Independent Venue Week, a weeklong series celebrating indie venues across the U.K. and the U.S., has announced the programming for its second annual Independents Day event.
The two-day virtual event, taking place July 29-30 and streaming via StreamYard, YouTube, Facebook and the Independent Venue Week website, will examine the challenges and opportunities within the grassroots live music community, including the "immense impact" the COVID-19 pandemic has made on the live events and concert industry, according to a post on the organization's website announcing the series.
The 2020 program will also cover topics like minority representation at a grassroots level, applicable actions resulting from the Black Lives Matter movement in grassroots venues, the vital role of livestreaming in live music, venue sustainability, wellbeing and mental health and more.
Check out the full schedule and list of panels and panelists on the Independent Venue Week website.
Since early March, the coronavirus pandemic has virtually shut down the worldwide live event and concert industry, forcing many independent venues around the world to close their doors for good.
Earlier this month, the U.K. government announced a £1.57 billion (approximately $2 billion) support package to help fund the country's arts, culture and heritage industries, including music venues, which have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, NME reports.
Last month, in a survey conducted by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), 90 percent of independent venue owners, promoters and bookers said "they will have to close permanently within the next few months, if they can't get an infusion of targeted government funding," NPR reports.
Read More: 4 Independent Record Stores Across The U.S. Weigh In On Their Struggle To Survive During COVID-19
On Wednesday (July 22), U.S. senators introduced the "Save Our Stages Act," a new relief bill aimed at supporting independent music and entertainment venues that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. (The Recording Academy has endorsed two new bills that aim to support creators, venues and small music businesses: the RESTART Act and the Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act.)
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Launched in 2014, Independent Venue Week is a nationwide initiative championing indie music venues as well as "the people that own, run and work in them, week in, week out," according to the organization's website. In 2018, the event expanded into the U.S. for the first time ever.
Learn more about how you can donate to or apply for assistance via the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy and MusiCares.
