Ovation TV Donates $5,000 to NYC's Birdland Jazz Club As the Iconic Venue Faces Permanent Closure

Ovation TV announced today a generous $5,000 contribution to a GoFundMe campaign to save Birdland Jazz Club, a historic New York City music venue, from permanent closure.

Birdland Jazz Club, which first opened its doors in 1949, announced on January 2nd that it was at risk of shuttering permanently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which it has been unable to host a single performance. Known as "The Jazz Corner of the World," Birdland is hoping to raise enough to cover the debt it's incurred and survive to welcome audiences again when it is safe to do so.

"Birdland Jazz Club is one of countless arts institutions nationwide that are facing permanent closure as the pandemic and economic crisis rage on. We are grateful for the opportunity to help keep this iconic venue alive, which has hosted legends of the Jazz world on its stage going back to the 1940s," said Charles Segars, CEO of Ovation TV. "To ensure institutions like Birdland can survive for years to come, the industry needs massive relief now as well as long-term investment. Congress and the incoming Biden Administration must prioritize the arts now more than ever, protecting the artists, workers, organizations and businesses that, through song, dance, theatre and more help to unite and heal us."

Ovation TV's donation comes amid its national Stand For The Arts campaign, which is organizing hundreds of arts organizations and workers nationwide to call on Congress for $44 billion in pandemic relief funding, proportionate to the $878 billion the arts contribute annually, as well as an extension on enhanced unemployment and the creation of a Cabinet-level Secretary of Arts & Culture.