As the effects of the COVID-19 shutdowns continue to make themselves known in many industries, another business is at risk of shutting down. Independently owned and operated music venues across the country, numbering over 2,900 locations in total, have been suffering the effects of the virus and shutdown. These venues have been experiencing a complete shutdown of all business, and a subsequent lack of any revenue for their business. Many are on the brink of not making it through the pandemic, with the fear of going out of business ever present. In spite of this, venue owners are pushing back against this and fighting to stay open through targeted legislation from Congress. To achieve this, venue owners have banded together under the National Independent Venue Association, or NIVA. Aside from legislative appeal, NIVA also hosted a three day long digital music festival as a fundraising event for the venues who are at highest risk of bankruptcy.
The two legislatures that NIVA is placing their support behind are the RESTART act, and the Save our Stages act. The RESTART act would financially support venues both with payroll coverage and loan-based benefits, including loan forgiveness and an extended payback period for any business that’s been forced to close their doors with the pandemic. The Save our Stages act is more specifically focused on music venues, which is a federal grant program to aid the struggling venues in proportion to their losses during the pandemic. While the two bills are still in legislative limbo, NIVA turned to fundraising to cover the costs in the interim.
The fundraising concert, which took place from Oct. 16-18 and was a partnership with YouTube, featured a number of notable artists, including names like Demi Lovato, Foo Fighters, The Lumineers, and others. Instead of having the events be restricted entry or paid tickets, they remain up on YouTube, using the fundraiser feature to collect donations for the association. Of the $5 million goal, the donations currently number around $1.2 million. NIVA is also selling merchandise, including shirts, posters, masks and other products, the proceeds of which are also going towards funding their cause.
Alongside the donations, NIVA also encourages all those who want to help out to participate in writing letters, posting on social media, and as many other ways as possible to get the attention of Congress as a way to bring awareness to the importance of these bills to the independent live venue industry. A letter written by NIVA, signed by over 300 artists has also been sent to Congress in hopes of bringing the two pieces of legislation back into the light.
Of the 2,900 locations that have joined up with NIVA, several are local California venues, from the Blue Room in Napa to SOMO Concerts right here in Rohnert Park. NIVA urges all those who are able to contribute in whatever way they can, reminding the public that “We were the first to close. We will be the last to open.”