Live music venue The Teragram Ballroom which remains Closed In Los Angeles due to restrictive Coronavirus measures on April 8, 2020 in Los Angeles.
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesThe Plans for supplemental funding is underway for the. On Friday (Aug. 27), the Small Business Administration began sending out invitations for entities to apply for additional federal funding from the $16 billion allocated for music venues, promoters, talent agencies and more.
These supplemental grants will be available for anyone who received an initial grant and are able to show a 70% loss when comparing 2021’s first-quarter revenues to the same in 2019. Supplemental award applicants can choose to apply for any amount up to 50% of their original grant amount, with a $10 million cap of the initial and supplemental awards combined.
“The SBA has awarded approximately $9 billion in crucial relief to approximately 11,500 performing arts venues and other related businesses so they can continue to anchor our neighborhoods and define our communities. We know many of these businesses still need assistance to fully recover from the unanticipated expenses and debt caused by the pandemic,” SBA Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program director Matthew Stevens said in a release. “These supplemental grants will go to the hardest-hit Shuttered Venue Operators Grant awardees to ensure they can get back on their feet and get back to the business of driving our nation’s economy.”
The supplemental awards also allow SVOG recipients to extend the time to use their grant funds for expenses accrued through June 30, 2022 and lengthen their budget period to 18 months from the initial grant’s disbursement date.
If sufficient funding is not available for all eligible entities to receive a supplemental award, priority will be given to applicants who have illustrated the greatest revenue loss in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter in 2019. With $9 billion of the $16.2 billion for the grants awarded, roughly $7 billion remains for supplemental grants. If applicants are only allowed to receive 50% of their initial award, then as much as $2.5 billion could remain after supplemental grants are completed.
Applicants should check their program portal and follow instructions to accept or decline the supplemental grant. The SBA will be reviewing entities’ first quarter revenue for 2021 to decide on who receives funding. The SBA says those invited to apply for supplemental grants can expect awards to begin rolling out within two weeks.
Since the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants program was signed into law in December, independent venues, movie theaters and more live event businesses have struggled to bring in substantial revenue for the majority of 2021. Of the more than 17,600 applications submitted for the SVOG, just over 4,100 were declined. About 13% or just over 1,300 applications are still under review by the SBA.
London four piece Keo are on course to land their first UK Number 1 album with Put A Smile On For Me. After building a loyal audience over the past two years, the London band now lead this week’s Official Albums Chart update. Their debut record explores love, guilt, and self destruction.
Nothing But Thieves are close behind at Number 2 with their fifth album, Stray Dogs. The Southend band are hoping for a second straight Number 1 after Dead Club City reached the top in 2023. Taylor Swift is at Number 3 with The Life Of A Showgirl, helped by the expanded The Encore edition. Olivia Rodrigo’s You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In sits at Number 4, while Soft Cell’s Danceteria opens at Number 5. It is the synth pop duo’s final album together following Dave Ball’s death last year.
Europe could reach Number 9 with Come This Madness, giving the Swedish rock band its first UK Top 10 album in four decades. A 30th anniversary reissue of Alice In Chains’ MTV Unplugged is at Number 13 in the midweek update, with Orbital’s Glastonbury 1994 set at Number 14. Julia Jacklin is heading for her first Top 40 album as The Gem reaches Number 18, while Suede’s Coming Up returns at Number 23 after its 30th anniversary physical release.
Also on track for Top 40 places are Nessa Barrett’s Tough Love at Number 29, the companion soundtrack to LINKIN PARK: UNSHATTER at Number 30, and Dublin band Gurriers’ Nobody’s Coming To Save You at Number 31. Blondshell, Kneecap, Tina Turner, and Leon Bridges also appear in the lower half of the midweek chart.
The official positions will be announced when the final Albums Chart is published on Friday.
