Let’s talk about the economics of live music. Tonight, @carseatheadrest was to perform at @TowerTheatreOKC (before COVID). This obviously would have sold us out, and to snag this show on a Saturday night was one of my biggest scores for 2020. 1/ #SaveOurStages

For a sold out show like that, Tower would have scheduled 21-25 talented and highly skilled team members, not counting the tour’s crew which would have likely been another 14-20 people. 2/ #SaveOurStages

For every $1 spent on a ticket at a small venue, a total of $12 in economic activity is generated. That would have been $275,000+ spent in @cityofokc and @Uptown23rd on hotels, restaurants and bars. TONIGHT. That money would have been spent tonight in @VisitOKC. 3/ #SaveOurStages

That’s a lot more shifts and jobs, many in the service industry. The very same servers and bartenders who will lose their unemployment benefits soon if Congress doesn’t act. That goes for our show-specific staff as well. 4/ #SaveOurStages

It’s now looking like the live music industry will not return to regular until 2021-22; no venue can survive an outage this long. Industry estimates are that 90% of venues will permenantly close without direct action from elected officials. 5/ #SaveOurStages

Thus far we have received overwhelming support from the city and citizens (thank you), and great communication from elected officials like @davidfholt, @LtGovPinnell, @RepKendraHorn , City Council and more. 6/ #SaveOurStages

We have received some $ support in the form of the PPP, EIDL and the city, but those amounts were designed to support us in March, April, May 2020; that money is almost gone and won’t sustain venues much longer. 8/ #SaveOurStages

If cities want to tout the culture that concerts deliver, if big businesses was to recruit top talent to OKC, if @okcchamber wants to tally the sales tax impact of live music, if citizens want to see their favorite bands, venues need a bailout NOW. 9/ #SaveOurStages

Legislation has been introduced, now we need officials to enact it. Will you email and call your elected officials in support of live music? Ask them to vote in favor of the RESTART ACT introduced this week by John Cornyn and Amy Klobuchar. 10/ #SaveOurStages