For years, Austinites have been the target of the Buckeye State, and I’m not talking college football.
A couple of years ago, billboards popped up in the Austin, Texas, metro area suggesting that Ohio had plenty of cool places to live that were less expensive. Now, the Ohio promotions are in television ads.
And just as the Lone Star State capital’s annual Austin City Limits (ACL) festival hits its midpoint, some Ohio lawmakers want to use state tax dollars to make sure more than just Cleveland rocks.
State Sen. Kent Smith, Democrat from Euclid, Ohio, on Sept. 24 introduced a bill that would create a $10 million fund to support music venues and the creative arts. Eight of Smith’s state senate colleagues, five Democrats and three Republicans, are original cosponsors of S.B. 316. A similar Ohio state house measure is in the works.
The proposed music incubator program would be funded by sales tax collected on alcohol sales at venues of 3,000 people or less. The new fund would be managed by the Ohio Department of Development. Venues could apply for up to $100,000 a year in rebates, with the music program capped at $10 million for each fiscal year.
The proposed $10 million music fund is this weekend’s By the Numbers figure.
Turning up the support volume: "I am proud to stand with the owners of our cherished music venues, my fellow legislator, and arts leaders to unveil a bill that supports our vibrant creative community,” said Smith, in announcing the proposal from, where else, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
“This legislation is designed to sustain and strengthen our local music scene, recognizing its crucial role in enriching our quality of life and boosting our local economy. By investing in these cultural treasures, we affirm that the arts are not just a part of our community – they are the heartbeat of it," Smith added.
The Ohio music initiative was prompted after a survey of Cleveland and the role music plays. The Greater Cleveland Music Census, paid for by a $25,000 grant from The Cleveland Foundation, found that that creatives find the city is a great place to live and work, but they want to develop opportunities for non-touring revenue.
And, oh yeah, the Cleveland music review was done by Sound Music Cities, LLC of Austin, Texas.
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