Casey Monahan

Casey Monahan is a music business consultant based in Austin, Texas. Clients include artists, music businesses, governments,  educational institutions and tourists. He was an adjunct professor of Music Business at Austin Community College. Courses he teaches include Music Business 101, College to Career Success, and Artist Management and Booking.

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Prior to opening his consultancy, Monahan served as the founding director of the Texas Music Office, an economic development program in the Office of the Governor. Monahan was hired to open the TMO in January 1990, and served under Texas Governors Clements, Richards, Bush, Perry and Abbott. The TMO was the first government office ever created to promote a state’s music industry.

 

The TMO promotes the talent, products and services of the Texas music industry to the worldwide music industry. Publications Monahan oversaw to that end were 16 annual editions of the Texas Music Industry Directory, as well as the Texas Music Events Calendar, the Texas Music Education Primer, the Texas Talent Register, the Texas Music International Tip Sheet, and the TMO’s EnjoyTexasMusic.com website. When formatted for printing, EnjoyTexasMusic.com is approximately 3,000 pages in length; annually it enjoyed 380,000 unique visitors and more than 1 million page views.    

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Prior to becoming director of the TMO, Monahan was both a music writer and research analyst for the Austin American-Statesman (June 1985 to January 1990). As a music writer, Monahan developed and compiled the daily live music calendar, and wrote more than 400 articles about country, folk, rock & roll and music business. He also photographed for publication more than 400 musical performances. He was named “Best Music Critic” in the 1989 Austin Music Awards.

 

As research analyst in the Marketing Services Department, Monahan researched the Austin economy and AA-S readership, prepared sales tools and analyses for AA-S display and classified advertising staff, and assisted in the publication of the 1986, 1987 and 1988 editions of the Scarborough Austin Market Report, a guide to Austin-area demographics and consumer buying trends.

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Monahan’s articles and/or photographs have appeared in Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Rolling Stone, Music Library Association Notes, the New York Times, Pulse!, Texas Monthly, Southwest Spirit, Third Coast, the Dallas Morning News, and the Austin Chronicle. He compiled and edited lyrical anthologies for two Texas songwriting legends: Harvey “Tex Thomas” Young (Hut’s Hymnal, 1989) and Roky Erickson (Openers II, 1995).

 

Career Highlights:

 

• Co-editor of the Handbook of Texas Music (Texas State Historical Association, 2003).

• Produced Rick Broussard’s CD She Makes The Angels Cry (Dynamic, 1990).

• Co-produced Roky Erickson’s All That May Do My Rhyme (Trance Syndicate, 1995).

• Executive produced Junior Brown’s Guit With It (Curb, 1991).

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• A Dallas native, Monahan, 64, graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1977, and from the University of Texas at Austin in May 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Government.

• Former Board Member of the Texas Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (1994-1998; 2004-2005; 2008-2010; 2013 to 2015), and was an Ex-Officio board member of the Texas Travel Industry Association (2004-2007).

• Served on the board of the Austin Music Foundation (2005-2008).

• Tutor in the Carver Branch Library’s Victory Tutorial Program (1995 to 2010).

• In 2015 Monahan was selected as the inaugural member of the Texas Music Business Hall of Fame, and was the first recipient of the Austin Music Industry Awards “Unsung Hero” award.