Somebody Someone

June 1, 2025

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Harmony in the Hustle: Austin Musician’s Vision for Collective Empowerment

One priority set at the last AFM Convention was working to better support efforts to organize independent (freelance) musicians at the local level. One place where the indie musician scene is flourishing is Austin, Texas, under the jurisdiction of Local 433. But what is it really like for indie musicians trying to earn a living in the Live Music Capital of the World?

We spoke with Austin freelance musician Aubrey Hays, a member of Local 433, whose preferred moniker is Somebody Someone and pronouns they/them. They described their career trajectory so far and today’s Austin music scene: the good, the bad, and the challenging aspects of the indie music world.

Somebody Someone grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi, where they were exposed to the arts and performing from a young age. Remarkably, they began writing songs at age 7 and performed in a family band that played weddings and festivals. However, back then, they never really thought about songwriting and music as a career.

They were also a theater kid, and after high school, they went to Vassar College to study drama. “I was midway through my senior year at college when I realized the practical applications of what being an actor would be like as a career, and I was not super into the idea,” Somebody Someone says. “I joined the songwriting circle during my senior year and started getting back into songwriting.” 

Landing in Austin

Following graduation, they got a job with a tech startup in Austin. “I really hated it and quit after about four months,” says Somebody Someone. While the job didn’t click with them, the city of Austin and its music scene, did.

“It’s a really supportive community,” they say. “New York and L.A.—those communities are great, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something about the Austin music community, it’s more artist focused than industry focused—and I think that has pros and cons, depending on how you look at it.

“It’s ultra-resourced; we have 100-plus music nonprofits based in Austin, including HAAM—Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, SIMS Foundation—a mental health care fund for musicians and music industry workers, and artist development programs.”

“Plus, there are people that go to shows five nights out of the week,” they added. “It’s a hippie dippy town full of beautiful people that love making and consuming music. I don’t know of another scene like it.”

“I started driving for Uber and Lyft and going to open mics,” they say. “I just kept writing songs, performing, and trying to get gigs. Luckily, Austin has about a billion music venues that you can book.” That was in 2015.

“Then, things kind of spiraled and I started to realize, oh, I could actually kind of make this a career,” they say. They were featured on an NPR list for the Tiny Desk contest. The hosts at NPR loved their song, which was a little bluesy guitar number. “I got better gigs in Austin and things kind of blossomed from there,” they say.

Doing It All

Starting out in Austin as an indie musician meant learning how to do everything. “I’ve learned a lot of soft skills, taught myself digital marketing. I think it’s important to know how to run a band but also all the ins and outs of the business. Some of the people I really admire career wise, like Dolly Parton [of Local 257 (Nashville, TN)], are excellent song crafters but they are also very effective businesspeople,” says Somebody Someone.

“I’m still wearing 90% of the hats,” they laugh. “I’m in the early stages of building a team and slowly getting other people to plug in areas where I feel less competent. I now have a manager, and the next thing is a booking agent.”

In addition to successfully managing the business side of the industry, Somebody Someone is also a multifaceted musician. They perform equally well on piano and guitar, and also experiment with other instruments: harp, flute, penny whistle, mountain dulcimer, and bass, to name just a few.

This comes in handy with composing, Somebody Someone explains. “I’m a big believer that if you are stuck, or feeling like you just want to breathe new life into something, picking up an instrument you’re not as good at can reduce the parameters and help you get more interesting results.”

They write all the time—on their notes app, receipts, whatever is handy, and every tune seems to come from a different place. “I don’t have a solid process—there’s not just one way to write. Sometimes it starts with a lyrical phrase or a poem that I turn into a song. Sometimes it’s just a hooky melody line. If I’m working in a collaborative environment, sometimes it’s something beautiful that another musician has come up with,” they say.

Transition to Resilience

One thing that is clear from listening to Somebody Someone’s songs is that they are deeply personal and authentic. “Each song kind of encapsulates a moment in time,” they say. For them, the transition to nonbinary coincided with a time of personal healing. Earlier in their career some of their songs dealt with feelings of hurt and vulnerability, Somebody Someone explains. “I still appreciate those songs, but there was a need to put them away for a while so I could stop living in that place.”

“‘Better,’ my first single under the name Somebody Someone, was really a huge milestone for me,” they say. “I am so much more in control of my response, my reactions, and my path forward. 

“In your mid-20s you’re kind of bemoaning all this stuff that happened that maybe you feel was unfair,” says Somebody Someone. “This is the resilience of the human spirit, moving forward and remembering that you have value even in the times when you felt like you didn’t.”

“I’ve always been really compassionate toward other people but not always toward myself, so I’m speaking from this place that really acknowledges the value of being compassionate to yourself and standing up for yourself.”

That resilience and hopefulness is something they wish to relay to listeners. “I hope people feel like they can connect the songs to something inside themselves that might have been difficult,” they say.

Somebody Someone says this often happens through the magic of a live performance. “The reason I got into making music was to connect with other people. When I share my songs in a live setting and somebody comes up and says I touched them and what it made them think of, it’s fascinating. Art has the ability to amalgamate a feeling for oneself and then for anybody who consumes that art going forward. Obviously, it has its own meaning for me, but once you share it with somebody else, it becomes this whole other thing.”

For example, they explain, people often view “Better” as a breakup song. “It kind of is, but for me, it’s breaking up with an old identity and embracing a new one and letting go of people who can’t accept that,” they say. 

Value of Unions

For all the positives in the Austin music industry it’s still not easy for indie musicians to earn a living wage. 

“I have a day job, I run my music business, and then I have all sorts of other odd jobs that I do just to be able to afford to produce, record my music, and advertise it. I’m 32 and it’s taken me up until now to even have enough equipment to produce demos from my house,” says Somebody Someone. 

With companies like C3 Presents and Live Nation controlling hundreds of venues across the country, it is getting harder for indie musicians to negotiate fair deals. For example, the venues now routinely take 20% of all merch sales.

“I hear a lot of people talking about the same things and I think, how can we work together collectively?” they say.

They first discovered Local 433 during the pandemic, while they were working for a workforce development nonprofit based in Chicago. They saw how unions empowered workers in the trades and thought, what about the musicians union? That’s when Somebody Someone discovered AFM Local 433 in Austin.

Since joining about three years ago, Somebody Someone has given a lot of thought to being a union member and how they hope to help improve working conditions for indie musicians in Austin. They’ve been active with the local’s Freelance Organizing Committee, which is focused on building a strong group where musicians feel safe to share information about their work and employers—and with an aim to increase contract use and improve negotiating skills.

A big priority is boosting union membership and visibility in the freelance space. Somebody Someone has helped the union connect with other advocacy groups to find common issues and work toward collaborative solutions. 

“I always want to get involved and help where I can. I see myself as a connector, I’ve always been that way,” they say.

The committee has already marked some significant accomplishments:

• Support of recommendations made to Austin City Council by the Parks and Recreation Board and Music Commission for fair pay at South by Southwest (SXSW) in 2023 and 2024.
• Creating an annual Labor Day celebration concert in Round Rock, Texas, in conjunction with the local’s Concert Committee and City of Round Rock, cosponsored by the Music Performance Trust Fund.
• Creation of City of Austin Live Music Fund subsidized by Hotel Occupancy Tax.
• Annual leafleting campaigns to inform musicians of their rights at SXSW.

With increased freelance membership the local has seen greater use of contracts by indie musicians. “Using recording contracts, whether on a commercial project or just something you’re doing with friends, is the best way to state your intent and ensure everybody is in agreement,” Somebody Someone says. 

Looking to the future, they hope that more indie musicians will work together to improve the music industry in Austin and around the world. “I think by design the music industry builds silos, but a siloed and divided music industry only serves those at the top,” they say. It will be up to Austin musicians and Local 433 to unite, organize, and empower themselves to improve working conditions.

Somebody Someone has a busy summer planned. A new single, “The Light,” is scheduled for release this month and they have gigs booked in New York City, Los Angeles, Nashville, and of course, Austin.

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