The National Independent Venue Association has announced their “Live Independent” program in partnership with Bandsintown in order to promote and preserve independent venues.
NIVA, or the National Independent Venue Association, is the national trade association that represents thousands of independent live entertainment venues, festivals, promoters, and more. Their ethos focuses on the preservation and nurturing of live entertainment’s ecosystem, empowering members and their team with member benefits, advocacy on the state, local, and federal levels, an annual industry-leading conference, and more.
NIVA seeks to maintain and promote the smaller stages where the music community begins, especially those operated and staffed by people of color, women, non-binary, LGBTQ+, veterans, and people with disabilities.
Their newest program, “Live Independent”, is another large step towards this objective. Designed to enhance the quality and sustainability of independent live entertainment all while preserving the authentic energy of such cultural cornerstones, the “Live Independent” certification program will recognize excellence and commitment to the independent spirit via seals of certification that carry major benefits.
When a venue is marked as an inductee to the “Live Independent” ranks, they will earn the certified seal along with various physical posters, stickers, and decals as well as digital assets with the “Live Independent” branding for websites, marketing, and social media. Partnerships with ticketing companies will also enable the “Live Independent” seal to appear on event tickets.
The program will also include a dedicated website acting as an encyclopedia to “Live Independent” venues and events. Fans can search the site to see which venues are certified and find shows at certified stages.
Finally, “Live Independent” certified venues can expect to have their seal displayed on their Bandsintown page in addition to appearing on the Bandsintown “Live Independent” certified venue map on both the platform’s app and website.
When fans and artists choose independent stages, they’re investing in the soul of their community. Live Independent is our collective promise—to the artists, to the fans, and to the communities that cherish these spaces—that the spirit of independent venues will not only endure but will continue to flourish.”
– Stephen Parker, NIVA Executive Director
Eligibility for the “Live Independent” certification and its benefits is open to independent venues, promoters, and festivals that demonstrate a mission chiefly centered around delivering live performance to audiences, offer fair payment to all artists, performers, and creators, stand independent from multinational conglomerates or publicly traded companies, support a transparent, competitive, and diverse community, and show a commitment to protecting and preserving independent stages through their NIVA membership.
For more information on the “Live Independent” certification program, including how to apply and the specific benefits of certification, please visit here.
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