The new coronavirus pandemic has silenced New York City’s once-vibrant live music scene and left its future in doubt.
Nearly five months after the city went into lockdown in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19, concert halls, clubs and arenas remain closed with no guidance from the state on when things might return to normal.
The lockdown has been particularly painful for the city’s independent music-venue owners, many of whom were already battling rising rents and competition from large event spaces and global corporations like Anschutz Entertainment Group and Live Nation Entertainment Inc.
Outside The Bitter End, an iconic Manhattan venue, on April 23.
Photo: Bill Tompkins/Getty ImagesPaul Rizzo, owner of The Bitter End, said he isn’t sure if he can reopen his business even when concerts are permitted again.
The 60-year-old club in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village has played host to Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and other famous musicians. More recently, it is credited with helping to launch the career of Stefani Germanotta, the international pop superstar known as Lady Gaga. It generally has four to five live music performances every night in a space that can fit up to 230 people.
“One of the reasons I might not open is I may not generate enough money for my staff to make a living, let alone myself,” Mr. Rizzo said of the prospect of reopening at a limited capacity.
Not only are the owners of venues feeling the financial stress associated with the novel coronavirus, but those who work behind the scenes to make music happen—like sound technicians and promoters—along with the musicians themselves have all dealt with its fallout and likely will for some time.
Lady Gaga performs on the balcony of The Bitter End on Oct. 20, 2016.
Photo: James Devaney/GC ImagesAs of 2016, New York City had 2,400 venues, ranging from concert and entertainment venues to informal cultural and performance spaces, according to a nightlife study commissioned by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Office of Media and Entertainment that was published last year. These venues generated close to 20,000 jobs, $373 million in wages and $1.2 billion in economic output, the report said.
Oh My Rockness, a curated concert calendar that tracks performances by independent artists as well as better-known acts like Billy Joel, as of late July listed 1,620 shows in the greater New York City area between March 15 and Dec. 31. Many of those shows were postponed or canceled. By comparison, some 8,450 concerts were listed in the same period a year earlier.
A nationwide organization formed early in the pandemic in an attempt to band together independent music venues across the country. The National Independent Venue Association, which has around 2,500 members and has been active in lobbying for music spaces, found that without federal assistance, 90% of its members would be forced to close permanently if the shutdown lasts six months or longer.
City Winery CEO Michael Dorf hopes to draw fans to a series of outdoor concerts.
Photo: Gabriela Bhaskar for The Wall Street Journal“No amount of creativity or business acumen can keep a business with zero revenue, 100% fixed costs and no time frame as to when they can reopen again,” said Audrey Fix Schaefer, a communications director for NIVA.
The New York Independent Music Association, a local NIVA offshoot, counts more than 150 venues as members, including The Bitter End, The Bowery Ballroom, Knitting Factory and Baby’s All Right. NYIVA found that the average New York venue has $50,000 in monthly expenses even if its doors remain closed.
Some venues with space have held outdoor musical events.
City Winery—which has three locations in New York—has sold out of tickets to its planned outdoor concert series in the Hudson Valley. Last week it told ticket holders the “Concerts In The Vineyard” series was delayed as Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office was still reviewing its outdoor entertainment application.
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Michael Dorf, the founder and chief executive of City Winery, has been working with Mr. Cuomo’s office on setting standards and safely executing the outdoor concerts.
The series was set to kick off Aug. 8 with a performance from Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. Singer-songwriter Joan Osborne—who played the opening show at City Winery’s original Varick St. location in Manhattan—is slated to play Sept. 19.
The opportunity to perform at the concert series is particularly important to Ms. Osborne, who will be releasing a new record in September. The pandemic forced her to cancel her touring schedule for the year, including concerts that would support the new album.
Construction at City Winery’s Pier 57 venue.
Photo: Gabriela Bhaskar for The Wall Street Journal“I am always out on the road doing concerts,” said Ms. Osborne, who lives in Brooklyn. “My jobs disappeared in the span of a week.”
Under the proposed plan, City Winery’s outdoor concerts could seat up to 380 people, Mr. Dorf said. The venue will have temperature checks, timed entry and seat groups in “pods” 10 feet apart. The outdoor space itself could usually fit around 2,000 people without social distancing.
The Bitter End owner Paul Rizzo, left, and singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw in an undated photo.
Photo: Paul Rizzo“We are cautiously optimistic,” Mr. Dorf said.
City Winery has been able to offset some lost concert and event revenue by serving alcohol and food, something most clubs can’t do. However, the business recently poured $20 million into a new space at Manhattan’s Pier 57. That venue is set to be completed in the coming weeks but has no plans to open soon.
Gavin DeGraw played his first concert in New York City at The Bitter End in 1997. The gig inspired him to move to the city, where he became a regular at the venue playing shows and hanging out with the musicians that frequented the space.
“New York City likes to pride itself as being a cultural mecca, but without places like The Bitter End there might not be anything left,” Mr. DeGraw said.
Joan Osborne performs at City Winery in July 2019.
Photo: Ehud Lazin/SBG MediaWrite to Laura Cooper at laura.cooper@wsj.com
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