Texas Music Office - History

History

By creating the Texas Music Commission (TMC) in 1985, the 70th session of the Texas Legislature identified music as an industry in need of state government recognition and assistance. The TMC was a nine-member advisory board appointed by the Governor Mark White that held hearings for and issued annual reports to the Legislature. Its primary advocate was House Speaker Gib Lewis, whose staff, notably Bekki Lammert, handled the support for the volunteer Commission's nine members. This was the first law passed by a state legislature in the United States creating an office promoting commercial music business.

The Austin Music Industry Council initiated and the Texas Legislature in 1987 appropriated $25,000 to the new Texas Department of Commerce (TDC) to further research the music industry and to determine the best way for a state entity to assist music business development. In 1988 TDC partially funded Texas' first Group Stand at MIDEM, at that time the world's largest music business convention, consisting of various Texas music businesses presenting their music at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.

The TMC recommended the creation of a staffed office in the Executive branch promoting music business as a sister office to the Texas Film Commission (TFC). As part of the TDC budget, the Texas Legislature passed a new law that stated, "(a) The office shall promote the development of the music industry in the state by informing members of that industry and the public about the resources available in the state for music production."

In September 1989, the TFC appropriated $39,000 for music and posted a job notice for the first director of the TMO. TFC Director Joseph Dial and Deputy Director Tom Copeland selected Casey Monahan, a music journalist with the Austin American-Statesman since 1985. The TMO officially opened January 20, 1990 during the administration of Texas Governor William P. Clements. During its first year the TMO interviewed more than 1,000 music businesses and compiled Texas' first Business Referral Network for music.

In January 1991, Ann Richards was sworn in as Texas Governor. One of her first legislative requests was to move the TMO and the TFC from the Texas Department of Commerce to the Office of the Governor. Richards' longtime personal interest in Texas music and film greatly raised the public profile of both industries, and bringing these two programs into the Governor's Office institutionalized music and film as key parts of Texas' future economic growth plans. Other Richards music milestones include publishing the first Texas Music Industry Directory (1991), and her "Welcome to Texas" speech to the opening-day registrants of the 1993 South By Southwest conference.