Tennessee's House Finance, Ways and Means committee voted down a bipartisan bill aimed at funding independent music venues. The 11-15 defeat came on April 16, despite the measure's earlier passage in the Senate. The legislation sought to establish a $2 million pilot program through fees on secondary ticket sales.
Tennessee's House Finance, Ways and Means committee blocked the TN Live Music Support Act on Thursday, April 16, with an 11-15 vote. The bill had previously advanced through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on an 8-1 vote. It proposed a $2 million pilot program within the Live Music Fund, managed by the TN Entertainment Commission, to assist independent venues with capital upgrades amid a consolidating live entertainment market. The funding would come from a 5% fee on secondary ticket sales for live music events in the state. The Live Music Fund itself was created in 2024 with unanimous legislative backing to bolster the state's music industry. Chris Cobb, executive director of the Music Venue Alliance Nashville, expressed disappointment in a press release. “It’s incredibly disappointing that members of the Tennessee General Assembly chose to vote down this important legislation this week,” Cobb said. He noted that independent venues face ongoing struggles while out-of-state ticketing firms profit from Tennessee events. Stephen Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association, criticized the decision as favoring secondary resellers like StubHub over local businesses. “By siding with companies whose business models extract revenue from local music economies without reinvesting in them, these legislators have risked the closure of small businesses in their districts,” Parker stated. Advocates, venues, and industry partners plan to pursue alternative funding solutions for the pilot program.
