www.bizjournals.com
by: Chad Swiatecki
Country star Willie Nelson and up-and-comer Kacey Musgraves are the latest musicians to use the popular White Horse country bar in East Austin as the location for a video shoot.
Nelson and Musgraves booked the bar for a video for Musgraves’ new song “Dime Store Cowgirl” on July 3, one day before the pair played Nelson’s packed July 4 Picnic at Circuit of The Americas, shooting from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.
White Horse co-owner Denis O’Donnell said the bar gets solicited for filming and branded promotional use about once per quarter, with rental rates varying based on the size of the client.
Brands such as Marlboro and Volkswagen wind up paying top dollar, O’Donnell said, since those shoots are typically for well-funded national advertising campaigns but declined to say how much those rentals brought in. Those filming days add more revenue to what is already a healthy bottom line, with the Texas comptroller’s office records showing that in most months the White Horse generates between $170,000 and $200,000 per months in liquor sales.
O’Donnell said he negotiated a $2,000 fee for the Nelson/Musgraves shoot and said for independent and local acts he only charges the hourly pay for bar staff required to keep the business open during filming.
“I think we’re more of a genuine place that seems more cool and natural and some of that comes from Austin not having the monolithic success in country music of a place like Nashville,” O’Donnell said. “We’re not seen as the kingmakers.”
While the business banked some cash for the long shoot day, O’Donnell said as a life-long country fan he realizes the longer-term impact of having Nelson associated with his bar in an upcoming video.
Said O’Donnell, “Willie can take the White Horse brand and do with it whatever he wants.”