To help offset some of the negative effects the pandemic has had on American businesses, the federal government introduced the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a loan program to help keep employees on payrolls. Yesterday, the Small Business Administration shared a list of businesses that took out loans between $150,000 and $10 million through the program, and it turns out indie record labels received millions of dollars.
As Pitchfork notes, J. Cole’s Dreamville Records, ATO Records, Dim Mak, Rostrum, and Cleopatra each received at least $150,000. Meanwhile, Sub Pop Records, Third Man Records, and Knitting Factory Records each got $350,000 or more, and Stones Throw Records received somewhere between $1 million and $2 million. Kanye West’s Yeezy also received between $2 million and $5 million, which helped save 106 jobs.
Also receiving PPP loans were music-related entities like concert venues, the Grammy Museum Foundation, music publishers, vinyl pressing plants, and record stores. Overall, the “Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation” sector received a hair under $8 billion across 118,332 loans, which accounts for 1.53 percent of the money loaned out so far (as of June 30).
This help comes at a time when the music industry could really use it. Concerts and festivals have been shut down left and right, and many concert venues believe they won’t survive the pandemic.
