Independent music won’t get state funding as lawmakers reject latest push

The TN Live Music Support Act, which would have given over $1 million a year to independent venues, promoters and artists in Tennessee, was voted down in the legislative session that concluded this week. The bill received bipartisan support earlier in the process but failed in the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee after six legislators changed their votes.

$1M annually at stake

Last year, the state legislature created a fund to provide capital improvement grants to independent music venues across Tennessee. But they did not put any money into the fund. In this legislative session, the proposal was to put $1 million into the fund each year. The goal was to distribute it via grants to independent promoters and artists who applied to the Tennessee Entertainment Commission.

The bill was proposed to fight corporatization in the music industry and protect independent stages where artists develop their craft before going to larger venues.

The act proposed to raise the funds by putting a 5% tax on all concert tickets sold on the secondary market. That would raise the price of resale concert tickets. Tennessee has seen independent music venues struggle and change hands, selling to corporations like LiveNation and AEG in recent years.

Legislative moves

The bill moved through the lawmaking process with relative ease and bipartisan support. But at the last minute, the bill was shot down. Republican House Representatives John Crawford, Jeremy Faison, Tim Hicks, Lee Reeves, and Jason Zachary changed their votes from support to opposition, and Rep. Ron Gant changed to “not voting” and the measure failed 11-15.

Proponents of the bill say that secondary market reseller StubHub pressured Republicans in a last-minute lobbying campaign to influenced votes, convincing Republicans to vote “no” because it would raise taxes on secondary market tickets.

Stubhub did not deny lobbying, and in a statement to WPLN a spokesperson said, “We back programs that support small, independent venues and artists, but they only work if they are part comprehensive reforms that improve transparency and protect fans’ rights to buy, sell, and transfer tickets.”

The ideas in the bill will likely come back. The Tennessee Live Music & Performance Venue Fund is written into law. Proponents of the bill say they will look for private funding to create a pilot program, and the Live Music Support Act could then come back in some form in a future session.