In pre-Covid days, the Key West, Florida, music scene averaged 300 live performances playing across 55 local venues per week. As a result of the pandemic, there are now only 19 venues in Key West that are currently hosting live music, and averaging only 115 live performances per week. Many of these performances are solo artists or duets, mainly because…
…the resources don’t exist to pay full bands or because of the space needed to provide proper social distancing. Independent music venues are cultural lifeblood and vital drivers of the local economy.
In Philadelphia, the creative sector generates $4.1B in regional impact, and for every $1 that is spent on a ticket, that leads to $12 in other economic impact. When Covid hit, the live music scene was among the very first of all businesses forced to shut down. And to rub salt on the wound, live music venues will be among the very last to reopen once we return to a semblance of normalcy.
Since Covid, Kansas City, MO, has seen between 60 and 100 percent of their live music venues close. It is anticipated that the sector will experience at least another six months of strict regulations, creating a situation that forces venue owners to weather a storm of another half-year. The National Independent Venue Alliance, an organization of members from the independent music venue sector, estimates 90% of all independent venues and promoters will not survive unless there is an infusion of financial resources from the government.
What local music venue do you miss most?