Smalls Jazz Club

What Smalls Jazz Club does

Smalls Jazz Club is a historic jazz venue located in the basement of 183 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village, New York City, operated by The SmallsLIVE Foundation for Jazz Art & Education, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization (Tax ID: 38-4083862). Founded as a live streaming pioneer in 2007, the organization has continuously operated three NYC venues — Smalls Jazz Club (Greenwich Village), Mezzrow (163 W. 10th Street), and Jazzcultural (349 W. 46th Street on Restaurant Row) — hosting live jazz performances, jam sessions, and special events. The organization runs the SmallsLIVE platform, which integrates ticketing, free live streaming, supporting membership subscriptions, an artist sponsorship program, and a catalog of individually produced music projects.

The technology core is the SmallsLIVE platform, which pioneered free live streaming of jazz performances starting in 2007 and now maintains an extensive proprietary audio/video archive of all shows at the Smalls and Mezzrow venues. Royalties from archive access are paid directly to musicians, and the musician sponsorship platform enables members to support specific artists and receive their music as downloads or CDs. The organization distributes globally via free live streams and member-based archive access, while concentrating physical venue operations in Manhattan.

The business model is diversified across five streams: live performance ticket sales (transaction-based, with a one-drink minimum per set), supporting memberships providing archive access (annual tax-deductible donations to the foundation), artist sponsorships (minimum donation amounts split between musicians and the foundation), general donations (accepted via check, wire, and Bitcoin), and catalog sales of produced artist projects. The foundation also operates emergency aid programming for jazz musicians, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic when it subsidized venue operations and sponsored live-streamed concerts to keep musicians working. Customer segments are jazz enthusiasts attending performances or accessing digital content, and jazz musicians performing at the venues or receiving royalty and sponsorship income.

Name

Smalls Jazz Club

Legal name

The SmallsLIVE Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://smallsjazzclub.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smalls Jazz Club is a historic NYC jazz venue and 501(c)(3) nonprofit (The SmallsLIVE Foundation) operating three Manhattan locations and a pioneering live streaming platform with a musician-supported audio/video archive, serving jazz enthusiasts and performing musicians.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Live Performance Tickets: Ticket sales for live jazz performances at Smalls Jazz Club, Mezzrow, and Jazzcultural venues. Advance reservations and walk-in tickets available for shows.
2. Supporting Membership: Tax-deductible donations to The SmallsLIVE Foundation that provide archive access to members who sponsor musicians and access archived content.
3. Artist Sponsorships: Members can sponsor specific artists and receive their music as downloads or CDs. The minimum donation goes entirely to musicians with optional additional amounts split between musicians and the foundation.
4. General Donations: Tax-deductible donations accepted via check, wire transfer, or Bitcoin to support the not-for-profit foundation's operations.
5. Catalog Sales: The SmallsLIVE Catalog sells individually produced artist projects. Members may sponsor artists and receive music downloads or CDs.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Smalls Jazz Club operates three intimate live jazz venues in New York City (Smalls, Mezzrow, and Jazzcultural), selling tickets to live performances and offering free live streaming of shows via the SmallsLIVE platform. The SmallsLIVE Foundation, a not-for-profit, supports these venues and provides an audio/video archive of all performances with royalties paid directly to musicians, along with a musician sponsorship and catalog program.

Product overview

SmallsLIVE is a unified platform operated by the SmallsLIVE Foundation (a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Tax ID: 38-4083862) that operates Smalls Jazz Club and Mezzrow in New York City's West Village. The platform consists of four integrated offerings: the SmallsLIVE Platform (core ticketing and membership system), the SmallsLIVE Archive (audio/video performance library with direct artist royalties), the SmallsLIVE Catalog (artist sponsorship and music distribution), and Live Streaming (pioneered since 2007, offered free during performances). The Foundation component supports venue operations, touring, and emergency musician aid. Members gain access to archived performances while supporting artists directly through sponsorships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Jazz Performances Intimate live jazz performances at three NYC venues — Smalls (183 West 10th St), Mezzrow (163 W. 10th St), and Jazzcultural (349 W. 46th St). Tickets sold via advance reservations and walk-ins for individual consumers and jazz fans.
• Live Streaming Free live streaming of jazz performances accessible globally through the SmallsLIVE website, available during normal operating times and special scheduled live concerts.
• SmallsLIVE Archive An audio/video library containing recordings of all shows performed at Smalls and Mezzrow venues. Access requires a Supporting Membership (tax-deductible donation). Members can sponsor favorite musicians by listening to their music, with royalties paid directly to musicians.
• SmallsLIVE Catalog A collection of individually produced artist projects where SmallsLIVE members can sponsor artists of their choice and receive their music as downloads or CDs; sponsorships directly support the artist.
• SmallsLIVE Foundation (Supporting Membership & Donations)

Quantifiable outcome

• All royalties from archive access paid directly to musicians
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• City Winery: Multi-location intimate music venue with in-house dining and a streaming/podcast component. Comparable in operating an intimate live music + digital distribution model across multiple venues, though broader in genre than jazz.

Direct peers

• Village Vanguard: Historic NYC jazz club in Greenwich Village operating as a single intimate basement venue with nightly ticketed jazz performances. Closest direct analog in venue format, audience, and genre focus.
• Blue Note Jazz Club: Iconic jazz club in Greenwich Village operating multiple intimate performance venues with ticketed shows and a global brand. Direct competitor in NYC live jazz space with overlapping artist rosters and similar intimate venue economics.
• Birdland Jazz Club: Midtown Manhattan jazz club presenting ticketed live jazz performances with artist residencies and global touring acts. Comparable venue type, programming model, and NYC jazz audience overlap.
• Smoke Jazz Club: NYC jazz club presenting ticketed live jazz performances with a supper club format. Direct competitor in the upscale intimate jazz venue segment with similar audience and pricing model.
• Jazz Standard: NYC jazz venue known for intimate live performances and a strong local following. Direct competitor in the live jazz experience category with comparable ticketed show format.
• The Iridium: NYC jazz and rock venue presenting tiered ticketed performances with a dinner service component. Comparable intimate venue operating model and live music focus in the same Manhattan market.

Others

• Tidal (Aspiro / Block): Music streaming service with a strong jazz catalog and artist-friendly positioning. Comparable in delivering recorded jazz content globally and routing revenue to artists, though distributed digitally rather than tied to live venues.
• Bandcamp (Songtradr): Artist-direct music marketplace with strong jazz and independent music ecosystem. Comparable in direct-to-artist monetization and discovery of jazz recordings, though not a live venue operator.

Broad incumbents

• Jazz at Lincoln Center: Large-scale NYC jazz presenting organization operating multiple performance venues (Rose Theater, Appel Room) with educational programs and global touring. Comparable jazz-presentation mission but at significantly larger scale and institutional scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smalls-jazz-club

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smalls Jazz Club