Trump Decision to Bail on Federal Stimulus Pushes Music Venues Over the Brink

Public transit, employment, homelessness, foreclosures—all hang in the balance as the federal government falters with a proposed economic recovery package. So does the prospect of going to a show after the pandemic.

2 minute read

October 8, 2020, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Small Jazz Club New York

Zhang Yu / Flickr

The announcement by President Trump on Tuesday that Congressional Republicans should end negotiations for an economic relief package—sorely needed by so many industries, people, and governments in the country—also came as a death knell to the live music industry.

"While that bizarre statement proved that there's no relief in sight for the unemployed, the service industry, small businesses, and more, Trump also effectively doomed hundreds, if not thousands of independent venues who need a bailout to survive the pandemic," according to an article by Josh Terry.

Here are the brutal details of the implications of the failed stimulus package for independent music venues in the country:

The National Independent Venue Association, which is composed of over 2,800 venues across all 50 states, has been fighting for the survival of these spaces since April following mass closures and the cancellation of live music events.  But after months of partisan deadlock on Congress, a couple tweets from the President basically wiped out all hope of long overdue Federal assistance. An oft-cited NIVA survey says that 90% of independent venues will be forced to permanently shutter by the end of the year if they don't get a bailout; that's becoming a reality. 

In short, it will be a bloodbath—a bloodbath that many predicted, and more than once. But the bloodbath is already here. Terry lists the casualties: "Just this week, Washington D.C.'s iconic U Street Music Hall closed for good along with Des Moines, Iowa's Vaudeville Mews. These losses are piling up, even in music bastions like Nashville and New Orleans."

Wednesday, October 7, 2020 in Vice

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

3 hours ago - Zachary Whalen

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

People boarding a bus on Maryland's Orange Route.

Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project

The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.

1 minute ago - Mass Transit

A brick building with a circular sign with the Airbnb logo hanging off of it.

Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin

The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

One side of the image shows a Chicago bus stop without a bench, the second image shows the bus stop with a yellow and blue bench.

Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago

A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.

2 hours ago - Block Club Chicago

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.