Pollstar: The National Independent Venue Foundation announced the relaunch of its Emergency Relief Fund today in order to provide economic relief to independent, music and comedy venues, festivals, and promoters across the United States experiencing a severe financial emergency due to circumstances beyond their control.
2 comments:
I think it’s really good that there are organizations dedicated to keeping independent venues open and functional after disaster. I think COVID-19 highlighted how fragile the independent live entertainment business is because even big monopolies suffered through the mandates and lockdowns. Independent venues could not have survived the years long break without some community support. The National Independent Venue association is so important because in order to work in the same environment as massive live entertainment corporations, independent venues need to have each other’s backs. Covid has shown us how central these venues and cultural centers are to local art communities. Independent venues are where artists are nurtured and where true innovation happens outside of the pressures of popular culture. I’m glad that larger promoters and distributors of music helped in this effort to save independent venues because the music world just seems like a very cutthroat place, it could use more kindness. I hope these kinds of organizations become more and more common as arts becomes recognized as the cultural center that it is.
I had not heard of the NIVF or NIVA before reading this article. With that being said, I’m wondering how I have not heard about this considering their contributions and their preventative work thus far. The article raises a good point, that a lot of independent venues and promotors aren’t getting any aid from the government, and if they are it is taking longer than it should. I think this highlights a bigger issue of the government overlooking “arts-based careers”. As the article stated “These venues and Promoters contribute in immeasurable ways to the vibrancy of the nation’s diverse communities and economy,” so there is definitely a need for these people to receive aid in a time like this. It was cool to see all the music-based corporations donating to this relief find, although it should be expected because if venues couldn’t continue to host music events, it could affect these corporations. In the end, it’s so relieving for this organization to exist for all types of disasters so that these venues and promotors can continue to operate to their highest potential.
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