Tennessee Bill Creating Live Music Fund Heads to the Governor’s Desk

A Tennessee costs that would produce a live music fund for places and artists heads to the guv’s desk for a signature after passing the Tennessee General Assembly.

The Tennessee General Assembly has passed an expense to develop a live music fund for musical artists and locations, and now it heads to Governor Bill Lee’s desk to wait for a signature. The expense supplies a prospective structure for a live music fund that will ultimately offer grants to places, promoters, and entertainers.

The fund will be administered by the Tennessee Entertainment Commission, a workplace under the Department of Economic and Community Development. While the costs does not actively assign cash to the funds for this , it does state that the fund can get contributions and grants from both specific donors and the economic sector.

The Music Venue Alliance Nashville, National Independent Venue Association, and Broadway Entertainment Association interacted to bring the costs before the Tennessee General Assembly. Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) brought similar buddy expenses, SB2508 and HB2712, respectively.

“We are really thrilled by the consentaneous and bipartisan assistance for our independent locations,” stated Chris Cobb, Board President of the Music Venue Alliance Nashville. “It has actually ended up being progressively tough to own, run, or grow an independent place in today’s environment, and a fund like this will be a distinction maker to make sure that independent locations throughout Tennessee not just make it through, however grow.”

The expense will possibly make Tennessee the 2nd state to establish a live music fund, as Texas is presently the only state to make use of one. Texas offered over 650 micro grants to private entertainers and creatives utilizing a comparable fund in 2023. Amongst those was the historical independent place, The Hole in the Wall in Austin, with a grant that allowed the place to protect a 20-year lease extension.