Over 150 NYC clubs have banded together to form the New York Independent Venue Association, which is affiliated with the National Independent Venue Association. They’ve designated August 4 as a Day of Action to seek support for the passage of the bi-partisan Save Our Stages Act and the Restart Act, two bills that have been introduced to help ensure the survival of independent venues across the U.S. amid the coronavirus pandemic. A recent study found that 90% of venues could be forced to shut down permanently without aid.
Among the NYC venues that are part of the NYIVA: SummerStage, Manhattan Center / Hammerstein Ballroom, Bowery Ballroom, United Palace, Town Hall, Baby’s All Right, Elsewhere, City Winery, Le Poisson Rouge, Saint Vitus, Joe’s Pub, The Bell House, Market Hotel, Mercury Lounge, Union Pool, SOB’s, Iridium Room, ISSUE Project Room, Caroline’s, Blue Note, House of Yes, Barbès, Knitting Factory, Knockdown Center, RAD Theater (formerly PlayStation Theater), Littlefield, Murmrr, Bowery Electric, Pianos, Berlin, and Public Records. The full list of associated venues is below.
A few factoids shared with today’s announcement:
- On average, a NY venue already has $150,000 their landlord could claim in arrears and more than 80% of venues have no definitive arrangement with their landlords.
- Live streaming has yet to become a viable source of revenue. The average NY venue’s monthly profit from F&B, live streams, and merchandise comes out to $375 (after labor and cost of goods).
- On average, a venue will need $300,000 to sustain itself if they are to remain closed until 2021. $60 million for the industry in aggregate
A million and a half people have written their representatives via SaveOurStages, but the bills still need to gain more traction. It only takes about a minute to fill out the form and write your representatives and support both the NYIVA and NIVA.
In June, two NYC Councilmembers, Justin Brannan of Brooklyn (who was in hardcore bands Indecision and Most Precious Blood before getting into politics), and Keith Powers of Manhattan, formed the “CBGB Caucus” in the NYC Council to help support independent music venues as they remain closed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
NYIVA Member List
11th St. Bar
ALPHAVILLE
Arlene’s Grocery
Avant Gardner
Baby’s All Right
Barbès
Berlin Under A
Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater
Blackthorn 51
Blue Gallery
Blue Note Entertainment Group – Blue Note New York, Napa, Hawaii, Sony Hall NYC & Howard Theatre DC
Bowery Ballroom
C’mon Everybody
Carolines on Broadway
City Winery
Communion
Concert Hall at the New York Society for Ethical Culture
CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing)
Drom
EastVille Comedy Club
Elsewhere
Eris Evolution, LLC
Ethel’s Club
Freddy’s Bar & Backroom
Gold Sounds
Good Room
GOSPËL
Hartstop
Herbert Holler
House of Yes
Iridium
ISSUE Project Room
Joe’s Pub
Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory Brooklyn
Knockdown Center
Le Poisson Rouge
Littlefield
Lola
Lucky 13 Saloon
Magick City
Manhattan Center/ Hammerstein Ballroom
Market Hotel + Trans-Pecos
Mercury Lounge
Murmrr
National Sawdust
Nord-NewldRockDeli
Nowadays
NUBLU CLASSIC
Nuyorican Poets Cafe Inc.
Our Wicked Lady
Peter Mac LLC dba Golden Girls LIVE & Judy Garland LIVE
Pianos NYC
Pioneer Works
Public Records
QED
RAD THEATER (FORMERLY PLAYSTATION THEATER)
Rocks Off
Roulette
S.O.B.’s
Saint Vitus
ShapeShifter Lab
St. George Theatre
Starr Bar
SubCulture NY
Summerstage
Ten Hope
The Bell House
The Bitter End
The Bowery Ballroom
The Bowery Electric
The Broadway
The Cobra Club
The Cutting Room
The Delancey
The DL
The Footlight Bar
The Kingsland
The Muse Brooklyn/ ABCirque
The Owl Music PArlor
The Paper Box Music & Art Inc
The People’s Improv Theatre
The Stand NYC
The Suffolk Theater
The Sultan Room
The Town Hall
The Way Station
Town Stages
Trans-Pecos
TV Eye
Union Hall
Union Pool
United Palace
Viewcy