The exterior of the Exit / In music venue in Nashville, Tennessee. Small clubs like this one have been hardest hit by the coronavirus shutdowns. Jason Kempin / Getty Images Hide caption
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Jason Kempin / Getty Images
The exterior of the Exit / In music venue in Nashville, Tennessee. Small clubs like this one have been hardest hit by the coronavirus shutdowns.
Jason Kempin / Getty Images
The long-awaited lifeline for live venues hit by the coronavirus shutdowns is finally here. Owners of small music venues, independent cinemas and some museums can now opt for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant – A $ 16 billion grant program set up and run by the Small Business Administration.
“Concerts, plays, dance performances, film premieres, museum exhibitions – this is the lifeblood of culture and community and is often the anchor for travel, tourism and neighborhood grocery and retail stores,” SBA administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a statement. “The SBA is committed to acting as quickly as possible to provide this important funding effectively and fairly. This will ensure that the organizers, whose revenues are hardest hit by the pandemic, are relieved.”
The program was launched as a result of the bipartisan Save Our Stages law and approved by President Trump as part of the stimulus package signed in December 2020. It allows qualifying venue owners to claim 45 percent of pre-pandemic revenue, up to $ 10 million. The grants will be structured so that companies that have lost 90 percent or more of their income between April and December 2020 will be the first to receive the grant. The SBA expects to start awarding grants later this month.
This week also marks the one-year anniversary of the National Independent Venue Association – a group that formed early in the pandemic to advocate supporting small and independent music venues. Dayne Frank, CEO of NIVA, said in a statement that the opening of the scholarship program was an “incredible relief”.
“While the weight remains on our shoulders until the funds are actually distributed, the light at the end of this tunnel fills me with hope for the future of our industry,” she said.
Music venues and nightclubs were among the first to close their doors last year when the pandemic hit. Lots have closedwhile others remain financially vulnerable be sold. As helpful as the SVOG may be, it is already clear that the network of physical spaces that support it will look very different when live events return in a real way.
