A $16 Billion Covid-19 Rescue Program for Music Venues Fails to Launch

Thousands of performance venues thought last week would mark the end of a long wait for rescue funds from a federal program designed to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic.

They were wrong.

The Small Business Administration opened the program—a $16 billion initiative meant to offer grants to concert halls, theaters and museums—on April 8, but shut down the application portal hours later, citing technical glitches. An SBA spokeswoman said Friday the agency was working to test the application portal’s functionality, and aiming to reopen it by the end of next week.

“We know this funding is urgently needed now and are doing all we can to reopen with the greatest amount of certainty as possible,” the spokeswoman said.

Many small and independently operated music venues and other performing-arts spaces say they need the money to stay afloat in an industry that has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The program, part of a $900 billion rescue package approved by Congress in December, aims to provide grants of up to $10 million per business.