State of Indie Venues: A View from the Floor
Photo by Lydia Norton
Pictured on the right and left are Josh Baker and Dan Kemer, respectively.
Editor's Note:
Independent venues are often the first place new artists take the stage and the last line of defense for a city’s live music ecosystem. They are also some of the most fragile pieces of cultural infrastructure we have.
As part of an ongoing series, the Indiana Music Alliance is inviting leaders across Indiana’s music industry to share candid reflections on what they are seeing on the ground level. What’s working. What’s breaking. And what it will take to build something more sustainable.
We’re starting with Josh Baker, owner of HI-FI and the Annex and Executive Director of the Indiana Independent Venue Alliance. Josh offers an unfiltered look at the pressures facing independent venues right now, the hidden systems shaping audience behavior, and why collective action still matters even when resources are thin.
What the Public Sees vs. What’s Actually Happening
Words by Josh Baker
On the surface, things probably look pretty good. Rooms are busy, shows are happening, and it can feel like live music is thriving in Indianapolis and across Indiana.
Underneath that surface, though, there have been headwinds building all year. I am not sure the average consumer is fully aware of them yet, and I also do not think we have seen the full effect.
The Growing Fragility Behind “Healthy” Rooms
The hardest part of the past year has been the growing gap between how healthy things appear and how fragile they actually are behind the scenes. Costs continue to rise while spending habits tighten, and that pressure adds up quickly for independent rooms.
At the same time, I have been surprised in a good way by the fact that the appetite for live music is still there. When shows connect, the energy is real. People still want to go out, discover music, and be part of something. I have also been encouraged by the amount of new energy and leadership that has popped up this year. Seeing more people step up locally and nationally gives me hope that there is strong young leadership ready to get in the game and help move things forward.
From my seat running HI-FI and the Annex, the pressures indie venues are feeling right now are significant and often invisible to the public.
Ticketing, Fees, and a Broken Marketplace
Around June, things started getting concerning. Sales were off more than normal, and actual attendance was down about 20 percent year over year. Then it took a sharp turn closer to 40 percent, which was alarming. While that has recovered slightly, it is still nowhere near where it needs to be.
It is hard to point to one single cause, but the all-in ticket price has been a major catalyst. What is wild is that ticket prices did not actually change. People are paying roughly the same amounts they always have. The difference is that fees are now visible upfront, and that sticker shock has had a real and lasting impact.
Fraud, Fatigue, and the Hidden Costs of Confusion
That confusion is amplified by speculative ticketing and the secondary market. Brokers are selling tickets before we are even able to put them on sale. People end up paying insane prices for tickets that are still available at face value through our site or box office. On top of that, fraudulent ticket sales have increased dramatically. Fake listings on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Instagram are duping fans every day. When those fans show up with invalid tickets, our staff absorbs the fallout. Unhappy customers, bad reviews, and people who drove hours only to be turned away. It is a vicious cycle and one we are constantly trying to regain control of.
When the Math Stops Working
Layer that on top of a shaky local economy, political noise, and general consumer fatigue, and you can feel spending tighten across the board. Alcohol sales are also down. On a human level, people drinking less is not a bad thing. But concessions are a major part of how venues stay afloat, and when ticket revenue is already thin, that loss matters.
Locally, traffic and ongoing construction have also been real deterrents. Our fans come from all over the city, the state, and surrounding states. I have talked to countless people who skipped shows simply because they did not want to deal with driving downtown. Progress is important, but stacked infrastructure projects make the short-term reality harder.
What We Lose When a Venue Closes
This has been the hardest year since the pandemic. Labor and operating costs are through the roof, and sales are not keeping pace. We lost Duke’s this year, and there are several other rooms operating on life support. When a venue closes, it is not just a room that disappears. It is jobs, opportunities, and a piece of the local culture that does not come back easily.
At the same time, I have been pleasantly surprised by how willing policymakers have been to listen. Our district is fortunate to have strong civic leadership that understands the value independent venues bring to the city, sometimes even more clearly than we do ourselves. That support has been instrumental in helping us navigate this year and gives me confidence that these conversations are moving in the right direction.
Why Collective Efforts Still Matter
Despite being underfunded and understaffed, collective efforts like the Indiana Independent Venue Alliance and the Indiana Music Alliance matter deeply.
We all do this because we love it. We care about our city, and we collectively contribute to the health and perception of its cultural economy. Groups like IIVA, IMA, Musical Family Tree, and others act as essential backstops. They often have the clearest understanding of what is happening day to day and what it actually takes to get real work done.
Translating Reality Into Action
They also act as translators. Most venue owners, artists, and promoters are focused on survival. These organizations take shared experiences and distill them into something that can be communicated clearly to civic leaders and policymakers who have the ability to act.
What IIVA has accomplished with essentially no operating budget is impressive. It has been entirely volunteer-driven. Even modest funding to hire one full-time person focused on this work would be a game-changer. The results would speak for themselves.
IMA is just as important. A lot of groundwork has already been done to build real music infrastructure in Indiana. That work stalled for a while, but the renewed energy around IMA makes momentum feel possible again. When people move together, it helps everyone be heard.
Quiet Wins and Momentum Building
There is also a lot to be proud of that does not always get noticed. Indianapolis artists are releasing strong records, touring, and developing new markets. Indiana bands on the road talking about our city and our scene shape how the rest of the country perceives what is happening here. I believe 2026 will be even stronger.
I am proud that we were able to land the NIVA Live Policy Summit in Indianapolis, specifically in Fountain Square. We worked hard to bring it here and to execute it well. There are conversations about bringing it back in 2026, and we are renewing our bid to host the NIVA National Convention in 2028.
Looking Toward 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, I am personally excited to finally build the venue we have been talking about for nearly two years. It feels like the last piece of our puzzle and something that could be genuinely transformational for the neighborhood.
More broadly, I am hopeful about people re-engaging with live music and about the work through IIVA translating into long-term sustainability rather than just emergency response. If the right people are in the room, it feels possible to move beyond survival mode and start building something more durable.
A Simple Action With Real Impact
For artists, managers, promoters, venue owners, and music businesses, there is one thing that matters above almost everything else: demand.
The most important thing people can do is buy tickets to shows, and if possible, buy them early. If you cannot buy a ticket, be an advocate. Bring a friend. Share a show. Plan a night out. Make live music part of your life again.
This ecosystem is deeply interconnected. Artists, venues, managers, tour bus drivers, poster printers, guitar shops, and countless other small businesses all revolve around the same center point. Live music. Everyone is feeling the same stress right now, but if we work together, we can turn the bus around.
At the end of the day, buying a ticket early is a vote for whether that room is still here next year. It is a simple transaction, but it carries real weight. Those purchases are investments in the scene. If you fuel it, it will grow, and we have barely scratched the surface of what it could become.
If independent rooms are full, artists can make a living, venues can operate sustainably, and cities benefit from jobs, tax revenue, and tourism. It all starts with people choosing to show up.
