Marc Geiger’s SaveLive reveals first venue partners

SaveLive, the “war chest” launched in 2020 by former WME music execs Marc Geiger and John Fogelman to “bail out” struggling US music venues, has announced its first round of venue partners.

The company yesterday (5 April) unveiled partnerships with some 20 mid-size venues including The Alibi in Palm Springs (California), The Golden State Theater in Monterey (California) and Hammerjacks in Baltimore (Maryland), with “many more to come.”

SaveLive has also completed its first round of financing, raising US$135 million from investors including Breyer Capital, Deep Field Asset Management, Raptor Group, and Shamrock Capital.

At the time of the company’s launch in October of 2020, Geiger said the plan was to invest in small venues and build an indie touring network to revive the live scene, using funds secured during an initial investment round.

Initially, SaveLive intended to buy at least 51% of the equity in those clubs though a rep for the company says that is not the case for all of the partnerships and each one is bespoke.

“Getting involved with Marc, John, and SaveLive to re-launch the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, CA was a no brainer”

Geiger said: “When John and I started this mission in late 2020, the live business was feeling pretty hopeless as the pandemic was hitting the sector head on. All I did during this time was listen to music and obsess on ideas on how to help the independent live industry.

“It was clear streaming services plus the pandemic changed the concert industry for good and web 3.0 is going to change it even more. We used that downtime to raise capital of like-minded and long-term investors, build a music focused team of professionals, and ultimately build out version 1.0 of our partner network. 18 months later, the live business is rushing back to record levels…and it’s time to launch.”

The Alibi’s Liz Garo adds: “As an independent booker for Spaceland, The Echo, and 100 other places since the beginning of time, being able to partner with SaveLive is a dream come true. [Alibi co-owner] Melanie Tusquellas and I can stay true to our roots knowing we have their full support, whether it’s finance, booking, marketing, sponsorship, questions about the bar or just bouncing ideas off the team. It doesn’t hurt that we’ve known some of the people at SaveLive for years – we all came up through the business together.”

Golden State Theatre owner and Ineffable Music president Thomas Cussins comments: “As Ineffable Music continues to focus on bringing top notch national acts to secondary and tertiary markets, getting involved with Marc, John, and SaveLive to re-launch the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, CA was a no brainer.

“At Ineffable, we open new outlets for touring acts, creating a more vibrant live music scene–both for the artists and for the fans who deserve to have great music in their backyard. Having SaveLive in our corner gives us even more confidence to keep growing our business.”

See SaveLive’s first round of partner venues below:

The Alibi, Palm Springs, CA
The Golden State Theater, Monterey, CA
Hammerjacks, Baltimore, MD
The Marquis (formerly Harry O’s and Park City Live), Park City, UT
The Criterion Ballroom, Oklahoma City, OK
Tower Theatre, Oklahoma City, OK
Beer City Music Hall, Oklahoma City, OK
Ponyboy, Oklahoma City, OK
Tech Port Arena, San Antonio, TX
Tobin Center, San Antonio, TX
Elektricity, Pontiac, MI
Deuterman Productions, Various, FL
Patchwork Presents, National

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