How Monitors spend their free time, revealed

Occasionally we here at the Austin Monitor get to put down the notebook and keyboard and play expert for an hour or so. Make that expert/referee, sometimes, since on Tuesday I moderated a panel assembled by the city of Austin’s Music and Entertainment Division that looked at the pros and cons of a pair of city policies that will affect the local live music scene: the so-called “agent of change” policy and a proposed entertainment license required of all music venues in Austin. This is an issue I’ve been covering closely for the Monitor, along with other policies and pressures that are making life tough for venue operators and the musicians playing for them. With guests Kim Levinson (vice president of Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association), composer and Music Commissioner Graham Reynolds, and venue co-owner Will Bridges, we spent an hour looking at the new rules from the view of music enthusiasts and wonks alike. You can watch the session here and participate in a series of upcoming presentations on the issues scheduled to take place throughout May.