At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, servers and the food industry felt the effects of the shutdown immediately. Live entertainment venues also closed, with the hope that they would only be postponing events until fall. Well, here we are in September and the doors are still closed, and now it's getting serious.

  • 77% of event workers have lost 100% of their income
  • 96% of companies have cut staff
  • 97% of freelance workers have lost all of their income
  • Live events contribute over $1 trillion annually to the US economy

Those are some scary statistics. Last night, 1,500 venues were lit up red to create awareness about this problem and figure out how to save the entertainment industry. We NEED live events. If I don't get to go a concert in 2021, I will go crazy - Yes, crazier than I am now.

Stephen Rickard
Stephen Rickard
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Obviously, there has been some relief money extended to some industries. Those Paycheck Protection Programs (PPE) help businesses hire back employees, and venues simply can't do that if they are closed. So, what can be done? According to We Make Live Events, we need to write letters to congress, so they will vote for the RESTART Act.

The goal of #RedAlert RESTART is to urge Congress to vote for the RESTART Act and to support the efforts of ExtendPUA.org by pushing for an extension and expansion of PUA benefits for 1099 and freelance workers, i.e. independent contractors; and an extension of the $600 FPUC as part of a comprehensive pandemic relief package.

Stephen Rickard
Stephen Rickard
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#WeMakeLiveEvents is made up of businesses, unions, and people that work in live events coming together to raise public awareness and advocate for the live events sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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