The Station Inn

The McCrary Sisters at The Station Inn

Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Americana Music Festival

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Help Is On The Way: Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Application Opening on April 8

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On April 8, 2021, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will officially open the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) application portal, a welcomed development for many struggling music businesses
Matthew Bango
Advocacy
Mar 25, 2021 - 6:40 am

Good news, creators – the Small Business Administration (SBA) has officially announced that the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) application portal will open on Thursday, April 8. This announcement is welcomed news for live music venues, theaters, museums, and other eligible cultural institutions, many of which have been left without any revenue since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The relief program has tremendous promise for eligible applicants. According to the SBA’s issued guidance, the SVOG program will issue grants equal to 45% of an institution’s gross earned revenue. The individual grants are capped at $10 million per applicant, and the SBA has earmarked $2 billion for the smallest venues, which is defined as those entities with 50 or fewer full-time employees.

Once the application portal opens on April 8, the SBA will prioritize issuing relief to those applicants demonstrating the most significant revenue loss since the start of the pandemic. The first 14 days will be reserved for those institutions that endured a 90 percent or greater loss in revenue, the next 14 days for those that suffered a 70 percent or greater loss in revenue, and the final 14-day window will be for those entities with a 25 percent or greater loss in revenue. The SBA will then proceed to award grants to those institutions seeing a 70 percent or greater revenue loss for the most recent calendar quarter.

The American Rescue Plan also remedied an earlier barrier for relief facing many struggling venues. Previously, prospective applicants were instructed by the SBA that their organization would be barred from participating in the SVOG program if they opted to receive an additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. The new Congress fixed this issue in the American Rescue Plan, which was signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021. If a venue applies for a PPP loan first (but after December 27, 2020), eligible applicants are now qualified to participate in both the PPP and SVOG relief programs. 

While the SVOG application portal does not open until April 8, potential applicants can start preparing their documents ahead of time, including instructions on how to best calculate gross earned revenue and to incorporate previous participation in past relief programs. Information on the required documentation for an SVOG application can be found on the SBA’s website. 

The music ecosystem banded together to advocate for the creation of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program. Understanding that there is strength in numbers, many independent venues quickly united at the start of the pandemic to form the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), which called on Congress to “save our stages.” The Recording Academy became an early champion of the movement and lobbied Congress extensively for a legislative solution to ease the financial burden placed on venues by the pandemic.

In response to the public outcry in support of these community institutions, a bipartisan and bicameral group of policymakers introduced the Save Our Stages (SOS) Act (S.4258/H.R.7806) in July 2020. As part of an end-of-year spending package, Congressional leaders adopted the SOS Act by creating a $15 billion supplemental fund to directly assist live entertainment venues that demonstrate a significant reduction in revenue. The American Rescue Plan later added another $1.25 billion to the program in March.

Earlier this month, the Recording Academy partnered with four historic independent venues struggling to survive the pandemic’s enduring impact during the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, including Los Angeles’ Troubadour and Hotel Café, Nashville’s Station Inn, and New York City’s Apollo Theater. These institutions used the platform to describe the unsustainable financial outlook facing many independent venues resulting from a year of canceled events and to stress the importance of saving our stages.  

The Recording Academy will continue to engage with the Small Business Administration in the days and weeks ahead to ensure that the SVOG program is accurately and equitably implemented.  

Read More: Updated: Biden Administration Announces Creator-Friendly Changes To The Paycheck Protection Program

 

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Empty venue

Photo: Trio Images

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Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program Opens For Applicants

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The Small Business Administration officially launched the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) application portal on Thursday, April 8, a welcomed development for many live venue operators and professionals
Matthew Bango
Advocacy
Apr 8, 2021 - 12:12 pm

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) application portal officially launches today, April 8. The program, which is administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), provides essential financial relief for qualified live music venue operators, museums, and talent representatives, among others. More information on the program and how to apply can be found on the SBA's website.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, these cultural institutions have largely remained shuttered over the past year and forced to survive without access to their traditional revenue streams. While merchandise sales and donations helped to generate some revenue, many live music venues were in dire financial situations that required immediate outside intervention.

The Recording Academy, its members, and its allies in the music ecosystem lobbied elected officials to create a robust supplemental fund to help the live event industry survive a year without shows and programming. Hearing direct appeals from constituents and the greater music ecosystem, Congress formed the SVOG program as part of a year-end spending package and appropriated $15 billion in assistance for these iconic independent venues and cultural institutions. The program was enhanced with an additional $1.25 billion as part of the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law last month.   

On March 30, the SBA hosted an informational webinar to provide some additional clarity about the program's application process. During the informative discussion, the SBA representatives estimated that 15,000 qualified institutions will receive awards and predicted that the expected average award amount will hover around $1 million.

The SBA has stated that the SVOG funds will be awarded on a rolling basis until the appropriated funds are completely exhausted. Under the direction of the agency, the funds will be awarded to those institutions demonstrating the largest loss in revenue due to the pandemic, providing a vital lifeline to those entities on the brink of financial collapse. The SBA is advising potential applicants to submit their required documentation as early as possible and will re-categorize applicants internally if they qualify for an exclusive window.

The SVOG program is one of many new innovative programs designed by policymakers to combat the unique financial burden created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was created under the CARES Act, was also designed to provide emergency direct relief to offset the burden on businesses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. If a qualified institution applied and was approved for a PPP loan prior to December 27, 2020, it is eligible to apply for an SVOG, and the previous PPP loan will have no impact on the final SVOG amount. If the institution received PPP funds on or after December 27, 2020, the full amount of the loan received will be deducted from an entity's SVOG disbursement without regard to whether a portion of the PPP loan was forgiven or not. Entities will be ineligible for a PPP loan after they receive an SVOG.

The Recording Academy and its members thank the SBA for officially launching the SVOG program, and pledge to serve as a partner to ensure an equitable implementation of this necessary financial relief program.

More information on the SVOG program and how to apply can be found here.

Help Is On The Way: Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Application Opening on April 8

Father & Son Stock Photo

Photo: John Fedele/Getty Images

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Updated: Biden Administration Announces Creator-Friendly Changes To The Paycheck Protection Program

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The Biden Administration announced welcomed changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, increasing aid to music creators
Matthew Bango
Advocacy
Feb 24, 2021 - 11:45 am

UPDATE: This article, originally posted on Feb. 24, 2021, has been updated with new information for music makers and music small businesses based on the recent passage of the American Rescue Plan, and new regulatory updates by the Small Business Administration.  Importantly, effective March 3, self-employed individuals (including independent contractors, gig workers, and sole proprietors) will be eligible for an increased PPP loan amount based on their gross income. Per the SBA, this change is limited to applicants who had yet to be approved for a loan as of March 3.

Additionally, per the American Rescue Plan, eligible businesses may now apply for both a PPP loan and a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG). Previously, potential applicants for SVOGs were prohibited from applying for assistance from programs. Under the new law, the PPP loan will offset the potential amount of an SVOG. The SVOG program will open for applicants on April 8, and PPP remains open for all small businesses until May 31.

Please contact advocacy@grammy.com with any questions.

The Biden Administration and Small Business Administration (SBA) announced new changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on Monday, February 22, which will result in increased access to essential financial relief for the creative workforce.  Formed as part of the CARES Act, the PPP has enjoyed tremendous bipartisan support due to the program’s ability to quickly deliver relief to qualified small businesses, including sole proprietors and independent contractors. The PPP administers favorable loans to eligible borrowers through participating financial institutions, and many of the loans convert to grants if they are primarily used to fund payroll expenses.

While the relief program is appreciated and utilized by the music community, many struggling creatives were originally left with either limited or no access to the available loans administered by the SBA. But starting today, the SBA attempts to correct these inequities and other longstanding programmatic flaws by implementing new guidance.

Many creators will be directly impacted by the SBA’s updated funding formula for sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals. Previously, the PPP loan was calculated by multiplying an applicant’s payroll expense by 2.5, resulting in a much lower loan for sole-proprietors compared with larger businesses. Under the updated guidance, the SBA will calculate the loan amount for these types of workers by using gross income instead of net profits, resulting in larger payments for many members of the music ecosystem. This change is effective March 3, and applicable to applicants who have yet to be approved for a PPP loan in 2021. The Recording Academy has consistently advocated for this change since March, 2020, which will help make PPP loans more responsive to the needs of self-employed individuals.

From the program’s inception, many minority-owned businesses and businesses located in underserved communities faced difficulty accessing loans due to a lack of a formal pre-existing relationship with large financial institutions. To correct that program, the SBA has earmarked $1 billion in funds for low- and moderate-income areas. While this is a step in the right direction, the Biden Administration and the SBA must continue to increase outreach and assistance to these underserved communities and minority-owned institutions.

The SBA also prioritized getting relief to businesses with 20 employees or less, which started on February 24 and concluded on March 9, 2021. Previously, these businesses struggled to secure PPP funds due to the overcrowded lending portal. Understanding that many businesses in the music ecosystem are extremely small operations, the Academy has long advocated for the SBA to prioritize the delivery of financial relief to the smallest of businesses, many of whom are on the verge of collapse due to the pandemic’s enduring impact.

Other changes in guidance include the elimination of borrowing restrictions for business owners with non-fraud felony convictions, the removal of the disqualifying federal student loan debt delinquency factors, and the expansion of the program to qualify all lawful U.S. residents. Learn more about the application process on the SBA’s website. 

While many of these promising changes will positively impact the entire music ecosystem, Congress understood the need of providing additional relief and passed President Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” as a result. The relief package addresses the many complex challenges facing creators by extending unemployment assistance, appropriating funds to help small businesses survive, and investing in the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Academy applauds President Biden and Congress on the passage of this landmark bill, and looks forward to collaborating on an equitable and seamless implementation of these critical relief programs, many of which will greatly assist the entire music ecosystem.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in February 2021 and has been updated to reflect the passage of the American Rescue Plan end of the 14-day exclusive application window.

Read More: Billboard: How The Recording Academy And Its Allies Scored Big Wins In COVID Relief Package

Texas Chapter Advocacy Day
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Texas Chapter Advocacy Day Unites Music Champions in the Lone Star State

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On March 30, the Recording Academy’s Texas Chapter hosted their annual advocacy day, empowering music advocates to call for creator-friendly legislative reform
Advocacy
Apr 2, 2021 - 10:43 am

Over the past year, Texas's beloved music scene has been dangerously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, being the state with the highest venue closures out of any other. With music venues closed, crew members underemployed, managers with no gigs to book, and musicians with no stages to perform on, the Texas music scene and those that make it go-round have continued to suffer over the past year. 

Prior to the pandemic, the vibrant Texas music industry accounted for 210,000 jobs. And more than just contributing to state economy, Texas's rich musical heritage is admired and valued nationally and around the world. Last month's 63rd GRAMMY Awards amplified and celebrated the tremendous music exported by Texans in the past year, including music from Beyoncé, Black Pumas, Megan Thee Stallion, Post Malone, Ruthie Foster, Snarky Puppy, and many more.  While Corpus Christi's Selena and Dallas's DJ Spinderella with Salt-N-Pepa both received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award. 

For those familiar with the Texas music scene, it is clear that most music creators earn their living from touring and gigs. Since that has been at standstill for over a year now, the ripple effect from this lost revenue has impacted artists and their teams, crews, music venues, and many others in the music ecosystem, including music manufacturers and record producers.

The Texas Chapter understood the dire financial outlooks facing members of their creative community and decided to take action. On Tuesday, March 30, the Texas Chapter and its members united to host and participate in the virtual "Texas Advocacy Day."

More than 75 members state-wide, including past and current GRAMMY® nominees and winners, came together for Texas Music Advocacy Day and met with over 30 offices. The event was sponsored by State Representative Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi) and State Senator Carol Alvarado (D-Houston). Participants representing the Academy's Texas Chapter included multi-GRAMMY nominee Bun B, prominent producer and multi-GRAMMY winner Larry "S1" Griffin, Latin GRAMMY nominee and artist Gina Chavez, multi-GRAMMY nominee and Gospel artist Brian Courtney Wilson, GRAMMY-nominated record producer and Recording Academy Chapter Trustee Tim Palmer, Recording Academy Chapter President Carlos Alvarez, and many more of note.

While this year's event was held virtually, many members participated in the event and used their voices to call on their elected officials to enact meaningful relief programs for the struggling music ecosystem. "Many of the legislators need to be made aware of the fact that the 'ripple effect' of the pandemic is only now becoming fully visible in our industry," said Palmer. "As a producer and mixer, I worked through the early part of the pandemic with no issues at all, but now I'm beginning to see a change. Without live show income, many artists basically have no money left to be able to spend on production, mixing and studio costs. The return of live music is so separately needed as earning a living wage from streaming is still largely a fantasy to most artists. We all really need to step up and advocate for our music community and get them the help they need and deserve. Texas Advocacy Day was hopefully a step closer to our goals."

The music community was one of the first sectors shuttered by the pandemic and will be one of the last to return to normal operations. Understanding what is at risk, Texas Chapter advocates lobbied on behalf of three key provisions to help assist the ailing ecosystem. First, participants requested that the state legislators re-appropriate state funding received under the CARES Act to organizations, like MusiCares, in order to better support local creators. Next, advocates shared their support of H.B. 3836, which protects both creators and consumers from online criminals who disseminate and distribute unauthorized music. Finally, creators urged policymakers to oppose H.B. 434, which removes the fine arts credit requirement for high school students.

"The Texas Chapter of the Recording Academy has heard the stories of our members and continues to advocate for and serve our music community as best we can. That's why we organized Texas Music Advocacy Day on March 30th, while our state lawmakers are in session, so we can talk to them about the ways they can support Texas music," said Executive Director Christee Albino Bird. "We're asking for additional relief needed for music professionals as we continue down this long road to recovery, support for Fine Arts programs in public schools, and to support bills that protect creators' from online theft and that help music venues recover from the pandemic."

Texas Advocacy Day proved to be an incredible moment for the music community, and legislators are now brief on the needs of the music community. "We are doing everything we can to support the music industry. You have an advocate here," said Representative Hunter.

Thank you to all the music advocates who participated in this year's activation. The Recording Academy and the Texas Chapter look forward to hosting an in-person advocacy day in Austin next year.

Songwriters & Composers Wing: Celebrating Decades of Advocacy

Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater

Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

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From Small Stages To The GRAMMY Stage: How Four Venue Professionals Became Presenters At The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show

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Operators and staff at the Station Inn, the Troubadour, the Apollo Theater and Hotel Café appeared during the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show to petition viewers for help—and promise an epic party for them if they do
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Mar 24, 2021 - 8:43 am

The Recording Academy reimagined everything about the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show on a more intimate scale, and the choice of presenters was no different. When it came time to announce the Best Country Album winner, the person who appeared on screen wasn't a slick Nashville superstar, but a soft-spoken, older man who's unrecognizable to a global audience but beloved in the Music City. His name was J.T. Gray, and he grinned ear-to-ear on national TV.

In a segment recorded a month prior, Gray showed the camera crew around the Station Inn, the 145-person-capacity bluegrass venue he'd owned since 1981. Despite the room receiving almost no income for a year due to the live music industry shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gray was rosy about the future. "Getting to reopen the Station Inn, that's going to be a celebration like never before," he promised. "It's going to be a big party." He then announced the winner, Miranda Lambert, to the world. Gray was naturally quiet and reserved, a closed book. Not after that shoot, though.

"He was just beside himself the whole time," Jeff Brown, the Station Inn's marketing director, tells GRAMMY.com. "He just never believed it was happening. He just didn't believe that his little venue was being recognized on that kind of scale, that those many people in a place with the GRAMMYs and the Recording Academy's recognition actually paid attention. He just couldn't believe it." On Sunday, March 14, Gray astonishedly watched himself on CBS. The following Saturday, he passed away after a struggle with compounding health problems.

Gray might not get to attend the "big party" when things open up. But 9 million people heard his message.

For a year, venues worldwide have been hanging on by a thread: struggling to pay their rent, waiting in vain for federal aid, and given no clear finish line as to when they can reopen. That's why, with the Recording Academy's blessing, Executive Producer Ben Winston asked Gray, as well as representatives from the Troubadour and Hotel Café in Los Angeles and the Apollo Theater in New York City, to present at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards and talk about their economic struggles during the pandemic. Together, they sounded a shared refrain to the world: We matter to our communities, and we need help.

The venues that spoke their piece during the 63rd GRAMMY Awards were members of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). An assemblage of independent venue owners and promoters from around the country, NIVA formed directly in response to the 2020 lockdown. "We figured we'd better find a way to come together and lobby for federal assistance," Audrey Schaefer, a board member and the Communications Director for NIVA, tells GRAMMY.com. "Because otherwise, we're all going under."

The Steel Wheels At Station Inn

The Steel Wheels at Station Inn in 2015. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music via Getty Images

Last year, NIVA, along with the Recording Academy and other music organizations, lobbied Congress via the Save Our Stages Act and succeeded. On Dec. 27, the decree became the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and passed along with the COVID relief package. "In that grant fund is $16 billion," Schaefer says. "For an organization that didn't exist before … nobody gave us any hopes of being able to secure that kind of funding. But we did. We got the law passed."

However, venues have not yet seen that money. "We understand that the applications will start at the beginning of April," she adds with relief in her voice.

In the meantime, Scheafer mulled over how best to convey to the world the existential crises venues face. "I was thinking that the GRAMMYs couldn't possibly be at the Beverly Hilton like it normally is—in a big ballroom—because we can't be together," she says. "I thought, 'What if the GRAMMYs were to have the award show, and instead of having all the performances under one roof, they were to have them in independent venues?'"

To try and give this idea legs, Schaefer reached out to Daryl Friedman, Chief Advocacy Officer of the Recording Academy's Advocacy division. "He said, 'Listen, Audrey, I think that's a great idea, but they have a million great ideas. So, let me take it to them and we'll see what happens,'" she recalls. Schaefer persistently followed up. "I kept asking Daryl, 'What do you think? What are you hearing?'"

But unbeknown to her, the Recording Academy and the production team were already independently planning to highlight independent venues and their employees as an advocacy initiative and add a personal moment to the broadcast. "And then I found out that, oh my gosh, they do want to do it," she adds with awe.

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish at the Troubadour in 2019. Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Granted, the Recording Academy didn't agree to host performances at independent venues. But Schaefer calls the idea they decided to go with "so much better." Instead, venue professionals would take viewers on a tour of their workplaces, illustrating their value to their communities and why they desperately need help. Participants included the Station Inn's Gray; Rachelle Erratchu, the night manager at the Troubadour; Billy Mitchell, the tour guide and overall house cat at the Apollo Theater in Harlem; and Candice Fox, a bartender at the Hotel Café in Hollywood.

For Erratchu, the problem extends further than keeping the lights on at the Troubadour; the entire live music ecosystem is in trouble. "We need everybody else to survive so that we can survive," she tells GRAMMY.com. "If we don't exist and all the other venues across the country don't exist, the tour circuit as we know it and have relied on it for decades won't exist anymore."

For Billy Mitchell, the Historical Tour Manager and overall global representative of the Apollo Theater who has earned the title of "Mr. Apollo," his job isn't a means to an end; he lives and breathes it. Mitchell's time at the Apollo began in 1965 when he ran errands for James Brown and his band. During the telecast, Mitchell relates a funny story of how the Godfather of Soul sent him all the way home to the Bronx to get his report card, threatening to put his job on ice if he didn't get better grades.

COVID forced the Apollo to temporarily furlough some its staff. To be forced to stop, it was heartbreaking, to be honest with you," Mitchell tells GRAMMY.com. "I give tours to people from all over the world, and they're unable to visit because of COVID restrictions and things like that." While the not-for-profit has offered digital programming in the meantime, most of it has been free as not to burden fans. Thankfully, at press time, all staff members have returned full-time.

Billy Mitchell

Billy Mitchell at the Apollo Theater in 2009. Photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage via Getty Images​

The Apollo has been lucky, in a sense; corporate and private donations have kept it afloat. Still, they're not out of the woods yet. "Donations are needed so that when we do reopen, we can pump out those great shows and bring back our staff," Mitchell says. "We want to bring back our staff as soon as possible." 

In the clip played during the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show, Mitchell addressed viewers from the empty audience. "We miss our audience and we can't wait until our doors open up again," he says. "We just can't wait."

Candice Fox, a bartender at Hollywood's Hotel Café, believes there will be an outpouring of activity at her workplace once it's safe again. "I like to believe people are going to want to make up for lost time," she tells GRAMMY.com. "I know that people are itching to perform. People are so excited to experience that exchange of energy again. So, I think it's going to explode."

In line with Erratchu's thoughts on the overall music ecosystem, Fox notes that Katy Perry cut her teeth at the 65-capacity room on Cahuenga Boulevard. "She wasn't the big pop star she is now; she was just a girl with a guitar," she says. "So many artists' careers and the GRAMMYs couldn't exist without small, independent venues like the Hotel Café because you've got to start somewhere." In her clip, Fox ruminates on the regulars she's missed for a year, pouring a Boddingtons and mixing an Old Fashioned to an array of empty stools.

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds at Hotel Café in 2015. Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images​   

At the end of every venue vignette, each venue representative announced the winner of their assigned categories: Best Country Album for Gray (Miranda Lambert's Wildcard), Best Pop Solo Performance for Erratchu (Harry Styles' "Watermelon Sugar"), Best Rap Song for Billy Mitchell (Beyoncé's and Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage Remix") and Album Of The Year for Fox (Taylor Swift's folklore). All four were thrilled to appear and encourage viewers to support their workplaces—whether by donating directly, paying for a livestream or purchasing a T-shirt. 

That way, the lights at the Station Inn, the Troubadour, the Apollo and Hotel Café can flare up again, ensuring these cultural hubs don't become figments of the past. And if you want to know how memorable the inevitable "COVID is over" parties will be, just look at Gray's blazing smile during the GRAMMYs.

"I can probably count a very [small] number of times that I've seen him truly smile," the Station Inn's Brown reflects. "But truly smiling—that's what he was doing here."

Click here to support the Station Inn.

Click here to support the Troubadour.

Click here to support the Apollo Theater.

Click here to support Hotel Café.

Click here to support NIVA.

Capturing Los Angeles' COVID-Closed Venues