CLAWING BACK FROM THE BRINK
In early March, shortly after the South By Southwest festival was cancelled, Rev. Moose could see the clouds gathering. During Independent Venue Week—a yearly gathering of independent venues and promoters that he organizes and promotes through his music marketing firm, Marauder—a panel of guests discussed the possible implications of a pandemic hitting the live music industry. One panelist, an event producer from the UK, had been watching what COVID-19 was doing in his country for the previous three weeks. His message was chilling. “Really bad things are on the horizon, and you need to be prepared for them. Whatever you think is going to happen, it’s going to be that bad,” Moose recalls. “And it has been. We are talking about a complete and total cessation of business. We are talking about a systematic shutdown of an entire industry. We are talking about a potential extinction event of a market sector. It is that bad.”
Out of that week of virtual meetings came NIVA, the National Independent Venue Association, an organization of 2,000 members representing all 50 states that Moose now serves as Executive Director. After surveying their members, the direness of their situation became clear. A full 90 percent of the venue owners contacted reported that they would close their doors forever if they didn’t receive some form of economic stimulus. Half, Moose says,
