 |
| Yo la Tengo at the Bowery Ballroom on November 29; this past week the band canceled its two New Year's Eve concerts at City WInery NYC |
The $16 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grants (SVOG) revived and helped stabilize the live entertainment industry as it emerged from the pandemic shutdown. According to the SBA's most recent tallies, out of 17,644 initial applications submitted, the SBA approved 12,825 petitions so far. The average award was $830,000. In New York State, more than 2,500 venue operators received a total of $1,973,953,812 in federal aid.
According to Bizwomen, the Live Events Coalition posed that the United States has nearly 1.08 million live events businesses, from promoters and organizers to lighting, equipment rental and even florists and designers. Meanwhile just under 9% of the live events industry was able to access the SVOG or the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The coalition says that 79% of these businesses saw revenue losses of 60% or more through March 31, 2021, while 37% saw a revenue loss of 91% or more. According to surveys conducted by the coalition, most of these businesses said just 40% or less of their revenues had returned with the resumption of live events in 2021. About 41% are concerned about staying in business in the future.
Other governmental subsidies may be available to some live entertainment businesses, but this assistance is not guaranteed. For the most part, state and local governments have moved on. Music venues in particular are now mostly on their own to survive.
 |
| Rob Mastrianni at the Anyway Cafe on December 5; after several months of closure at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the venue has hosted live music almost every night since August 2020. |
New Challenges for Music Venues
After the government-mandated shutdown in March 2020, restaurants began reopening in the summer and fall of 2020, many offering live music to diners seated outdoors. Partial reopening came with additional expenses, however. The establishments invested in the construction of outdoor sheds and purchased heating devices. Some bars introduced a food menu for the first time. Even after the government begin permitting indoor dining in April and June 2021, many music venues faced new challenges. Rapidly changing governmental regulations impacted how many people could attend the events. Territories starting with New York City enacted safety policies that denied admission to the non-vaccinated. By the end of 2021 and entering into 2022, the surviving music venues are sorting through new challenges.
"I had three music acts cancel on me this week," Natasha Stolichnaya, booker of talent at the Anyway Café, told The Manhattan Beat earlier this week. "One music act that was replacing another canceled artist also canceled."
In response to the recent universal surge in COVID infections, live entertainment events from sporting competitions, theater productions and holiday shows to music concerts and comedy shows are falling off New York City's event calendar. Postponements and cancelations mean more than just simply performers and their crews staying home. Postponements and cancelations negatively impact venues not only by cutting the revenue at the box office, but also at the bar, the food counter, and the merchandise table. Nevertheless, the omicron variant is making people sick, and perhaps the only way to lessen the spread is to make even deeper sacrifices.
In most cases, the performers are canceling the shows, but numerous local music club owners have shut their doors for a few days of omicron break as well. These temporarily shuttered music venues include City Winery NYC, Mercury Lounge, TV Eye, Rockwood Music Hall, the Bitter End, Arlene's Grocery and Mona's. Many venue operators continue to endure a year-long shortage of applicants for staffing. Now, the recent surge in COVID positivity is leading to a rapidly rising number of working staff testing positive for COVID, necessitating time off just when business was expected to increase with the end-of-the-year holidays.
Most of the cancelations of concerts have been leading up to New Year's Eve. Locally, these include Phish, the Strokes, Gov't Mule, Yo la Tengo, Guided by Voices, Streetlight Manifesto, and several others. A few January concerts also are canceled, including Umphrey's McGee, Snarky Puppy, Yelle, CharlestheFirst and Greyson Chance. The Manhattan Beat has recounted on a daily basis the newest postponements and cancelations of live music events in New York City.
 |
| Evan Isaac at Otto's Shrunken Head on November 19; the venue canceled performances and closed after its holiday party on December 19 and will reopen on January 5 |
The following are among the recommended live music performances scheduled for tonight. One might want to contact the venue before traveling, however.
- David Byrne's American Utopia at the St. James Theatre (5 & 9 p.m.)
- Chris Botti at the Blue Note (8 & 10:30 p.m.)
- Irish Seisiun at the 11th St. Bar
- Sashka Drey at the Anyway Café
- New Moon Acoustic Blues at Terra Blues
- Fiddler and the Crossroads at the Shrine (10 p.m.)
***
The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music
developments as they happen. All photographs are by Everynight Charley Crespo,
except when noted otherwise. For a list of Manhattan venues that are presenting
live music regularly, swing the desktop cursor to the right and click on the
pop-up tab "Where to Find Live Music." For a listing of upcoming
concerts for live audiences, visit The Manhattan Beat's December
2021 and January
2022 calendars.
No comments:
Post a Comment