Can San Francisco’s Small Clubs Survive?

At the second annual San Francisco Music Week Industry Summit on Feb. 27, Mayor Daniel Lurie was quick to praise independent venues for generating $1.4 billion for the city’s economy. After all, every time someone attends a show at, say, El Rio or the Chapel, they’re also spending additional cash on pre-show drinks, post-show burritos, parking, merch and maybe even a hotel room.

Aside from their economic impact, independent venues have shaped San Francisco’s culture and global reputation. Whether it’s the Fillmore’s post–World War II jazz clubs or Haight-Ashbury’s Summer of Love heyday, San Francisco’s music scene has inspired the city’s biggest tourist attractions.

Yet at the summit, panelist after panelist spoke about how San Francisco’s independent venues are struggling. Ever-rising rents, costly permits and increasing corporate control of the industry have put a strain on the mom-and-pop shops that serve as crucial proving grounds for new bands, rappers and DJs.

“This last year we made by far in revenue the most we’ve ever made, but at the same time the costs were unbelievably higher than they’ve ever been before,” Fred Barnes, talent buyer and general manager at Great American Music Hall, told KQED after stepping off stage at the summit.

According to a recent report from the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), independent venues generated billions for the nation’s economy in 2024, but only 36% of them were actually profitable.

Adding to the list of challenges, venues are no longer just competing against one another for patrons’ dollars. As Daniel Bondi, co-owner of the Faight, put it during the panel, “We’re actually just competing against TikTok and Instagram and social media. We’re competing against your will to get off the couch.”

With two historic venues, Thee Parkside and Bottom of the Hill, closing this year, San Francisco Music Week included a timely conversation about the health of the live music ecosystem and how local governments, fans and artists can help.

Fixing a power imbalance

On stage at Swedish American Hall, panelists were quick to point out the power imbalance between independent venues and Live Nation and AEG, the two largest live events companies in the country. Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, operates Bay Area venues including August Hall, the Fillmore and the Masonic. Goldenvoice, an AEG subsidiary, controls the Warfield and the Regency Ballroom.

Barnes pointed out that independent venues often lose money booking up-and-coming acts; once those acts blow up, they move on to the larger corporate venues, creating a dynamic where the small indies don’t get to profit from the hype they helped build.

“There’s much less risk-taking up the corporate ladder,” said Barnes. “They much prefer to just sit and wait for all of that to happen, and then just take it.”

As a possible solution, Lynn Schwarz, co-owner of Bottom of the Hill, pointed to the San Francisco Music and Entertainment Venue Recovery Fund, which was created to help venues stay afloat during pandemic closures. While the grant has already been distributed, Schwarz proposed reviving the fund to meet the current moment. She pitched the idea of putting $1 of every ticket sold at a corporate-backed concert into the fund and dividing it up among smaller venues.

“I think that part of it could go to a fund that was specifically earmarked to pay opening bands more, to pay local bands more,” she added. “I’ve been passionate about that.”

Alcohol sales may no longer be the answer

Another challenge for venues is that Gen Z drinks less than any previous generation. “Which is really great for them and really bad for us,” Schwarz said.

Several of the panelists lamented that their business model hinges on bar sales when music is the heart of what they do. Katie Rose, the co-owner of Kilowatt, was listening in the audience and passionately agreed. “It sucks that we have to consider art being associated with drinking,” she told KQED after the panel. “If we could find a way to change that, I think a lot of that might come with grants from the city so that music venues don’t have to make decisions based on alcohol sales.”

Bondi said the Faight is in the process of starting a nonprofit so that it can apply for grants to fund some of its events, which skew young, D.I.Y. and experimental. “We are first and foremost a community space,” he said. “Our whole mission is to give artists and musicians a platform to grow.”

Reducing city costs

Venue operators praised several new programs that have cut down their operating costs in recent years. One is a relatively new Type 90 liquor license for entertainment venues. Liquor licenses used to run clubs upwards of $150,000, but the Faight got their Type 90 license for $25,000, Bondi said.

“It’s massive. Wouldn’t have been able to start otherwise,” he added.

Off stage in a follow-up conversation, Docto of August Hall gave props to a new parking permit reform in San Francisco that reduces the costs for venues to park tour buses outside their doors. Docto said August Hall anticipates saving $30,000 on parking alone this year. “It’s not breaking the bank anymore,” he said.

How artists and fans can support their favorite small venues

Several panelists pointed to the success of the Castro Theatre, a historic movie palace that Another Planet Entertainment recently reopened as a mixed-use entertainment venue. British hitmaker Sam Smith recently sold out a 20-show residency there.

“That gives them a raging start to their financial year,” Bondi said.

“I think artists also do have some power here, like maybe push back against the agents” who want them to play bigger clubs, he argued. “Be like, ‘No, I want to play Bottom of the Hill. I want to do a three-night run there, and we’re gonna sell the place.’”

Bottom of the Hill’s Schwarz said booking agents have a part to play as well. She said it’s becoming more and more common for tours to book opening acts rather than allowing independent venues like hers to add a local artist to the bill — something that would help nourish the live music ecosystem.

“Every time you see a two-band bill on our calendar I had a fight about it,” she said. “I had a fight and I lost.”

The panelists had high praise for San Francisco’s dedicated music fans, who passionately support even the most niche scenes. But Bondi also said that in the post-pandemic era of delivery services and at-home entertainment, event attendance remains inconsistent. He implored the audience: “Just go out.”

“If you work in tech or have a high, high six-figure salary, buy a couple of your friends tickets,” he added, “and contribute.”