SaveLive Raises $135 Million to Save Small Music Venues Hurt by the Pandemic

Harri Weber

Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.

SaveLive Raises $135 Million to Save Small Music Venues Hurt by the Pandemic
Photo by Danny Howe on Unsplash

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When it launched in 2020 as a venture to bail out small music venues crushed by the pandemic, SaveLive claimed it had raised $75 million from investors like its primary backer, Beverly Hills-based investment firm Deep Field Asset Management.

Now, it appears the Los Angeles-based startup has raised a lot more dry powder than previously known—having landed a total of $134.5 million from investors, according to an amended regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. The company secured that funding from nine different investors, it said.


SaveLive is spearheaded by music industry bigwig Marc Geiger, who co-founded the Lollapalooza alternative rock festival and formerly led talent agency William Morris Endeavor’s music division. The company was founded with the goal of purchasing majority stakes in dozens of struggling music clubs across the U.S. and helping them weather the pandemic.

When SaveLive launched, it drew praise from the likes of Nine Inch Nails frontman (and Geiger’s former WME client) Trent Reznor. “[Geiger] knows that music should be revered,” Reznor told the New York Times. “It isn’t just an asset—it is a special thing that deserves to be presented to people in a way that helps them discover the magic.”

But the venture also raisedconcerns among some observers, who feared that such consolidation of independent music venues would inevitably make them less independent.

SaveLive did not respond to requests for comment. Geiger co-founded the startup with his former WME colleague John Fogelman, who is listed in filings as a co-executive officer. Deep Field Asset Management’s Jordan Moelis, the son of Wall Street banker Ken Moelis, is listed as a director. Nadia Prescher, the co-founder of music industry booking and management company Madison House, joined SaveLive last year as its head of music.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: Measurabl Snags $93M, Selva Ventures Grabs $34M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

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Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

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Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: CarbonCapture Taps Automotive Manufacturing Veteran
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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