Once a college town attractive to artists on the music scene, Austin has become a hub for tech companies, corporations, and startups over the past few decades. This influx of well-paid workers is contributing to the rising cost of living and pushing out the creative class.
But what if businesses did more to help them stay?
Businesses can support local music in many ways. One route is to sponsor an artist by offering her money, products, or a combination of the two. In return, the artist will be able to represent the company and hopefully raise the profile of the brand.
For Austin hip-hop artist J Soulja, who has worked with brands like Swisher Sweets, sponsorship is the preferred route when it comes to fundraising. He says records are better than dealing with his label.
“I went to several different A&Rs. [artists and repertoire] As a hip-hop artist, when I had a meeting with J Soulja, they said to me, Social media, he said.
Having to establish this and gain popularity can be a realistic check for some artists. Without financial support, how do you get followers? J Soulja thinks sponsorships are like real partnerships. they are more personal.
“You know, sponsorship is a lot more – hey, let’s get to know you. Can we do an interview? What’s your personality?” he said. “In my situation, it’s hard to say for others, but for me, it felt more acceptable.”
Corporate support can also be an investment of money in musicians. PNC Bank does just that.
“We sat and thought: What is authentic for the city? What are the passion points of the people who work for us? To really connect us to the Austin community, we What are we going to do,” said Dylan Knudson, regional president of PNC Bank.
The answer for PNC was simple. To support Austin’s music scene.
Knudson and Hugo Lagarda, the bank’s former director of customer and community relations, were tasked with launching the PNC brand in Austin last year.
Lagarda’s strategy was about the first principle of marketing. It’s about connecting yourself with what people really love and care about.
“And in my opinion, the passion point in music is the strongest point because it’s so easy to tap into,” he said.
Sponsorships are beneficial to both artists and businesses, and were one focus when PNC decided to invest in Austin’s music scene.
“At the end of the day, it was all about musicians. What can we do to help musicians? How can we support musicians? How can we help them with a living wage?” said Lagarda. “So how do we do that? Because we have to be a bank too, right? … People trust us as their financial partner.”
PNC decided to invest in Austin’s music in three ways. First, we provide grants and sponsorship funding to nonprofits that support musicians, including HAAM, Austin Music Foundation and Black Fret.
Second, banks provide musicians with financial education on buying their first home, managing their credit scores, planning small businesses, and more.
Third, PNC provides performance opportunities for Austin musicians. We hire Austin musicians to host events and encourage other organizations to sponsor live music. Also created a residency program at her PNC Plaza for His ACL Live at the Moody Theater. Each month, a different artist participating in the Austin Music Foundation’s Artist Development Program will be able to perform three of his shows at his PNC Plaza before his national tour that evening.
PNC’s main goal was to increase brand awareness in Austin. According to Lagarda, so far it’s had a fair amount of success.
“Last October, a quarter of Austin citizens knew who PNC was. By April, nearly half of the city was aware of the brand. It’s a huge brand awareness growth,” he said. “Yes, I think that’s the mark of music and the point of passion for music.”
Find out more about corporate support for Austin’s music scene in the latest episode of Pause/Play. Listen in the player above.
