Right now, all music venues across Washington state are closed. Without meaningful support from Federal and Local Government many of us will not re-open.

Can you imagine not being able to see shows at venues like Neumos, The Crocodile, The Wild Buffalo, Washington Hall, Re-Bar? This is real life if we don't get help today.

Please sign this petition letting your Senator and U.S Reps know our venues need:  

Cash Assistance not Loans  

We are grateful our federal government supported small businesses quickly passing the CARES Act which offers up a Small Business Loan to help get employees back on payroll via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This will TEMPORARILY assist some of us with bringing staff off unemployment but as written, the loans just won’t save venues from the crisis of high closure costs and expected lag times in opening.  

Touring artists are postponing their tours until late summer/fall or to 2021 entirely - venues will NOT be able to be up & running at a near regular basis for the rest of the year.  

The PPP does not shore up small businesses for a long enough period to stay afloat and the portion of the loan that is forgivable is not adequate for venues in high cost and high rent areas to be able to afford to take on the debt.  

With postponed tours and uncertainty around when we can open up, many venues won’t be able to shoulder the debt and afford to pay back the loans within the two years. 
 
Rent and mortgage forgiveness or reduction  

Many landlords have negotiated some forms of rent reduction or deferral, but they are under NO obligation to offer reasonable pay back terms. Their own property taxes and loans are not being deferred so they will not be able to provide solutions to venues on a long-term basis.  

There are no standards on what venues who receive deferrals or reductions will face when they re-open their doors. Many venues will NOT be able to pay 2x rent for deferred rents/mortgages upon reopening.

Due to the postponement of tours, venues will not see a smoothing out of income vs expenses for many months, if at all in 2020.  
 
Continued Assistance for the Workforce   

This does NOT mean just the venue staff.  It includes all Artists who perform at the venues, their teams, all contract workers (who have never qualified for unemployment before this crisis), our vendors, etc.  

We need the measures put in place to assist this vulnerable population through the long-term effects venue closures  

Tax Relief & Insurance Revisions  

Venues have large B&O (Business & Operating) taxes, as well as federal taxes.  

We need city, state and federal tax relief packages that addresses these expenses until the economy levels out.

Venues often pay insurance based on projected revenues (including ticket sales, food, and drink).  No one projected revenues to be this low this year and current insurance policies do NOT offer refunds based on actual performance, nor do they protect against loss of revenue due to a pandemic  
  
Variety [https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/coronavirus-movie-theaters-concert-venue-attendance-drop-study-1203550489/ reported that 44% of consumers were much less likely to attend large public events, even after the CDC cleared them.  “47% agreed that the idea of going to a major public event ‘will scare me for a long time.’”  With major tours being postponed, festivals cancelling or postponing, and the very nature of our business being scheduled 4-6 months out, independent music venues may NOT recover from these closures.  
 
 
WE provide these spaces for community to gather and share in the experience of enjoying music and art together.  The expenses of maintaining a CLOSED facility are astronomical when faced with the projected length of time the music industry and our businesses will be impacted by this. Our ONLY goal is to keep these spaces ALIVE during this crisis so we can continue to provide you a place to see all of our favorite artists.    
  
Please join us in letting OUR government know that we need this help.  
  
Thank you,  
The Washington Nightlife Music Association  
www.wanma.info