Report: Colorado's indie music venues struggle to stay afloat
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The majority of Colorado's independent venues are losing money, according to a first-of-its-kind report out this month from the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).
Why it matters: From Red Rocks to tiny clubs, independent stages across the state act as cultural and economic engines — bringing billions in revenue and thousands of jobs.
By the numbers: Colorado's independent live sector generates $2.3 billion in economic output and supports nearly 6,700 jobs, per NIVA.
- Yet NIVA's report found only 41% of venues statewide were profitable in 2024. They cited inflation, anti-competitive practices and predatory ticket scalping as prime problems.
Context: NIVA defines independent venues or music festivals as those not owned by a multinational corporation or a publicly traded company.
State of play: Colorado last month joined a federal antitrust lawsuit — in addition to the one it filed last year, against Ticketmaster and Live Nation — accusing the corporate giants of misleading consumers and enabling brokers to buy up tickets in bulk and resell them with inflated fees.
- Their practices have "deceived fans about pricing," Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement, "and charged excessive fees multiple times on secondary markets."
Zoom out: The local struggles mirror national ones. 64% of independent venues across the U.S. say they're financially unstable, according to NIVA's report.
What's next: NIVA hopes the data pushes lawmakers to act — pointing to state laws in Maine and Maryland that cap ticket resale prices and public funding models in Texas and Tennessee that help sustain live music.