National Independent Venue Association Releases 50+ State Studies That Show The Outsized Economic Power of Independent Live Entertainment
Groundbreaking Research Reveals the Outsized Economic and Cultural Impact of Independent Stages, While Highlighting Financial Strains Due to Inflation, Live Nation, and Predatory Ticket Resale
(October 8, 2025) – Today, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) released its 51 State of Live reports, a series of statewide studies examining the economic contributions of independent venues across the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The reports provide policymakers, community leaders, and NIVA members with localized data on the economic contributions and challenges of independent venues, festivals, and promoters. The State of Live was made possible due to support from Live Music Society and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
The individualized state reports expand on the groundbreaking State of Live study unveiled by NIVA in June 2025, which found that, in 2024 alone, independent venues generated $153.1 billion in total economic output, contributed $86.2 billion directly to U.S. GDP, supported more than 907,000 jobs, and paid over $51.7 billion in wages and benefits. While those national findings underscored the outsized role of independent stages, the new state-specific data give local leaders powerful and tailored evidence to strengthen advocacy efforts at the state level.
“Every community has a story to tell about how independent venues power their local economy and culture,” said Stephen Parker, Executive Director of NIVA. “These reports reaffirm that state and local elected officials have significant reasons to frequently tout the impact of these small businesses and non-profits on their communities, do everything they can to protect them, and ensure they have a seat at the table during policymaking.”
Each of the 51 reports details the impact of independent stages, which includes contributions to GDP, job creation, wages, tax revenues, and tourism. The reports also bring attention to the financial struggles facing the independent entertainment community, as 64% of independent stages nationwide reported unprofitability in 2024. Across the country, state reports reveal similar concerns, including Florida, with 65% of independent stages reporting unprofitability; in California, 69%; in Ohio, 80%; and in New York, 81%.
“We’ve known for years how important independent venues are to our communities, but with this data on our contributions to the economies, employment, tourism and taxes at the state level, we are better able to make the case to our state and local legislators that we matter,” said Sean Watterson, Chair of NIVA’s Economic Research Task Force. “We can use NIVA’s research to strengthen local music ecosystems, working with coalition partners to preserve and protect the value we bring to our communities.”
Driving these challenges are rising inflation, which has increased costs for staffing, rent, utilities, insurance, and artists' expenses; anti-competitive practices from Live Nation-Ticketmaster, which limit market access and squeeze margins; and predatory ticket resale, which diverts fan spending away from venues and artists. Together, these pressures mean that even as independent stages deliver billions in economic output and cultural value, many are unable to remain profitable.
State legislatures can take action to protect and preserve live ecosystems for artists by leveraging these results to pass:
Ticket Resale Price Caps and a Ban on Speculative Tickets (like those in Maine and Maryland) to protect fans from deception and price gouging by predatory resale platforms and scalpers; and
Live Music and Performance Funds (like those in Texas and Tennessee) to help independent venues and festivals keep their doors open and continue to serve as economic drivers for most communities throughout each state.
State of Live reports: https://www.nivassoc.org/stateoflive/state-reports
Links to each state report:
To access the full national and state-specific State of Live reports, visit www.nivassoc.org/stateoflive.
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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