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Earlier this year, a State of Live study from the National Independent Venue Association<\/a> found that only a fifth of Ohio\u2019s music venues turned a profit in 2024.<\/p>\n This week, we found out that the numbers hold roughly the same for Cleveland: just a quarter of the city\u2019s stages made money last year, a new report said.<\/p>\n But Cleveland\u2019s independent venues \u2014 the 50 or so non-corporate ones like the Grog Shop, Rose Tavern and Spotlight \u2014 contributed to a $1.2 billion total economic output with about $743 million headed towards Ohio\u2019s GDP. There are plenty of venues, plenty of shows, and plenty of fans, it turns out.<\/p>\n Which leaves a kind of head-scratching question when you compare Cleveland with places like Portland or Seattle\u2014both cities with indie venues that saw higher profits last year but brought in less economic impact than cities along the Great Lakes.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a good thing\u2014right?<\/p>\n \u201cLet me put it this way: Cleveland generates more<\/em> than what the independent sector generates in Oregon and 28 other states,\u201d Sean Watterson told Scene in a call. \u201cAnd in Ohio? We account for half<\/em> of all the [music venue] activity across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n Watterson, the owner of the Happy Dog and the data master general of our State of Live report, nudged both Cuyahoga Cocunty and Destination Cleveland to pay an extra $10,000 to get a Cleveland-specific breakdown of the city\u2019s performance last year.<\/p>\n Both this recent report and the statewide data will be used to fuel the birth of Cuyahoga Live!, the county\u2019s planned music commission that would be on par with ones in Austin and Nashville.<\/p>\n Cleveland\u2019s and Cuyahoga County\u2019s \u201cindependent live music and comedy sector perform well above average in its economic impact and jobs supported and wages and benefits paid,\u201d the report, which was released Thursday, said, \u201cindicating a strong and deep independent music sector that gets stronger than average support from its local audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n As for how to make the scene stronger, the report offered a list of recommendations: beef up the tourism arms of the Rock Hall and Tri-C\u2019s JazzFest; outfit our public venues, like Public Hall, for local bands; appoint our musicians to government boards; create another survey (of fans); and throw more money at Hello Cleveland, the Rock Hall\u2019s attempt at a one-stop-shop concert listing page.<\/p>\n Watterson has another suggestion: cut down or outright eliminate Cleveland\u2019s steep eight percent tax on concert tickets\u2014like Detroit does.<\/p>\n Combined, those ideas that could help venues like the Grog Shop and Happy Dog bring in more dollars like similar joints in the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you have a younger population there and higher income levels,\u201d Watterson said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have an older population,\u201d he added. \u201cWe have higher taxes. We\u2019ve got older infrastructure\u2014Portland doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Google News<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>NewsBreak<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Reddit<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Instagram<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Facebook\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a>|\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Twitter<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nRelated<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n