Last December, after heavily lobbying from a newly formed-during-the-pandemic organization called The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), their proposed “Save Our Stages” act was included in the pandemic relief bill. Fifteen million dollars was allocated for small independent businesses dependent on drawing audiences such as music venues, live stages and movie theaters.
The bill authorized businesses and arts groups to apply for SBA “Shuttered Venue Operators” grants of up to $10 million to cover six months of payroll and other costs such as rent, utilities and insurance if they have lost at least 25% of their annual revenue. Large businesses are not eligible. Small venues, which had struggled, downsized, borrowed, changed their model or temporarily (they hoped) closed, looked forward eagerly to the April 8 launch date for the SBA website to apply.
Jill Bacon Madden of Jilly’s in Akron, who says she’s planning to “cautiously reopen in mid-July,” tells us, “It will allow me to replace inventory, rehire and pay staff, pay unpaid bills, advertise, keep the lights on, and get up and running again. In short, it’ll save the business.”
And then the website crashed. Immediately. The SBA released a statement saying “The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant application portal remains temporarily suspended through the weekend of April 9 while we work to resolve technical issues. We can confirm we did not accept any applications or distribute any funding. When a reopening date is determined, we’ll provide updates in advance so that applicants have time to prepare.”
To date, no one has been able to apply. Now the SBA is promising that it will be operative by the end of the week of April 18. At this point, most of the important small music venues in the area — Jilly’s, the Beachland, the Grog Shop, the Happy Dog — are optimistic about their survival but after a long year in which most were closed other than a handful of downsized, outdoor summer events, they sure could use some help. We’ll keep you updated.