Photo Credit: Chad Morehead
The Tennessee House Finance, Ways and Means Committee voted 11-15 to block the state’s Live Music Support Act, despite strong bipartisan support.
Tennessee’s House Finance, Ways and Means Committee has blocked legislation in an 11-15 vote that would have provided funding to independent music venues in the state. The bill, titled the TN Live Music Support Act, had seen widespread bipartisan support and had previously passed the state’s Senate Commerce and Labor Committee with a vote of 8-1.
The bill would have supported a proposed $2 million pilot program within the Live Music Fund, overseen by the TN Entertainment Commission and funded by a 5% tax on secondary market ticket sales. This would have gone to help independent venues make capital improvement upgrades to remain competitive in the ever-consolidating live entertainment space.
Exactly why the legislation was shot down isn’t clear—but likely had to do with lobbying efforts from the likes of StubHub.
“It’s incredibly disappointing that members of the Tennessee General Assembly chose to vote down this important legislation this week,” said Chris Cobb, executive director of the Music Venue Alliance Nashville.
“Independent venues will continue to struggle this year while out-of-state secondary ticketing companies continue to extract value from our music community at the expense of Tennessee music fans. This bill represented a practical solution supported by venues, artists, and industry leaders across the state.”
“Tennessee has long been recognized as a national leader in smart, forward-thinking music policy. So it is deeply disappointing to see legislation with strong bipartisan support blocked after pressure from secondary ticket resellers like StubHub,” said National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) executive director Stephen Parker.
“By siding with companies whose business models extract revenue from local music economies without reinvesting in them, these legislators have risked the closure of small businesses in their districts and the loss of jobs. Independent venues are essential cultural infrastructure, and we urge lawmakers to stand with Tennessee communities instead of out-of-state corporate interests.”…