Social distancing is tough on all businesses. For live-music venues, however, it represents the very antithesis of their purpose in this world.
After all, music clubs achieve true transcendence only when they get people “shoulder to shoulder, standing room only and beer sloshing all over each other,” as Blayne Tucker, a local attorney and the co-owner of The Mix, puts it.
As we grapple with the COVID-19 outbreak, the elements that always attracted us to live-music venues now carry the fear of contracting a virus that has taken the lives of more than 85,000 people in this country.
“Our business is the business of gathering,” says Austen Bailey, the talent buyer for The Mohawk in Austin. “And that’s the last thing that people have on their minds right now.”
Club owners and booking agents aren’t wrong when they point out that their businesses were among the first to shut down due to this pandemic and they will be among the last to reopen.
With that in mind, Tucker and Bailey are spearheading the Texas lobbying effort for the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), an organization which formed a month ago to represent music venues through the existential crisis presented by the coronavirus.
NIVA already has more than 1,300 members across the country, including the legendary First Avenue in Minneapolis and the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.
NIVA is trying to persuade members of Congress to back a legislative package that can provide an economic life raft through the inevitable long period of dormancy for music clubs.
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That package includes an amendment to the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which has provided loans to small businesses.
In its current state, however, the program doesn’t work well for music venues. Under PPP, loans will be fully forgiven only if at least 75 percent of the funds are used for payroll.
“There’s no payroll (for music venues) because everything’s completely shut down,” Tucker said. “So we’re looking for more flexibility to be able to use those funds for mortgage, utilities, rent, insurance, working capital, just to sort of sustain the businesses themselves.”
NIVA is also hoping venues will be allowed to reclassify ticket refunds as distressed inventory, which will soften the financial blow of that lost income with a tax credit. Finally, the organization seeks a deferral of federal taxes for the first six months after venues are allowed to operate again.
In making their pitch, Tucker and Bailey are emphasizing that the damage from congressional inaction would not only be cultural, but also economic.
A 2019 economic-impact study by the Texas Music Office determined that the direct and ripple effects from music businesses produce $23.4 billion in annual economic activity, more than 209,000 permanent jobs and $390 million in tax revenue for this state.
“Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, all these major cities, aren’t attracting businesses to relocate here without things like the St. Mary’s strip,” Bailey said. “It’s not just a cultural piece. It’s part of a much larger conversation.”
The most positive part of the congressional response so far is that it seems to be cutting across partisan lines.
In the Senate, John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thomas Carper, D-Delaware, signed on to a letter calling for “targeted legislative action” to address the “unprecedented crisis” facing independent music venues.
In the House, Roger Williams, R-Texas, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, lent their names to a similar letter.
There should be no partisan divide on this issue. While we address the short-term emergencies produced by COVID-19, we can’t lose sight of the kind of country we want to have waiting for us when we regain some semblance of normalcy.
If we can’t nurture the incubators of this society’s musical creativity, we’re going to lose something profound, something that can’t be measured in Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
We’ll lose a big piece of our soul.
Jeff Smith, the lead singer for San Antonio cowpunk legends the Hickoids, said a lack of federal action would be devastating.
“Most small and medium-sized venues, they’re passion-fueled,” he said. “It’s not bottom-line type stuff. That’s where the real music is made and that’s where people gain their experience.”
As the congressional letters point out, live-music events may not be possible until a COVID-19 vaccine is available and music venues will probably need several months after that to return to a normal schedule.
“There’s a triangle of trust between regulatory authorities, fans and musicians, where everybody has to feel good about coming to your establishment,” Bailey said. “I think it’s pretty clear from the general public right now that it’s going to be a while before people feel comfortable coming into a sweaty club, elbow to elbow.”
Members of Congress, you’re on stage and the spotlight is on you. Our music venues need you to perform.
Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Gilbert, become a subscriber. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
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May 15, 2020 at 06:43PM
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Garcia: Live-music venues need congressional help to survive - San Antonio Express-News
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