Live Nation, AEG Presents, VenuWorks, More Call For Federal Help
Major concert and live event producers in North America have joined to request assistance for the entertainment industry from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Billboard, who first reported the story, the group includes Live Nation, AEG Presents, Spectra, VenuWorks, and Feld Entertainment.
In a letter to the government reportedly obtained by Billboard, the organizations called on the Federal Government to expand government emergency response, including the Paycheck Protection Program, the CARES Act, and the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending program to include entertainment companies in order to avoid devastating effects for the live entertainment industry.
The letter, which was signed by 19 different organizations but which did not include the names of any execs at those companies, said “without immediate financial assistance, the future of the public entertainment and event industry is in question,” Billboard reported.
The coalition of events companies mirrors a similar effort by the National Independent Venue Alliance, a newly-formed coalition of independent venues across North America which has also launched a lobbying effort for federal assistance in this time of crisis.
According to Pabst Theater Group executive director and founding member of NIVA Gary Witt, the organization’s ranks have swelled to more than 1300 little more than a week after launch.
