Indianapolis venues join the growing number of cities protecting the safety of live music events including Nashville, New York City, Minneapolis, Chicago, and San Francisco
INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Aug. 13) - Indiana Independent Venue Alliance (IIVA) and the Arts Council of Indianapolis have partnered with Bindle, a software platform built to help communities safely reopen, to support entertainment entities through the ongoing pandemic. Venues across America, Broadway shows, major international promoters and well-known touring artists have already begun to implement new safety measures and requirements for their events including proof of vaccination and/or proof of negative test within a timeframe close to the show date in order to be admitted.
The Entertainment Industry Demands More
The initial re-opening phase was successful; however, in recent weeks attendance and touring volume have started to slow down. The time to act is now to create a safe and effective system that will allow for the shows to go on.
The arts and entertainment industry (live music, Broadway, comedy, theater, film, etc.) has led the way with swift changes in response to the surge of the COVID-19 Delta variant. Artists are demanding - and deserve - a safe work environment. Fans and attendees also have been extremely supportive of these additional safety measures.
“This is a proactive move to ensure our independent venues can continue producing shows. We’ve been through this before, and we’re building on what we’ve learned. This time, the responsibility lies on venues and promoters to set the standard of producing COVID-era events. Due to the sensitivity around this type of program, it’s been a challenge to ensure we’re considering multiple perspectives and have all of our bases covered,” said IIVA Executive Director Josh Baker.
Individual venues and organizations are responsible for implementing their own safety requirements for their staff, artists, and audiences. Fans can expect regular updates with more venues and events enacting requirements.
Arts Council President and CEO Julie Goodman adds, “Indy is looking forward to a robust fall arts season, but options like Bindle are becoming necessary to ensure that venues and organizations have the tools they need to adapt and safely remain open. The goal is to provide a consistent option that gives event attendees agency over their personal information and venues/organizations agency over their safety requirements. We’re all accustomed to showing our ID or presenting a ticket for an event and this is just a simple step in that process.”
Bindle Is Easy, Safe, and Secure
Bindle is a software platform that is purpose-built to help communities safely, fairly and fully reopen. The platform allows you to securely store your COVID-19 test and vaccine records and easily prove your health status when entering a shared space.
The Bindle platform is live and available to Indianapolis and residents statewide, free of charge. Fans of live music, Broadway, theater and other performing arts events are encouraged to download the mobile application and set up their profile to ensure ease of entry. While many venues are preparing updates to their safety policies, several businesses have already activated profiles on the Bindle platform ahead of their upcoming formal announcements. Local organizations who are interested in adding their business to the platform can visit joinbindle.com/indiana.
The safe reopening of live event venues and arts organizations is critical to the well-being of our communities," said Gus Warren, co-founder and CEO of Bindle Systems. “As a Public Benefit Corporation with a mission to help America gather safely while respecting civil liberties, we built our software to provide both privacy and security utilizing Self-Sovereign Identity technology, in which users have complete control over their own identity and health information with no central database to track or hack. We could not have found better partners than the Indiana Independent Venues Alliance and Arts Council of Indianapolis, and we are thrilled to be working with them on this important collaboration.”
Indy Jazz Fest Director David Allee adds, “Our goal is to put on safe events and make this as easy on our customers as possible. With many local venues working together through one central platform the impact on the customer experience and staff workload should be minimal.”
Learn more about how Bindle works visit https://joinbindle.com/learnmore
IndyVaxPass.com Launching Soon
Indiana Independent Venue Alliance and Arts Council of Indianapolis have partnered to launch IndyVaxPass.com, a public-facing information site to help arts and entertainment fans access information on event requirements, answer frequently asked questions and support venues who wish to require enhanced safety measures at their events.
Baker adds, “While we enjoyed a strong initial re-opening phase, it was short-lived. New show confirmations have come to halt, attendance has dropped nearly 30% in three weeks, and fall tours are starting to postpone dates. If we can’t provide the assurance of a safe experience for our artists and customers, Fall and Winter shows are in jeopardy. We’re right back to red alert.”
Resources
Contacts
Arts Council of Indianapolis: Amanda Kingsbury - akingsbury@indyarts.org
Indiana Independent Venue Alliance: Josh Baker - jb@mokbpresents.com
Bindle: Copperfield Advisory - bindle@copperfield.nyc
About Indiana Independent Venue Alliance:
The Indiana Independent Venue Alliance (IIVA) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that created to support and preserve Indiana’s live music community. IIVA is an alliance of Indiana-based independent businesses and organizations of concert venues, live music promoters, comedy clubs and music festivals. As small business owners, the IIVA community plays a critical role in our state’s music and culture economy. These cultural hubs are the centerpieces of our neighborhoods. As businesses, they provide highly skilled jobs, contribute to the tax base and drive tourism dollars.
IIVA businesses were among the first to be closed during the current pandemic and were among the last to reopen. Though local, state, and federal aid have provided financial support through the recovery process; the future of these businesses remains uncertain. The entertainment industry requires unique solutions to adapt to its ever changing needs while keeping employees, fans and artists safe. The organization is relentlessly dedicated to protecting and supporting our community of independent statewide venues.
The IIVA is an active member of NIVA, National Independent Venue Association.
About The Arts Council of Indianapolis:
The Arts Council of Indianapolis the leading advocacy and services agency supporting central Indiana artists and nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in Marion County.