Michigan Music Venues and Promoters form New Trade Group to Rescue Concert Businesses
Michigan concert promoters and music venues have joined forces in a new trade association that’s lobbying lawmakers for $10 million in grants to rescue the state’s live music industry, which has been crippled by COVID-19.
Scott Hammontree, managing partner for Grand Rapids’ The Intersection, said the new trade group – Michigan Independent Venue and Promoter Association (MIVPA) – gives promoters and music venues “a collective voice” as they scramble for survival.
“Our venues and fans have made enough noise to get the attention of some legislators,” he said. “We hope the new organization and lobbying efforts help complete a bridge to the other side of this.”
The 2020 Theme: Venue closures since mid-March. (Photo/Anna Sink)
More than 70 of Michigan’s live music venues have been shuttered since March due to the pandemic, and members of the new trade group include many high-profile businesses, including The Intersection, Kalamazoo State Theatre, Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up and Bay City’s Historic Masonic Temple. Festival operators are also part of the new association.
Formation of the Michigan-based group follows creation earlier this year of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), which now represents more than 2,000 independent venues in all 50 states, working to secure federal assistance for live music businesses as part of the #SaveOurStages movement.
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