Featured News

NIVA rolls out advisory board with Dave Grohl, See Tickets CEO

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has named several live industry professionals, as well as artists, including Dave Grohl and Quincy Jones, to its new advisory board in the US.

The group has been brought together to help support US artists hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which brought live music to a halt in March 2020.

Killer Mike, Jimmy Jam and Christian McBride are among the other artists on the board, which is led by See Tickets chief executive Boris Patronoff, who will act as chair. In addition, Lawrence Peryer, chief executive and founder of San Francisco-based ticket exchange service Lyte, has also joined the advisory board.

NIVA said: “Advisory board members will share their diverse knowledge and professional expertise in streaming, ticketing, management, and more to help NIVA and its members navigate through the remainder of this pandemic and rebuild the live entertainment ecosystem in a transparent, diverse, and inclusive way.”

Patranoff said in a statement: “When the pandemic first hit it was clear the independent live music community would need to come together and rally for relief.

“Doing just that, a dedicated group of promoters set out to form NIVA and we proudly stepped up to support them. The accomplishments to date have been remarkable and I’m thrilled to serve what I believe will be an important organisation for years to come.”

NIVA, which launched in March 2020 in response to the devastating impact COVID-19 had on venues and the live sector, consists of 800 venues and has spearheaded the #SaveOurStages campaign.

The Save Our Stages Act, which includes $15bn in dedicated funding for live venues, independent movie theatres and cultural institutions, was passed into law in the US in December.

Image: Facundo Gaisler / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 / Edited for size