Indie agents react to SBA SVOG grant process: “We were all swinging from a rope…”
While the program to funnel $16B in desperately needed federal funds to the independent live music community is finally taking applications, its debut was not without drama.
On April 8th the SBA opened the application process for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program and just 4 hours later, the portal closed due to insurmountable technical difficulties.
Then on April 22nd, the SBA announced that the portal would reopen on Saturday, April 24 at 12:00 PM ET, and minutes later the time moved to 12:30. After an outcry over the questionable timing, the SBA changed the opening again to this last Monday.
Industry coalition Vax4Live launched to help live music events return safely
A NITO-led coalition of live music companies and trade groups has launched Vax4Live, a campaign to encourage fans to get vaccinated so the U.S. can safely return to live events.
The National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) is leading Vax4Live along with AEG Presents, Bandit Lites, Fox Theatre Atlanta (GA), Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), the Independent Promoter Alliance (IPA), Red Light Management and Universal Attractions.
The Vax4Live campaign is designed to
spread awareness, gather support, acquire partners and prepare calls to action and initiatives that will provide guidance, resources, and factual information regarding vaccination efforts and how we can safely return to live events.
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Ridgefield High School Freshman Has Top 40 Hit Song Written by Bart Pockets
Ridgefield High School freshman Jimy Bishop has been busy writing and recording new music while stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jimy optimistically released a song titled “Take It to the Streets” earlier this year and has been unexpectedly but quite pleasantly surprised by the public reaction. The song is currently #27 on the New Music Weekly Top 40 Chart and #36 on the New Music Weekly Hot 100 Chart. The Official Music Video for “Take It to the Streets” can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/bvyEc3S8w4o.
By: Deborah Speer Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., opens its gates for the first time as a COVID-19 vaccination “super site” Feb. 2 as the events industry works out logistics to back up its offer to President Joe Biden to provide sites and workers to staff them.As the battered and bruised live events industry approaches the anniversary of the near-complete shutdown of business thanks to COVID-19, it’s doubling down on efforts to not only save its stages but making a commitment to the communities on which they depend.
When the live industry spoke in one voice in a Jan. 26 letter to President Joe Biden offering assistance in setting up mass vaccination centers to combat COVID-19, it marked the culmination of multiple efforts and conversations happening separately but simultaneously.