NIVA: National Independent Venue Association responds to Live Nation's new program
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has released a statement in reaction to Live Nation Entertainment's newly unveiled "On The Road Again" initiative.
On September 26th, Live Nation Entertainment, the multinational entertainment giant, announced this program aimed at supporting emerging artists. Under this initiative, "developing artists" will receive a $1,500 stipend for gas and travel expenses when performing at Live Nation-owned venues that are part of the program.
Nevertheless, as several industry experts have previously warned, there is growing scrutiny surrounding Live Nation's motivations for launching the program. Among those expressing concerns are NIVA, which represents a multitude of independently owned venues throughout the United States.
NIVA shared the following statement:
Temporary measures may appear to help artists in the short run but actually can squeeze out independent venues which provide the lifeblood of many artists on thin margins. Independent venues and promoters are investing in and elevating up-and-coming artists every day, and NIVA is supporting those efforts nationally. The initiative announced yesterday may seem like a move to follow the lead of some independent venues. It is not that.
Instead, it appears to be a calculated attempt to use a publicly-traded conglomerate's immeasurable resources to divert artists from independent venues and further consolidate control over the live entertainment sector. Such tactics threaten the vitality of small and medium-sized venues under 3000 capacity, many of which still struggle to keep their doors open.
Independent stages, where the majority of artists, musicians, and comedians start their careers, are small businesses and nonprofits. They are continually facing rising costs, increased deceptive ticketing practices in the resale market, and ongoing challenges following the global pandemic. Our stages are critical to the live entertainment ecosystem and local economies, and they must survive.
The economics of touring must drastically improve for artists and independent venues. There has to be a better way. NIVA will continue to support artists and empower independent venues as we collectively find it.
Read the full statement here.
37 comments
Post CommentGo f@ck yourselves. This is like saying a retailer shouldn't discount a product to the benefit of consumers because it might put another retailer out of business. So what.
Let's also be real here. All these bands prefer to play live nation venues. Better guarantees, better amenities, better promotion, better overall everything and stability. Even with a percentage of merch is taken (a practice as old as time) they are going to go with the better venue VS the independent promoter and club where various issues can arise.
^ You are blazingly stupid. Retailers discount items to drive business, you think any corporate entity gives a f*ck about customers? You're delusional. Live Nation kills real music venues, so does AEG et al, and all of their subsidiaries. Go cry in a Bank of America internet cafe, loser.
Typical Americans. Complain about everything. If LN never did this, would bitch about LN being greedy. When LN does this, bitches about LN being greedy.
^ This and "Live Nation kills real music venues" Actually, independents partnering with LN keeps the lights on and also gives them the freedom the other 5 days out of the week to do smaller shows and not worry about going under.
chugging corporate dick is not punk. you will never be one of us.
You are blazingly stupid. Retailers discount items to drive business, you think any corporate entity gives a f*ck about customers? You're delusional. Live Nation kills real music venues, so does AEG et al, and all of their subsidiaries. Go cry in a Bank of America internet cafe, loser. ^god, where to start with you, moron. If I, as a consumer, get something at half-off, that is to my benefit, clearly. Of course, the retailer is doing it to drive business. But I still benefit, dumb ass. Of course Live Nation is acting in their best interests here, garnering good publicity and good will from bands/promoters. But bands can still benefit. Your knee-jerk, everything-corporate-sucks, everything-indie-is-good stance underscores what a simpleton you are.
As long artists keep booking independent venues in the markets they can, and going to these shitholes when they have to can't it be win/win?
"So you go ahead and stack spaghetti sauce in the store, the the the supermarket. You control the guy or the woman who run runs brings out the carts on on on on on on a forklift. What happened?" - Joe Biden
Lambgoat: where people who don't know what they are talking about go to argue with others who don't know what they are talking about. Name-calling and butthurt ensues; collective brain damage spreads.
Kat from Scowl here, When merch rates get me down I cheer myself up with a 50% off "Fisherman's Platter" from Long John Silvers. Up the punx
This is easy to solve - the independent venue owners should just click that dude's link and make 95/hr working from home. Just a couple days a week then the rest of their time spent in the venue. Seems like a good deal to me 🤷
For all you simps who can't understand the economic dynamics at play here let me break it down for you: Small Business and Free Market Capitalism are not synonymous. In this particular case, Free Market Capitalism is killing small businesses and independent venues. A huge corporation with vast resources (the Goliath in a a David vs Goliath situation) is using those resources to pay way more money to a vast majority of artists (ones that typically only earn guarantees of 100-1000) and eliminate merch cuts. They can afford to do this due to the vast resources it has accumulated as a corporate conglomerate (a foundational aspect of free market capitalism). Independent, blue collar, and working class venues cannot afford to pay artists 1500 as a rule, while skipping merch cuts. This means bands will make more playing with live Nation, and less artists and talent agencies will book through Independent venues, and Independent venues will slowly shutter. But laissez Faire is best right??
A company trying to maximize profits!? Ahhhhhhhhh
Jesus fn Christ you are delusional if you think you make a living being in a hardcore/metal or any other band. It's a 1 in a billion shot. Just play wherever the f*ck you're welcome and don't quit your day job.
Bidenomics WORK!!! This was never an issue before Biden took office. If it was it was never at this level.
Seems like a lot of whining. Are all of these underground bands going to suddenly be 'mastodon-level' and play LN venues? Probably not....
"We've seen record lows in unemployment particularly — and I've focused on this my whole career — particularly for African Americans and Hispanic workers and veterans, you know, the workers without high school diplomas"
Common modern VC or investor backed corp tactic. Make such large capital injections into a company that it can afford to operate at a loss until the point where all competition has been forced out of the game. Then you've got an overwhelming market share and can do whatever you want with prices and policies. Though it went haywire for a multitude of other reasons this was the strategy for WeWork.
I've yet to see a single band that has complained about a LN venue or festival route a tour around them and go with independent promoters to save a small tax on merchandise. A band/agent/manager is going to go with the room that offers the most money, plain and simple...it's a job. We are taking about bands playing 1000-3000 cap rooms. It's not like LN is taking over VFWs and basements.
Bidenomics WORK!!! This was never an issue before Biden took office. If it was it was never at this level. So is Biden a socialist like you always bitch about or a ruthless Capitalist baron that needs to be reigned in like this post you just made suggests?? Because I hate to tell you, republican policies between 1980-1992, and 2000-2008 were major proponents of dog eat dog free market capitalism. The economic ethos of those administration's solely focused on legislation and policies that encouraged businesses to reduce operating costs, maximize profits, and crushing/consolidation of competition. It was during these periods of time that major manufacturers began outsourcing labor and decentralizing production to 3rd world countries. The largest decreases in U.S manufacturing employment occurred between 1980-1992 and 2000-2008. And if these facts couldnt shatter your flawed perception of reality more, manufacturing jobs in Obama era increased at nearly double the rate than the trump era
Live Nation is owned by Vanguard, BlackRock, and Nazi applauding Canada Pension Plan.
>>anonymous 4 hours ago For all you simps who can't understand the economic dynamics at play here let me break it down for you: Small Business and Free Market Capitalism are not synonymous. In this particular case, Free Market Capitalism is killing small businesses and independent venues. A huge corporation with vast resources (the Goliath in a a David...<< LOLOLOL basic economic fails. Corporations literally wouldn't exist in a free market economy. It's a tax status and the state apparatus wouldn't levy taxes on business transactions (directly, at least). Corporations are literally a state creation. Instead, businesses would have to spend most of their time profit-seeking instead of splitting it with rent-seeking. There's no predicting that, so saying "small businesses can't exist in a laissez faire economy" is mostly unknowable/Hollywood dystopia nonsense, unless you have secret information about market mechanisms every economist hasn't noticed. Genius! Let's hear more from you.
How funny would it be if all independent venues banned hardcore punk & metal & replaced it with cover bands & anything else but hardcore punk & metal? You wanna play Live Nation venues only? Go ahead but ya not crawling back to us when your popularity wanes.
Is Live Nation the company that mandated covid vaccines for bands and concert goers?
^^^ What if they did? Their business you anti-va x mor on.
Ok dumbass- In reality, corporations exist in various economic systems, including free-market economies. LOL at your irrelevant misleading, wild ass/flippant perversion of reality..Your comment suggests that in a free market economy, the state wouldn't levy taxes on business transactions directly. taxation structures vary, BUT taxation is the most common way for governments to generate revenue to fund public services, and ALL current free market economies levy taxes. This is crackpot shit you are trying to argue. And bringing up rent seeking has absolutely zero bearing on my OP argument. Grasping at straws motherf*cker. You cant just bring up a bunch of unrelated shit to sound smart and muddy the waters of the actual argument. I see you, and you're still dumb.
anonymous 17 hours ago For all you simps who can't understand the economic dynamics at play here let me break it down for you: Small Business and Free Market Capitalism are not synonymous. In this particular case, Free Market Capitalism is killing small businesses and independent venues. A huge corporation with vast resources (the Goliath in a a David vs Goliath situation) is using those resources to pay way more money to a vast majority of artists (ones that typically only earn guarantees of 100-1000) and eliminate merch cuts. They can afford to do this due to the vast resources it has accumulated as a corporate conglomerate (a foundational aspect of free market capitalism). Independent, blue collar, and working class venues cannot afford to pay artists 1500 as a rule, while skipping merch cuts. ^^^ 45 year old virgin who lives with his parents and doesn't go to shows
I only go to stadiums, arena, amphitheater shows, or big festivals. I don't have time to go to some 200 capacity venue to see Terror with 45 other people total
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