NY Indie Venues Form Association, Launch Congressional Pressure Campaign To #SaveOurStages

Over 150 Independent venues in New York City have come together to form the New York Independent Venue Association (NYIVA) in affiliation with the newly formed National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). Today, August 4th, they are calling for a day of action to seek support for our current very pressing issues.

Without an influx of federal funding 90% of independent music venues across the nation will collapse before congress reconvenes in the fall. This includes iconic New York venues such as The Bitter End, City Winery, NUBLU, Nuyorkian Poets Cafe, Good Room, Bowery Ballroom, Baby's Alright, The Knitting Factory and more.

The venues are asking for congresspeople and our community to support two bills that could save our industry: Save Our Stages Act and Restart Act, two bills that have been introduced and can ensure the survival of independent venues across the nation. The Save Our Stages Act also impacts Broadway.

Music venues were the first to close and we will be the last to re-open. Most venues are at risk of going out of business if nothing is done.

• On average, a venue will need $300,000 to sustain itself if they are to remain closed until 2021. ( $60 million for the industry in aggregate)

• On average, a NY venue already has $150,000 their landlord could claim in arrears and more than 80% of venues have no definitive arrangement with their landlords.

• Live streaming has yet to become a viable source of revenue. The average NY venue's monthly profit from F&B, live streams, and merchandise comes out to $375 (after labor and cost of goods).

We are disastrously close to losing NY's cultural lifeblood. Nationally, over 1.5 million live music lovers have written letters to their elected officials via SaveOurStages.com, but it's not enough. Our voices are powerful and we must ensure our elected officials realize that no action will result in the forfeiture of NY's cultural identity.

If you have questions or would like to speak further about this, please contact NYIVA Co-chairs: Jen Lyon jen@meanredproductions.com (Founder of MeanRed Productions) or Justin Kantor justin@nivassoc.org (Co-founder/Managing Member of Le Poisson Rouge, Co-Founder/VP of NIVA)