U.S. senators John Cornyn (TX) and Amy Klobuchar (MN) announced a new bill today, aiming to give relief to indepedent music and entertainment venues that have been unable to open due to the restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “Save Our Stages Act” would provide six months of financial support to help “keep venues afloat, pay employees and preserve a critical economic sector for communities across America.”
As for the nitty-gritty details, Rolling Stone reports:
The “Save Our Stages” act would ensure that relief funds only go to small, independent venue operators, promoters and talent reps. The grant amounts would be the lesser of either 45% of a business’ operation costs from 2019 or $12 million. Those that receive grants would be able to use the money to cover costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as pay for rent, utilities, mortgages, personal protective equipment, maintenance, administrative costs, taxes, and expenses that would allow venues to meet local and federal social distancing guidelines.
The “Save Our Stages” act would also leave open the possibility of “supplemental grants” in the future if funding remains necessary. If necessary, recipients will be required to “return remaining funding after one year from the date of disbursement,” too.
Naturally, the National Independent Venue Association is trilled with the “Save Our Stage” act. “While existing government assistance programs have helped other industries, they weren’t tailored to meet the needs of small businesses like ours that have zero revenue, enormous overhead and no visibility into when we can fully re-open,” said Adam Hartke, the co-chair of the advocacy committee. “The Save Our Stages Act will provide the assistance we need to get through the shutdown until we can reopen safely and once again become the economic generators for our communities that we’ve always been.”
Let's hope this thing actually gets passed. Previously, NIVA has put their support behind the RESTART Act, which has yet to be passed.
