As tours and shows continued to be postponed and cancelled, and venues continue to struggle amid the Omicron surge, NIVF is reopening its Emergency Relief Fund
After six months and as of June 9 the Small Business Association has only awarded grant money to 90 venues out of the 15,000+ applicants who are ”hanging on by a thread because this funding is not arriving quickly enough.”
”Every single day that passes small businesses are receiving eviction notices, all the while $16 billion has been waiting for them,” National Independent Venue Association board member and communications director Audrey Fix Schaefer says.
”Live events is one of the best prepared, best equipped, most experienced industries in America to manage and control large crowds in a rapid, organized fashion,” a letter to President Biden reads. ”Moving people in, out, and around a public gathering space swiftly and safely is the foundation of our industry.”
The stimulus package officially passed on Monday night, and that means the Save Our Stages Act -- which will provide financial aid to independent venues and promoters -- has passed too.
”We’re thrilled that Congress has heard the call of shuttered independent venues across the country and provided us a crucial lifeline by including the Save Our Stages Act in the COVID-19 Relief Bill,” said Dayna Frank, Owner & CEO, First Avenue Productions and Board President of NIVA.
Broken Social Scene, Khruangbin, The War on Drugs, Andy Shauf, Fruit Bats, Bedouine, Tegan and Sara, Delicate Steve, Molly Sarle, The Shins, Chaos Chaos, Stars, Lucius, Tim Burgess, Patrick Watson, We Were Promised Jetpacks and more have all contributed playlists to Music Runs, a virtual charity run supporting NIVA.
The streams will feature special guest appearances by members of Pennywise, Flogging Molly, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and more, and they'll benefit NIVA member South Bay Customs...