City and state music offices are organizing to address national music industry challenges through a new Association of Music Offices, launched in May.
Standard artist pay, ticket scalping, AI, rising insurance premiums and rent are hurdles in every city. But a collaborative national association means cities don’t have to start from scratch. The association serves as a network of public music offices and organizations that collaborate on local initiatives acts as a liaison to federal legislation like the NO FAKES Act.
“Everybody starts with a base of guidelines,” Dallas Music Office Director Kristina Hart said. “You have resources with each other as well.”
Reid Wick, director of the Recording Academy and a leader in the AMO, also works to support city offices on legislation. The association is tracking the NO FAKES Act and TRAIN Act, federal bills that concern AI digital replicas currently being revised.
Southern state and city offices currently make up its membership including the Texas Music Office and Dallas Music Office, but are looking to include more members.
Membership structures are still being built, but collaboration and resources Wick has already facilitated are in motion -- assisting Raleigh, North Carolina, as it builds new music office from the ground up.
“They can start with a statewide task force of stakeholders in the music industry all across the state, and maybe over time build it to the point where they can do something more elaborate, like what Texas Music Office has already done,” Wick said.
Director of Recording Academy Reid Wick and Texas Music Office Director Chip Adams share initiatives of new Association of Music Offices in May 2026. Shunya Carroll
The Texas Music Office initially served as an open database and resources hub for music industry professionals and has since expanded to offer financial relief through the Texas Music Incubator Rebate. The program offers refunds from alcohol sales for venues with a capacity under 3,000 for like recipients Gruene Hall, Antone’s, Paper Tiger and Riley’s Tavern.
Although designed specifically for music offices, the voices of the local music industry are part of the AMO’s muscle. A local music advisory board makes decisions based the voices from the local music industry. Dallas Music Office advises for locals to stay conversation with their music office.
There are 92 current music advisory boards made up of local stakeholders and city leadership that identify needs, guide priorities and support growth.
Both the Dallas and Texas music offices see what other districts are doing and aim to replicate successes and vice versa. Healthcare for music industry professionals is rare but is available in Austin through the nonprofit Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) and the SIMS Foundation.
A similar program, Sound Care was launched for Tarrant county musicians in 2024, followed by Creatives Care in Dallas.
“And that's thanks to cities communicating and sharing ideas,” Director of the Texas Music Office, Chip Adams said. “So I think that to me, looking long term about the power of AMO, not just with policy, but finding solutions that are really in desperate need of fixing, and healthcare was top of that pile.”