INDIE VENUES TO D.C.: #SAVEOURSTAGES

The recently formed National Independent Venue Association has started a campaign to get club- and concert-goers to petition Congress for financial relief while doors are closed during the pandemic.

#SaveOurStages is the NIVA’s online campaign that asks politicians to sign on to the Cornyn/Carper letter in the Senate or the Cleaver/Williams letter in the House that supports federal assistance for independent venues.

The 1,200-member organization notes “if concerts don’t resume in 2020, 90% of independent venues across America will most likely not open again. Ever.”

In their pitch, NIVA notes, a Chicago study estimated that $1 spent at a small venue resulted in $12 of economic activities for neighboring restaurants, hotels and retail shops. “What would our communities look like without them? We must ensure their survival.”

NIVA President Dayna Frank, the owner of First Avenue in Minneapolis, told The New York Times, “Independent venues have no financial backstop. We do not have corporate parents. There are no financial resources we can turn to.”

Since venues are closed and most employees laid off or furloughed, music venues did not qualify for the $2 trillion CARES Act. The Troubadour in West Hollywood, for example, started a GoFundMe campaign specifically to take care of employees.

The group has the lobbying group Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld pitching tax relief and flexible loan programs to D.C. leaders.

To join the fight, go here.