The Showbox closed on March 11th, 2020 to wait out COVID-19. Our current Landmarks Board meeting date to consider Controls and Incentives is May 20, 2020. We expect this date to be delayed, but we do not have any information at this time. Hope you are all staying safe and healthy!
In the meantime, our independent venues are at great risk of never reopening. Why? Because our industry relies on pre-booked local, national, and international touring artists. We book artists months in advance to have time to sell tickets. Whole tours are now cancelling until fall 2020 or even until 2021. Festivals are cancelling daily. If gathering bans cease, artists will still stay home because it takes a lot of planning and coordination to book tours.
The CARES Act offers minimal relief- the paycheck loans cannot cover the amount of staff venues employ for the many months our venues will be closed. With the insanely high rents in Seattle / King County and no rent forgiveness, venues will not be able to pay the bills to stay in business with no revenue incoming.
Independent venues employ many artists and creatives and provide spaces for artists to perform. The closure of venues affects more than just the venue owners. It affects audio and lighting techs, stage crews, security, bartenders, kitchen staff, janitorial staff, box office, merch, and connected industries like liquor distributors (and taxes to the State of WA), food vendors, papers like the Stranger (which furloughed most of its staff due to lost add revenue- mostly from event-based businesses), writers, photographers, designers, and the list goes on.
It affects the community, who thrive on an active live music scene- what Seattle and WA have come to symbolize to the world. We need places to gather and celebrate when it is safe to do so again. We need live music venues of all sizes.
The Washington Nightlife and Music Association has formed to bring together venues in a coalition with artists and other stakeholders to ask for these things from local and federal government in this time of crisis:
· Grants- not loans
· Rent forgiveness
· Financial assistance for our workforce
· Tax relief
· Insurance Revisions
Please visit WANMA’s website to learn how you can help.
