of funding for the improved fiscal year 2024 performance.
135 recipients of the 136 funds given out for FY24 signed agreements, and all but two finished the financial and orientation paperwork. Although the current cycle allowed for a two-year completion timeframe, as of early July, over 60 percent had received a second payment and over 25 percent had already filed final reports. According to staff, musicians have been able to stay on course thanks to the move away from strict project requirements and toward more flexible funding criteria.
In fiscal year 2023, the city started the Live Music Fund Event Program to use hotel occupancy tax income to directly support local performers and promoters. 367 awards total—41 at $5,000 and 326 at $10,000—were given out in that first round to support particular future initiatives that would be completed over a one-year period. However, by last summer, 56 beneficiaries were still not adhering to the conditions of the grant agreement, either by not submitting final reports or by not answering any of the numerous city outreach requests. Staff estimate that because of inadequate reporting, almost $395,000 in disbursed payments are still unconfirmed.
Representatives from the Office of Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (ACME) described a number of contributing factors to the pilot year’s compliance problems during Monday’s meeting. These included issues with a city-developed web portal that was ultimately forced to be discontinued in the middle of the program, beneficiaries’ inexperience with grants, and logistical or personal difficulties that made reporting more difficult. Staff also said that the grant format, which required applicants to submit a concept with specific requirements, was incompatible with the live music industry’s unpredictability.
According to Kim McCarson, a program manager for the Music and Entertainment Division, who has spent months trying to get in touch with delinquent recipients via phone, email, and text messages, these are individual musicians who may be managing a band, organizing an event for the first time, or recording for the first time. They also don’t have any staff. Holding their hand, guiding them through the process, and doing everything in my power to help them get through it makes me joyful every time. Because we had to switch from the portal system, which wasn’t actually feasible, that was particularly confusing with the 2023 grant.
Awardees who fail to react will be removed from future city funding after a formal three-step notification process that ends with a termination notice. Staff stated that they have not yet decided what enforcement actions, if any, may be taken in situations where reports are never filed and that they are still working to retrieve paperwork from many of the remaining participants.
Commissioners asked for clarification on the duration of outreach and whether reimbursement could be necessary, but they were largely supportive of the staff’s attempts to improve compliance. Others underlined the significance of increasing the visibility of support resources for both those chosen for funding and the larger music community.
The city changed the grant agreements and application process for the current fiscal year in response to the mistakes made by the 2023 cohort. Candidates are now evaluated on their prior work and proven capacity for financial management rather than on their intricate plans for upcoming events. In order to decrease the total number of grantees and provide more one-on-one staff support, the new strategy also featured longer grant terms and larger award values.
The city should keep learning from the pilot program, according to Commission Chair Nagavalli Medicharla, who also noted that a delinquency rate of 15 to 20 percent is typical for a program debut.
Considering the progress made in 2024, we are essentially on schedule and won’t encounter this kind of circumstance again. Although 60 does sound like a really high number, we are now talking about a 15 to 20 percent delinquent status for the pilot year, and that doesn’t seem like a very big amount to me, she added. Additionally, I appreciate that we are extending grace and your support while realizing that, in contrast to those on the creative side, this community is very new to grants.
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