Save Live Events Now Presses Cases for Pandemic Relief to Congress

Save Live Events Now Presses Cases for Pandemic Relief to Congress Save Live Events Now, the new industry lobbying effort, which was behind the letter to President Biden, offering the industry's expertise in facilitating the vaccination effort, has presented letters to the leadership of Congress, The Ways and Means Committee, the entire Senate, the Senate Finance Committee, and all the Senate sponsors of Save Our Stages. The request: Prioritize the needs of live events workers whose careers have been devastated by the pandemic.

The letters note that passage of the Save Our Stages Act. However, they add, "For example, a majority of venue workers (and venues) are excluded from Save Our Stages. Leaving out this key segment of venues has effectively left out a large segment of event workers. Many live event workers are either directly employed or affiliated with amphitheaters, fairgrounds, universities, stadiums, arenas, performing arts theatres and other venues that are not independently owned and/or operated. Many of these live event venues have adapted to the challenges presented by the pandemic, repurposing themselves as polling stations during the 2020 elections and as centers where local populations can get vaccines to combat the virus' spread. But congressional packages to date have not provided financial relief for these venues, which are major employers at the local level. This has essentially punished workers based on where they work. A job is a job and right now many across the live events industry are struggling to stay afloat as the stages stay empty."

Referring to a recent article in Pollstar by Senator Amy Klobuchar, titled "Not Saved by Save Our Stages: Majority of Live Business Will Not Benefit from New Relief," the letters call for the following actions.

1. Extending unemployment insurance beyond mid-March and increasing the amount from the current $300 a week to at least $600 per week;

2. Extending and increasing the $100 Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit beyond mid-March to remedy lost benefits in 2020;

3. Passing a 100% COBRA premium subsidy so employers can continue to keep employees on their job-based healthcare plans;

4. Expanding employee retention tax credits for the most severely impacted employers with more than 85% revenue loss;

5. Developing a bold infrastructure package that establishes tax credits for new construction and capital improvements to live event venues;

6. Passing the Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards A Recovery in Twenty-Twenty Act (RESTART Act); and

7. Passing the bipartisan Performing Artist Tax Parity Act.

Save Live Events Now has also gathered a collection of individual stories, detailing the crises facing many industry members.

The latest actions, especially the letter to Biden, have garnered national attention, being picked up by the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Associate Press, New York Daily News, Variety, and Newsweek among other publications.

The letters conclude, "Prior to COVID-19, the live events industry was the second largest industry in the US economy and the fastest growing, with projected yearly increases above five percent GDP. Live events have fueled more than industry growth. Local communities and workers, including restaurants, bars, and other services, rely on these events for their own businesses. The ripple effect of this loss of industry extends throughout local communities and neighborhoods, gravely affecting your own districts and states."