Federal covid relief bill includes 'Save Our Stages' funding for independent music venues, promoters

Independent music venue owners across the U.S. got their first good news in quite some time on Monday with the announcement the $900 billion federal covid-19 relief bill will include $15 billion as part of the Save Our Stages Act.

If it is signed by President Trump — a move the president cast into doubt Tuesday night — it will provide financial assistance to independent venues and promoters, including members of the National Independent Venue Association in Pittsburgh such as Jergel’s in Warrendale, the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks, Mr. Smalls Theatre and others.

“This is truly a godsend that ‘Save Our Stages’ was included in this next stimulus package,” said Drusky Entertainment owner Brian Drusky. “We can’t thank Congress enough, as some venues have closed and some were just hanging onto the last shred of hope, counting their nickels and dimes and maxing out credit cards, to keep their lifelong dream alive.”

In the Pittsburgh area, the Rex Theater on Pittsburgh’s South Side and the AMC movie theater in Delmont closed their doors permanently amid the pandemic. The AMC theater building is slated to become a Busy Beaver home-supply store.

“We are (a) long (way) from recovery, but we can now start to think about what’s next for our industry, now that it looks like we will be able to see the other side,” said Adam Valen of Drusky Entertainment. “We thank the legislature for expanding the PUA extension, which will provide support to all our businesses staff, who have been displaced at no fault of their own.”

The legislation provides critical help to shuttered businesses by providing a grant equal to 45% of gross revenue from 2019, with a cap of $10 million per entity. That money could be used for expenses incurred between March 1 and Dec. 31, including payroll, benefits, rent, utilities, protective equipment, existing loans and other necessary business expenses.

“This is the lifeline our industry so desperately needs to emerge from a devastating year,” said Dayna Frank, owner and CEO of First Avenue Productions in Minnesota and NIVA board president. “Without independent venues and promoters across the country working to engage their communities, staff and artists, our voices would not have been heard. We are thankful for those tireless efforts.”

News of the deal was tempered Tuesday evening, however, when Trump issued video criticizing the deal and asking federal lawmakers to deliver a better one.

pic.twitter.com/v9Rdjz6DNu

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2020

Trump stopped short of saying he would veto the deal. Valen said his industry might not be able to stomach another bump in the road.

“Our industry has waited nearly nine months for any kind of meaningful support,” Valen said. “Our PPP funds ran out almost six months ago, and many businesses have been hemorrhaging cash and even their savings at a frightening rate.”

Valen said every day that passes without funding “is another day we have to hope and pray we can hold on.”

The federal version of “Save Our Stages” has a similar structure to a state version proposed in October by state Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District.

That bill, which proposed a $200 million grant program to provide funding for the same amount — up to 45% of gross 2019 revenue, with a smaller cap of $2 million — has been in the General Assembly’s commerce committee since its introduction.

NIVA officials said U.S. concertgoers sent more than 2 million emails to their elected officials expressing support for the “Save Our Stages” Act.

Pennsylvania is home to 225 independent live music venues that employed more than 10,000 people in 2019 and generated more than $1.3 billion in economic activity, Wheatley said in proposing the state version of “Save Our Stages.”

“Careers came to a standstill overnight, and people continue to face personal hardships, which is why legislation like this and extending pandemic unemployment assistance is essential,” Frank said.

Valen said “we are at a cliff right now facing a massive extinction of an industry. The longer this continues, the closer we come to falling off that cliff.”