Music venues have been closed for months now as the coronavirus pandemic continues, and some parts of the music industry could be in big trouble. It was previously suggested that some concert promoters may find themselves out of business, and now it appears that owners of independent venues believe they could face the same fate.
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), whose 2,000 members come from every state, recently published a new survey (as Consequence Of Sound notes). In it, 90 percent of members believe “they will close permanently in a few months without federal funding.”
For this reason, NIVA is asking Congress to alter the Paycheck Protection Program so it better serves independent venues, so they can get money to cover six months’ worth of payroll, benefits, and other costs that still must be paid by these currently non-operational venues.
The survey also notes that opening at partial capacity isn’t a viable solution for independent venues, and they these concert spaces will not recover financially until the country is completely open again: “The ability to open at partial capacity is not economically feasible. Rents, utilities, payroll, taxes, insurance, and artist pay are not on a sliding scale matching the capacity we’re permitted to host. They are fixed costs. Due to the national routing of most tours, our industry will not recover until the entire country is open at 100% capacity. NIVA members need assistance in order to survive until that day.”
Read the full survey here.
