When the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) scheduled its first annual convention in Cleveland, Ohio, for July 11-12, it set a modest attendance objective of round 350 folks. The two-day occasion exceeded expectations: Nearly 600 folks registered for a gathering that included solutions-driven panel discussions, strong networking and packed concert events at numerous Cleveland impartial venues.
The temper was certainly upbeat at a Monday evening happy-hour mixer and awards ceremony on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Attendees shared drinks on the museum’s plaza in balmy (if windy) summer time climate after which headed into the constructing for the energetic Independent AF Awards, which honored innovators (and improvements) inside the occasion and touring area.
NIVA’s pause for reflection and celebration was well-deserved. Formed in April 2020, the non-profit commerce group was integral in guaranteeing Congress handed the Save Our Stages Act in late 2020. The invoice licensed what grew to become the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Program, by means of which the SBA distributed $16 billion to venues affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the convention, SVOG program director Matt Stevens reported that as of July 5, a complete of $14.57 billion had been given out to a bit of over 13,000 grantees, with $9.26 billion alone awarded to companies with lower than 50 workers.
In conversations with Variety, NIVA Conference attendees expressed pleasure about assembly in individual after so many months of digital conversations. They additionally praised the collaborative spirit of the neighborhood and the assist system that’s developed in response to the collective challenges associated to the previous few years.
“Before NIVA existed, we were all our own little satellites, just out there trying to do what we could in our neighborhoods to survive,” says Tobi Parks, proprietor of xBk Live in Des Moines, Iowa. “And suddenly now there’s a network of 1,500 of us who are all going through the same experience and can talk about what we can do to make change.”
Parks additionally praised NIVA’s dedication to range, fairness and inclusion, each in its convention programming and on a regular basis actions —together with, for instance, that the convention supplied monetary help to offset prices of journey and waived registration charges for some. “This really is about trying to make this ecosystem better,” Parks says, “and include as many people in it as we can.”
However, on the enterprise entrance, attendees additionally confused that restoration from the previous few years could be very a lot an ongoing course of. “I really thought that we’d be hitting the roaring ’20s by now,” says Dayna Frank, who’s NIVA’s board president in addition to president of Minneapolis’ First Avenue Productions. “And it is anything but. It is daily, constant, demanding, punishing challenges.”
While Sean Watterson — co-owner of Cleveland’s Happy Dog and NIVA Precinct Captain — notes he’s over the moon with how the convention turned out, he acknowledges that venues are nonetheless going through monetary challenges and obstacles. “We’re still losing money,” Watterson says. “Thank God for the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant funds, because it’s allowing us breathing room. Even in pre-COVID times, you had very little breathing room. The reality of being in this industry is you’re typically almost always in survival mode. And we’re still in survival mode.”
Multiple folks advised Variety COVID-19 is a continued main impediment, with constructive instances inflicting exhibits to be canceled on the final minute. Staffing-related points have been additionally a scorching matter. Venues mentioned the challenges of hiring and retaining workers — and the way employees testing constructive for COVID-19 can exacerbate current scheduling challenges — whereas the crowded touring season means artists are having points discovering transportation and hiring crew members like tour managers or sound engineers. Frank provides that rising prices because of inflation are additionally a ache level for artists on the highway, in addition to promoters and venues, whereas psychological well being struggles because of the high-stress, ever-changing work setting are additionally a priority.
At the identical time, live performance ticket gross sales and present attendance are additionally nonetheless within the strategy of bouncing again, with drop counts — or the precise quantity of people that present up — being prime of thoughts. “When you’ve got a show that’s been rescheduled three or four times, it’s tough for the artists to come into a room and not have it be the show they expected it to be,” Ashley Ryan, VP of selling at Minneapolis venue First Avenue, stated throughout a day panel. “It’s tough for the staff to prepare for a show like that. It’s tough for the fan experience. We’re all still going, ‘OK, the doors are open and we’re back. But how back are we?’”
Grace Blake, a NIVA board member and programming director for City Winery’s New York City and Hudson Valley areas, echoes the attendance concern. “One of the biggest challenges is gaining consumer confidence to come back into the rooms,” she says. “I’m not quite sure what it is, whether the market is so saturated with a lot of music right now, and people are able to pick and choose what they want to see. It’s waiting for that surge of people to come back and support live music. I know they’re there.”
Overall, nonetheless, Blake sees venue bounce-back as extra of a long-term proposition. “You want to hope that in five years we’re going to be at a place where we can breathe again, and then build towards, ‘What is your venue looking like for the future?’ But this is a long recovery.”
With all that being stated, the temper throughout the convention panels was something however doom and gloom. The perseverance, tenacity, DIY angle and nimble angle that’s saved independents entering into the previous few years dominated the ambiance of panel discussions. Attendees and audio system alike targeted on offering options and sensible recommendation for ongoing obstacles.
In a dialog with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame vice chairman and chief curator Nwaka Onwusa, Meshell Ndegeocello famous that she known as a brand new venue native to her, the Atlantic BKLN, to have a roster of native musicians readily available they’ll name to play if COVID-19 causes present cancellations. “Give people opportunities,” Ndegeocello stated.
On a panel, Parks mentioned co-founding the D Tour, a community of impartial venues and promoters teaming as much as provide nationwide touring artists live performance alternatives throughout a number of cities. Other panels featured professionals giving recommendation about venue administration model and suggestions for retaining expertise, stressing the significance of venue accessibility and sharing recommendations on how you can market exhibits on this new actuality.
The convention additionally made it clear that NIVA’s work to assist the impartial music ecosystem is constant to evolve and reply to shifting priorities. Frank notes NIVA spent its first 12 months “advocating, lobbying and really pounding the pavement to get our message across,” after which the subsequent 12 months serving to members apply for and entry the funds disbursed by SVOG. “Now we’re entering the third stage,” she says, “and that’s going to be about real tangible benefits, making NIVA pivotal and imperative to operating a business, and helping people stay independent.”
In observe, this work consists of increasing NIVA’s membership choices, together with a medical insurance and advantages program. On a broader stage, this work includes tackling points associated to the secondary ticketing market (together with misleading ticketing and speculative tickets) and antitrust considerations, in addition to advocacy round implementing extra equitable practices on the artist facet, in public efficiency rights and performing rights organizations.
“It’s trying to change processes and systems to get more money into the pockets of our artists,” Frank says. “But it’s also imperative to our businesses and keeping our doors open. Our artists need money to live, they need to be able to make a living as artists, so that they can play shows and stay on the road, and be able to make a living touring. It’s a very symbiotic relationship.”
Watterson, who additionally works with an financial improvement group in Cleveland on hospitality workforce points, sees native advocacy and grassroots actions as essential going ahead. He famous that’s why NIVA programming included panels on the significance of financial impression research and the function federal land trusts and neighborhood profit agreements can play in guaranteeing music venue survival amid rising actual property costs.
Citing the latest appointment of membership proprietor Howie Kaplan to the Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economy in New Orleans, Watterson additionally stresses the significance of area people and partnerships. “I think a lot of the people who got involved in NIVA are going to be pushing for these offices, whether it’s nighttime economy, social economy, or music and film economy, in local government,” he says. “We’re pulling together groups like hospitality alliances at a local level. All of these businesses — not just the music venues, but the bars and the restaurants and theaters — mean a lot to our cities and our communities. And we need to come together to support each other, but also to act like an industry.”
City Winery’s Blake additionally emphasizes the worth of neighborhood, particularly since venue restoration timelines are completely different. “Community is very important,” she says. “And you’re helping the one behind you. Your venue may have gotten the grants and SVOG and been able to pick up the pieces; that’s still a long recovery. But there’s others that are still fighting to stay open. I think we as a community have to remember that.” However, she is heartened by the enduring adjustments she’s seen. “You would think that after such a catastrophic event, and a world-changing event, that people would go back to their old ways of doing things. And we haven’t. We still are rallying together to make sure that we have changes in this.”
Rev. Moose, NIVA’s co-founder and outgoing govt director, shared that there was going to be a convention subsequent 12 months. Despite the various successes achieved to date, there’s no laurels-resting for NIVA going ahead.
“From this point forward, it is the scrappy nature and the entrepreneurial nature [of people] and the fact that we are able to work together and exchange ideas and share what’s working and avoid similar pitfalls,” he says. “All of those things are really a strength. When you see people here [in Cleveland] together celebrating, they’re celebrating the strength. Maybe not necessarily the success, because success comes on a sliding scale. But the opportunity and the potential to be able to turn the strength into a success is greater while we all work together.”
Parks echoes this optimism. “What’s so hopeful is we’re all in this situation where our businesses aren’t back to normal yet, but we can come here and think about the positive things that we’re gonna continue to do. That’s so incredibly hopeful and optimistic to be around a group of people that are like, ‘You know what, we’re hurting now. But we’re going to do what we can to make this business better. And we’re going to collaborate and work together.’”