National Independent Venue Association Applauds Portland City Council Approving Moratorium On Live Nation Venue & Points To Maine Law As A Model For Communities Across The Country
NIVA’s Leadership Alongside Maine’s Independent Venues, Promoters, and Artists Delivers a United Message Protecting the State’s $550 Million Live Entertainment Economy; A Case Study Every City, County, and State Across the Country Should Follow
PORTLAND, Maine (August 21, 2025) – The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) applauds the Portland, Maine, City Council’s 6–3 vote last week to approve a 180-day moratorium on new large venues, halting a proposed Live Nation–backed 3,300-seat venue. The moratorium provides critical time to assess the proposed venue’s potential impact on the city’s $550 million live entertainment industry.
NIVA urged the Portland City Council to pass the moratorium by showcasing new economic impact data that shows Maine’s independent live venues, promoters, and festivals are a powerful driver of the state’s economy, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year.
The decision, which takes effect September 10 and runs through March, follows hours of public testimony from local musicians, independent venues, and promoters. They warned that Live Nation’s entry into the Portland market could put the city’s small and mid-size venues in direct jeopardy, siphon economic benefits away from Maine communities, and hand unprecedented control of the live entertainment industry to a single corporate monopoly.
Portland’s leadership is not only a local victory — it’s a national blueprint. Maine law empowers local governments to enact moratoriums when existing policies are inadequate to prevent serious public harm, and Portland has rightly recognized that handing over its live entertainment future to a monopoly demands exactly that kind of pause. The City Council’s action reflects a principled stand: that municipalities have both the authority and the obligation to assess the far-reaching economic and cultural consequences of corporate consolidation in live performance. Cities and states nationwide should look to Maine’s permissive moratorium law and Portland’s use of it as a model for how to protect their cultural economies, independent businesses, and community identity from anti-competitive live entertainment companies before it's too late.
“This is a huge win for Portland’s entertainment community. It serves as a model for other local economies, showing the harm Live Nation can bring through anti-competitive practices,” says Stephen Parker, NIVA Executive Director. “We look forward to working with the City Council to avoid any project ultimately being approved that would harm the live ecosystem of Portland.”
Live Nation, an international conglomerate headquartered in L.A., which is already the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit and investigations by 40 state attorneys general, has a history of acquiring or building venues across the country to gain market control and funnel tours away from independent spaces. Portland’s action demonstrates that other U.S. cities can and should weigh the public harm of such anti-competitive practices before approving large-scale venue projects.
NIVA recognizes the City of Portland Council Members Wesley Pelletier, April Fournier, Sarah Michniewicz, Ben Grant, Anna Bullet, and Kate Sykes for their leadership in responding to community concerns and voting to protect Portland’s live entertainment economy.
“We are obviously thrilled with the result, but know the battle is not over. We will use this time to organize the community, engage the council, and work towards our ultimate goal of keeping Portland and the state of Maine independent,” says Scott Mohler, Executive Director Maine Music Alliance. “We applaud the City Council for having the courage to make the right decision, and we optimistically look forward to working in the best interest of our local musicians and independent venues.”
“The independent spirit in Portland is not only alive and well but thriving and integral to what makes Portland such an attractive city to live and work. Our community showed up and will continue to show up – Monday’s vote is about standing up for our community’s right to chart its own future,” says Lauren Wayne, President, State Theatre Presents. “This moratorium gives us the breathing room to study the impacts, protect our local and independent businesses, and make sure that decisions about our city are made with our residents’ voices at the center, not the bottom line of a national conglomerate.”
ABOUT NIVA
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is the national trade association representing thousands of independent live entertainment venues, festivals, promoters, and more. NIVA works to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of live entertainment. NIVA empowers members and their teams with member benefits, advocacy on the state, local, and federal levels, an annual industry-leading conference, and more.
NIVA led the Save Our Stages campaign, culminating in landmark legislation in 2020 that established the $16.25 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, the largest arts investment in U.S. history.
NIVA is committed to equity in its support of independent stages. It seeks to create and encourage opportunities for venues, promoters, and festivals owned, operated, and staffed by people of color, women, non-binary, LGBTQ+, veterans, and people with disabilities.
CONTACT
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Kris Ferraro, Kris@luckybreakpr.com
