The price of eggs and the cost of housing are getting a lot of attention these days. As expenses keep adding up for people supporting families or working to get ahead, small businesses are also caught up in continual price increases. Many are still working to recover from the pandemic.

Costs hit live entertainment venues especially hard. To thrive, they depend on patrons to enjoy a night out. With the current economic landscape, some are facing these challenges head on while others are relying on financial assistance from their local community to keep afloat.

Spectacle Live, the Massachusetts-based live entertainment company, operates several venues around New England, including the historic Park Theatre and Events Center in Cranston and The JPT Film & Event Center in Newport.

“Like most industries, we have seen inflation impact nearly every aspect of running our venues,” said Pete Lally, president and CEO of Spectacle Live. “Touring artists playing our venues have also experienced significant impacts. The last five years of being in the live entertainment business has certainly been a wild ride, with inflation being a leading contributor to changes within the industry.”

Apponaug Brewing Company in Warwick hosts musicians on the patio and other events from time to time.

“Like most commercial businesses, Apponaug Brewing has been impacted by rising prices, from utility rates to the cost of almost all goods used to manufacture beer and run our restaurant,” said Tamara McKenney Apponaug Brewing ‘BrewEO’. “We anticipate that the upcoming tariffs will further impact grain prices, most food products and utilities, negatively impacting our business profitability if we don’t raise prices correspondingly.”

As a customer-focused business, they are highly sensitive to the potential economic impact a price increase would cause, so they have adopted an alternative approach to managing their business in this current economic environment.

“Our approach to managing surging inflation is twofold,” she continued. “We are focusing our attention on potential cost-saving efforts that don’t impact the guest’s experience, such as sourcing better pricing on goods by buying in bulk, monitoring utility usage, and ensuring that we have the best pricing possible with our vendors. Additionally, we are hopeful that the combination of maintaining our current prices and the onset of better weather will potentially drive additional traffic to our taproom, offsetting the across-the-board increase in cost of goods we are dealing with.”

Offering memberships

Myrtle in East Providence, which has been open for a little more than a year, is also experiencing rising costs across the board.

“Liquor and beer prices, insurance rates that already total over $10,000 each month, music licensing, utilities, and even payroll and POS (point-of-sales) fees have all increased significantly in the last year,” said Natalie Vanlandingham, Myrtle’s co-owner along with Tommy Allen.

“Small, locally owned music venues are often overlooked for tax breaks, grants, and partnerships larger corporate venues are afforded when they move into the area, making it nearly impossible to continue to serve the community,” she continued. “The demand for live music post-pandemic has surged, leading to higher ticket prices from corporate venues as they capitalize on the increased interest.”

She would love to see some of these larger venues give back to the small, local venues that work as a springboard for artists that will possibly grow to make money for them in the future, as well as more of an investment from our government for all small businesses.

Myrtle recently started selling memberships to the Lower East Providence Music & Arts Society with benefits including invitations to monthly society events, access to a monthly newsletter and first dibs on ticketed shows among others.

The venue states on its membership page of their website, “In order to sustain our mission of bringing free and accessible performance to our community, we offer Music & Arts Society Memberships to those with the same vision of a flourishing arts community in the Bay Area.”

Turning to the community

Pump House Music Works in Wakefield has been a hub for folk, blues and jazz music in South County for nearly a decade while functioning as a non-profit organization. The venue has definitely felt the toll of high costs and to help curb various expenses, they currently have a GoFundMe page for donations.

“Pump House Music Works is definitely feeling the strain, and it’s a tough time for music venues due to various factors, with inflation being a significant one,” said Dan Collins, president of Pump House Music Works. “Rising costs are affecting businesses from all directions. We have been providing free food at our events for years. Unfortunately, we recently had to stop this service because we simply can’t afford it anymore. Food costs are skyrocketing, and energy expenses continue to rise.”

“We understand that these increasing costs also impact our patrons, and performers,” Collins continued. “Many of our loyal music fans prioritize and budget for a night out to enjoy live music because they love the experience, creative expression, and release it provides. However, there are many others who want live music but choose to stay home due to financial strain. We understand that everyone is feeling the pinch right now, and we recognize how difficult it is. Still, live music in our communities is worth fighting for, and we will continue as long as we can.”

Pump House has opened a GoFundMe page to help keep the doors open.

Another venue that has recently set up a GoFundMe page is The Galactic Theatre in Warren. According to the page, the pandemic, plus the Washington Bridge closure plus rising costs, is challenging the venue.

“The truth is, debt and rising expenses have snow-balled into a storm of almost disaster,” David Podsnap, owner of the Galactic Theatre said via the venue’s GoFundMe page. “We continue to have the most affordable menu in the region and the best bands and artists around.” He went onto note that the “pandemic has been crushing us since four years ago.”

“We have hung on and I have exhausted all means of capital including maxing out my own credit cards and taking out numerous loans that are now all way behind and late, sacrificing everything as the dreamer I am just to save the music,” he adds.