Austin has no shortage of good musicians, with Grammy-winning residents, sold-out venues and live music on every street. In a city once filled with local artists, opportunities are reserved for those who make it to the top of the charts. 

But what if you’re a bad musician?

Austin is regarded as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” filled with the nation’s biggest headliners, but venues once let college students who knew three chords perform. Those sacred spaces have been pushed out of Austin due to rising costs and changing music culture. In fact, this title could be another contributing factor.

Austin’s music culture should make it easier for ordinary people to perform, not just consume, music. The city should work with local organizers and expand low-stakes open mics and jam sessions where beginners can play without a social media following or a $50 ticket.

“This name of the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’ (sets an) expectation on artists and audiences that you’re going to see ‘headliners,’ and they’re not going to waste their time on anything else beyond that,” music associate professor Charles Carson said. 

As the city changes, so do the economics of making music here. Rising housing costs and the city’s growing cost of living have made it harder for smaller and emerging artists to build a sustainable career. 

“Imagine if you were moving here without any (following or fanbase) yet, and you were just a burgeoning musician who was just trying to figure it out,” Carson said. “There’s not really space for you … unless you’re independently wealthy or you work a full-time job to be able to live in the city.” 

For career musicians, the economic pressures are serious, but the same problem looks different for people with a music hobby. As college students, we can always find live music, but it’s much harder to find a place to casually create music without feeling rejected by a city that’s supposed to embrace amateurs. 

For students especially, the barrier isn’t always talent; often, it’s knowing where to start. 

“(When I was) reaching out to people at UT who were DJs when I was first starting out, … I remember reaching out to (an established DJ) because I wanted to shadow him or … get help understanding the software a little better, but he never got back to me,” economics senior Riya Bodas said. 

Austin isn’t ignoring its musicians. The Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment department distributed over $24 million through cultural funding programs in 2026. There are also existing open mics, student organizations and music venues that give amateurs the chance to perform.

But these programs cannot solve the problem alone. Austin’s music fund primarily supports professional musicians and established venues. To keep its title as the world’s live music capital, the city of Austin must take bigger steps to prioritize smaller artists. Economic breaks given to large businesses might bring economic stability to the city, but inherently decimates the culture the city has become so well known for. 

“(Austin) made certain policy decisions to attract tech companies (and) attract developers,” Carson said. “So how do you get out of a problem that was solved with policy? Well, we can actually enact policy that preserves these spaces. We can give tax breaks to places that are maker spaces or places for people to practice and fail, as opposed to giving tax breaks for billion-dollar multinational corporations.” 

Being a music city should mean more than having famous musicians — it should mean that ordinary people feel comfortable having their share of the music space too. Austin doesn’t need more good musicians; it needs more opportunities for people to be bad again.

Sengupta is an international relations and global studies and Plan II sophomore from Leander, Texas.