NIVA Goes To Washington: Indie Venue Group Writes To Congress Seeking Aid, Guidance


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The newly formed National Independent Venue Association, whose members “are facing an existential crisis” thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, have sent a letter to Washington proposing solutions to the situation facing the live music industry.

“Our passionate and fiercely independent operators are not ones to ask for handouts,” said Dayna Frank, NIVA Board President and owner of First Avenue in Minneapolis. “But because of our unprecedented, tenuous position, for the first time in history, there is legitimate fear for our collective existence.”
The letter was sent to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, House of Representatives Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The PDF of the letter can be viewed HERE.
NIVA, which is made up of more than 800 of the most influential independent music promoters and venues across the U.S., has requested specific funding programs to assist for the duration of the government’s mandatory shutdown, with the goal to enable venues to survive the crisis when the time comes to reopen.  The group says it is estimated that every $1 spent on a ticket at a small venue leads to $12 of economic activity generated within the local communities, leading to a direct annual economic impact of nearly $10 billion to local economies. 
NIVA member venues include 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.; First Avenue in Minneapolis; World Café Live in Philadelphia; Exit/In in Nashville, Chicago Independent Venue League, Pabst Theater Group in Milwaukee, and Red River Cultural District in Austin, Texas, among the hundreds of others. 
NIVA also seeks national guidelines for large gatherings to occur in a safe manner. 
The news comes as U.S. President Trump has begun to give recommendations for a phased reopening, named “Opening Up America Again.” 
The guidelines announced April 17 starts with phase 1, which comes after 14 days of a downward trajectory of documented coronavirus symptoms and cases in a particular region, with hospitals able to “treat all patients without crisis care” and a “robust testing program” in place for healthcare workers. 
From there, a phased reopening can take place, including “Large Venues” such as movie theatres, sporting venues and restaurants operating although while still practicing “strict physical distancing protocols.”  However, during this phase, schools (and bars) “should remain closed.”
As states and regions show no evidence of a rebound and satisfy the gating criteria a second time, phases two and three can be entered, which include opening bars with limited occupancy and social distancing while “large venues” can operate with lessening restrictions. 
The guidelines have led to government leaders in states including Georgia, South Carolina Florida, Tennessee and others announcing limited reopenings in their states or certain counties, as well as club operators and talent buyers first having some kind of idea what and when a reopening could look like.