Tennessee State House Rejects Indie Venue Funding Bill

Tennessee’s House Finance, Ways and Means Committee has voted down the TN Live Music Support Act. This bill would have launched a $2 million pilot program to help independent venues compete with larger forces such as Live Nation and AEG Presents.

Why it matters:

• Tennessee is home to Nashville, commonly known as “Music City.”

• Nashville and the rest of the state have a strong culture of country music. Many big companies, including the major labels, have their country music headquarters in Nashville.

• Thriving independent venues will help curate the next generation of country music talent.

Background:

• The defeating vote was 11-15 against.

• Prior to this, the bill passed the state’s Senate Commerce and Labor Committee 8-1.

• The proposed $2 million would have come from the Tennessee Live Music Fund, which was established in 2024.

• Its goal is to strengthen live music across the state.

What they said:

• Chris Cobb, Executive Director of the Music Venue Alliance Nashville: “It’s incredibly disappointing that members of the Tennessee General Assembly chose to vote down this important legislation this week. Independent venues will continue to struggle this year while out-of-state secondary ticketing companies continue to extract value from our music community at the expense of Tennessee music fans. This bill represented a practical solution supported by venues, artists, and industry leaders across the state.”