It’s no secret that the entertainment industry, especially live event venues and touring musicians whose primary source of income came from now-cancelled live performances, has taken a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the Save Our Stages Act, a bipartisan bill spearheaded by Senators Amy Klobuchar and John Cornyn with support from the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), has now been co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.
On August 18, Schumer, alongside NIVA representatives and LCD Soundsystem member, James Murphy, spoke at a press conference outside Baby’s All Right in New York, where they voiced their support for the bill. Murphy highlighted the importance of independent venues within communities, stating,
“These venues are places that occupy parts of cities that nobody wants to be in when they start. They fill in the gaps, and communities spring up around them. They take those warehouses that nobody wanted to be in and they build places that foster the most diverse music scene in the world.”
He went on to stress the importance of financially supporting these venues during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding,
“You can’t knock out all the mom and pops and think that more mom and pops will spring up. If we knock them out, it’s just chains. Write your senators and ask them to support this bill—it’s critical—or this whole industry is going to go away without it.”
Schumer vowed to “do everything [he] can to get this [bill] done ’cause it’s so effin’ important,” commenting,
“These places have to survive. Saying, ‘Well, we can do without these,’ is like saying you can do without your liver or your right arm—we need them very much.”
For details on the proposed Save Our Stages Act, check out Congress’ website.
Featured image: Douglas Wojciechowski
