Live Music Society

What Live Music Society does

Live Music Society is a New York-based nonprofit foundation founded in 2020 by Pete Muller to recognize and protect small music venues and listening rooms across the United States. Its beneficiaries are independent venues with a seating capacity of 300 or under that present live music as a primary activity; the organization does not publish revenue or financial statements, and 'pricing' is structured as philanthropic grantmaking rather than commercial billing.

The foundation operates two recurring grant programs as its core products. The Music in Action grant provides project-based funding of up to $50,000 per venue for community engagement, audience development, and revenue growth initiatives, with a multi-year contract cadence. The Toolbox grant provides $5,000–$10,000 per venue on an annual cycle for practical needs such as equipment upgrades, ADA accessibility improvements, and technology enhancements. Since 2020, the organization has disbursed over $5 million across more than 220 venues; 2025 alone delivered $1.018 million across 59 grantees in 19 states plus Washington, D.C. Adjacent non-cash offerings include the One Night Live national tour (a 14-city artist-and-venue program launched in 2025 with Folk Alliance International and D-Tour), a free webinar series for venue operators, and the 'American Road Trip' and 'Empty Spaces' video series.

Live Music Society's revenue mechanics are entirely donation- and grant-funded. The organization employs a small staff of three (Executive Director Cat Henry, Program Manager Sarah McCauley, and Research Associate Valerie Salerno) plus an eight-person board, and its principal distribution channel is the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), whose 2,000+ member venues are reached for grant promotion through conference programming, website applications, and grantee referrals. Underwriter relationships with corporate partners such as Eventbrite and Tito's Vodka extend fundraising reach. There is no commercial product, no technology platform, and no AI capability disclosed.

Name

Live Music Society

Legal name

Live Music Society

Website

https://livemusicsociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Live Music Society is a nonprofit foundation that supports small US music venues and listening rooms (capacity 300 or under) through Music in Action and Toolbox grants, a national tour, webinars, and video storytelling. Founded in 2020, it has awarded over $5 million to 220+ venues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts and Culture Nonprofit / Live Music Venue Support Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Live Event Marketing, Sponsorship & Brand Partnerships (MPAIAFAI)

Keywords

• Nonprofit grant programs
• Live music venue support
• Arts and culture funding
• Emergency relief grants
• Small venue advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropic Funding: As a nonprofit foundation, Live Music Society operates entirely on donations and philanthropic contributions. The organization was founded in 2020 with a commitment to distribute grants to small music venues. There is no revenue-generating product or service; all funds go directly to venue support programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Live Music Society is a nonprofit foundation that provides grant funding and programmatic support to small music venues and listening rooms (capacity of 300 or fewer) across the United States. Its primary offerings are the Music in Action grants (up to $50,000 per venue for community engagement and revenue growth) and Toolbox grants ($5,000–$10,000 per venue for practical needs such as equipment, accessibility, and operational upgrades), supplemented by educational webinars, the One Night Live national tour, and documentary video content.

Product overview

Live Music Society is a nonprofit foundation offering grant programs to support small music venues and listening rooms across the United States. The organization operates two primary grant programs: Music in Action (project-based grants up to $50,000 for community engagement and revenue growth) and Toolbox grants ($5,000-$10,000 for practical needs like equipment and accessibility). Supplementary offerings include the One Night Live national tour, educational webinar series, and video content programs including American Road Trip and Empty Spaces documentary series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Music in Action Grant: Program-based grant for venues to engage communities, reach new audiences, and create meaningful impact through imaginative programs.
• Toolbox Grant
• One Night Live
• Empty Spaces
• American Road Trip

Products and services

• Music in Action Grant Project-based grant program providing up to $50,000 per venue to small performance venues (capacity of 300 or under) for community engagement, audience development, and revenue growth initiatives.
• Toolbox Grant Practical support grant providing $5,000–$10,000 per venue for equipment upgrades, ADA accessibility improvements, technology enhancements, ticketing/POS upgrades, and other operational needs at small music venues.
• One Night Live Tour National tour initiative connecting emerging artists with grassroots small music venues across multiple U.S. cities, fostering collaboration between artists and small performance spaces.
• Webinar Series
• American Road Trip Video Series
• Empty Spaces Documentary Series

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $5 million awarded to 220+ venues since 2020
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Folk Alliance InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026Partnership with Folk Alliance International and D-Tour to organize One Night Live tours connecting emerging artists with grassroots venues in 14 cities ahead of the Folk Alliance International 2027 Conference.
• D-TourcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026Partner for One Night Live national tour initiative connecting emerging artists with small grassroots venues across multiple cities.
• National Independent Venue Association (NIVA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLMS partners with NIVA to support the independent venue ecosystem. LMS hosts events at the NIVA Conference including working lounge, venue showcases, and panel presentations. NIVA serves as a key distribution channel for reaching venue operators across the US.
• House of SongscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with House of Songs, an organization that matches songwriters globally for co-writing experiences with residencies in Austin, Bentonville, New York City, and Nordic countries. LMS Board Member Val Denn serves as Canadian Ambassador for House of Songs.
• National Independent Venue FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with National Independent Venue Foundation for webinar programming, including 'Licensing Made Simple: What Every Venue Should Know About Royalties' workshop.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Folk Alliance International: A nonprofit that supports folk music communities and the venues/organizations that present them. LMS Board Member Val Denn serves on Folk Alliance's board, and the two organizations jointly run the One Night Live tour.
• National Independent Venue Association (NIVA): NIVA is a 2,000+ member trade organization representing independent live venues in the U.S. Like LMS, NIVA exists to protect and support small live music venues; LMS works closely with NIVA as a primary distribution partner for its grants.
• National Independent Venue Foundation: The charitable arm of NIVA, which provides education, advocacy, and resources for independent venues. LMS and NIVF co-host webinars and 'State of Live' economic impact research, making them direct mission-aligned peers.
• House of Songs: A nonprofit that runs songwriter residencies in Austin, Bentonville, NYC, and Nordic countries. LMS Board Member Val Denn is House of Songs' Canadian Ambassador, and the two organizations partner on programming connecting artists with grassroots venues.

Emerging players

• MusiCares: The Recording Academy-affiliated nonprofit providing health, financial, and emergency relief to music professionals. While it focuses on musicians rather than venues, its donor-funded grant model and target beneficiary base are highly comparable.
• Sweet Relief Musicians Fund: A nonprofit providing financial assistance to musicians and music industry workers in need. Operates a similar donation-driven grantmaking model with comparable target audience, but its grants go to individuals rather than venues.
• The Blues Foundation: A Memphis-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving blues music history and supporting blues musicians and venues. Operates in a similar nonprofit, venue-supporting capacity but is genre-specific rather than venue-agnostic.

Others

• Eventbrite: A ticketing and event platform that has underwritten NIVA's 'State of Live' study alongside LMS. While primarily a technology vendor, Eventbrite is a key ecosystem participant that distributes event revenue to small venues and is a known financial partner to LMS's affiliated organizations.

Broad incumbents

• Americans for the Arts: A large national nonprofit advocating for the arts sector broadly, including venues, performers, and audiences. Comparable in mission but operates at much broader scope and scale than LMS's venue-specific focus.
• Independent Music Coalition (IMC): Coalitions and industry groups that advocate for independent music businesses, including venues, labels, and artists. They share LMS's advocacy role for independent music infrastructure but typically operate as policy/lobbying entities rather than grantmakers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LMSdotorg
• Instagraminstagram.com/livemusicsociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/livemusicsociety

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments29 records

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Frequently asked questions about Live Music Society