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NIVA Raises Concerns Over Proposed Portland Venue
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has voiced opposition to a proposed 3,300-seat venue in downtown Portland, Maine, backed by Live Nation, warning it could have a negative impact on the state’s live performance sector.
According to NIVA, Maine’s live performance industry generates more than $550 million (€472m) in economic output and supports thousands of jobs.
The association has urged the Portland City Council to introduce a moratorium on the project, citing concerns over market concentration.
NIVA executive director Stephen Parker said:
“Portland already has a rich and self-sustaining music ecosystem. The Live Nation project would strip value from this community and send it to shareholders across the globe.
City Council has a clear choice today: protect Main Street, or hand it over to a monopoly.”
Lauren Wayne, president of State Theatre Presents, added that Portland’s music scene had been built “show by show, venue by venue” and argued that it should remain locally driven.
Under Maine law, municipalities can enact temporary moratoriums to prevent potential public harm from new developments. NIVA maintains that this threshold is met in this case.
Live Nation holds an estimated 60% share of the U.S. concert promotion market and has exclusive agreements with about 70% of U.S. venues, according to the University of Oxford Faculty of Law.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, alleging monopoly practices in the live events sector.