Charlotte Shields-Rossi | a&e editor

Adam Klenovich frequented the Oakland neighborhood in high school to attend live music performances.

In January, he helped found an independent music venue called Haven to create a permanent space for live entertainment in Oakland. The majority of attendees are college students from surrounding universities.

“We love this community, and we see the potential in the community, but without an actual permanent space for these concerts to be happening it’s not really possible for this community to grow,” Klenovich said.

Klenovich said Haven is struggling to make a profit, a similar story among other live music venues in Pittsburgh.

Two weeks ago, various music venue owners banded together to ask city council at a recent meeting for an exemption on Pittsburgh’s 5% amusement tax, arguing that the venues are struggling.

Klenovich said that the amusement tax can turn a profitable venue into one in debt.

Adam Valen, vice president of the board of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Independent Venue Association, was present at the meeting to provide studies and statistics.

According to the association, 72% of Pittsburgh’s independent music venues lost money and a successful venue only made a 1% – 5% profit margin in 2024. Much of that profit goes toward Pittsburgh’s amusement tax, which takes 5% of the admission fee of any form of entertainment.

On top of the tax exemption, those at the meeting proposed that the Office of Nighttime Economy, which is the primary liaison between hospitality and nightlife businesses, should have a clearer role in the city code.

This would include developing a task force to look at the live entertainment ecosystem and creating small initiatives like free parking for artists.

Klenovich said that independent music venues support the city by generating revenue. According to a study from the National Independent Venue Association, $1 spent at an independent venue generates $12 in economic activity, from booking hotel rooms to going out to dinner before a performance. Klenovich said it increases the city’s notoriety. He thinks the city should return the favor.

“The city should definitely be trying to support us as well,” Klenovich said.

Councilman Bob Charland called the meeting to order, recognizing the importance of these spaces.

“They are cultural institutions here,” Charland said. “This is the last space where art isn’t commercialized.”

Charland plans on creating a task force with owners and operators of independent venues.

“This is the first step,” Charland said.

College students make up a large demographic of the clientele at Haven.

Gibson Musisko is the lead singer of a band called Poster Child that has played at small music venues like Haven on multiple occasions. He likes that college students come to the venue for the music, not the alcohol, since Haven does not have a liquor license.

“It promotes a culture that isn’t just going out and drinking for young people,” Musisko said.

There are about 40 independent music venues in Pittsburgh, and Dino Iasella, senior Duquesne music technology student, has played at many of them.

He said he occasionally plays guitar but usually mixes the music that the audience hears, known as “front of the house work.” As an artist, he is concerned about the loss of profit for these music venues and supports the tax exemption.

“It can be really advantageous for these smaller venues,” Iasella said. “On top of that, it helps the artists too.”

He said that independent music venues give a platform to artists that previously wouldn’t have the chance.

In the city council meeting, increased competition among conglomerates, like Live Nation, was cited as one of the issues small music venues are facing.

“The more [small] music venues that there are around, just the healthier the ecosystem is trending generally,” Iasella said.

A rise in conglomerates is not the only issue venues and those who play at them are facing. Musisko said that the rise of the internet created struggles for the music business.

“Live music doesn’t have the same pull it used to. I think for a large part it’s because streaming devalued the power of local music,” Musisko said. ”I’ve seen lower attendance, lower payouts in my hand.”

Musisko’s parents met at Club Cafe, another local venue, 25 years ago. The owners of Club Cafe are also struggling to stay afloat and were present at the meeting. Musisko said he believes that the city should help.

“I think that music rights advocacy is just creeping into my worldview … anything to give small venues some leverage, because they’re being crushed from a million different directions,” Musisko said.

Charlotte Shields-Rossi can be reached at shieldsrossic@duq.edu