Paris Venue Owners Ask for Government Aid as Concert Industry Slumps

While many of Paris’ music venues have reopened their doors since the November 13th terror attacks in the French capital, the majority of concertgoers are still reticent about attending shows following the tragedy. According to Prodiss, the National Union of Producers, Distributors and Theatres in France, ticket sales have dropped 80 percent compared to the same period in 2014 in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks. To help keep the industry afloat, Prodiss is seeking €50 million – approximately $53 million – in emergency aid, the group announced in a statement Tuesday.

France’s culture minister Fleur Pellerin has already pledged €4 million in state funding to help the concert industry, NME reports, but that doesn’t cover the venues’ losses in ticket sales. The funds also won’t cover the cost of implementing additional security measures following the terror attack on the city’s Bataclan venue, where nearly 90 people were killed during an Eagles of Death Metal concert. Additionally, many of the city’s more high-profile concerts have been canceled, including Foo Fighters and Motörhead.

Despite the need for emergency funding, Prodiss is still asking all venue owners to donate one euro from every ticket sold to a fund benefitting the families of victims of the Paris terror attacks.

A coalition of Paris nightclubs issued a statement days after the November 13th attack promising to reopen its doors as soon as November 20th. “Music, dance, sharing, meetings, the social bond and diversity are values that we carry that obviously these terrorists have targeted for destruction. That will not work,” the coalition wrote. “Nothing and nobody will stop Paris from dancing.”