Two new reports estimate that Colorado鈥檚 creative industries have shed almost 30,000 jobs between April and July of 2020, along with more than $1.4 billion in sales revenue due to the COVID-19 crisis. Most of that has been in music, theater, dance and visual arts, which lost more than half of all jobs and more than a third of its sales revenue.

Among that group, the most visible losses have been to the live music scene, said Michael Seman, an assistant professor of arts management with Colorado State University鈥檚 LEAP Institute for the Arts. Seman is the author of the and .

The reports are a collaboration between , Denver Arts & Venues and the state-run Colorado Creative Industries.

Seman says while the estimates seem stark, they are conservative, especially with so many unknowns even pre-COVID.

鈥淚n so much of the music industry the economics of it isn鈥檛 recorded because people are being paid in cash, people trade services here and there, so there鈥檚 a lot that鈥檚 鈥榦ff-the-books,鈥欌€� he said.

Those working on the recording side are somewhat protected because people are still buying music, he added. While it doesn鈥檛 replace the income they鈥檇 generate through live shows, musicians can do virtual or drive-in concerts or pivot to teaching music classes online.

But if you鈥檙e a venue owner, there鈥檚 really no place to pivot, Seman said. That puts them in the most critical situation.

It鈥檚 estimated that the state鈥檚 music scene has lost more than 50% of its jobs and a quarter of its annual sales revenue, according to the reports. And these losses don鈥檛 just impact venue owners and musicians, said Seman, calling venues 鈥渆ntrepreneur incubators.鈥�

鈥淵ou have these bands that are coming up (and) they鈥檙e learning how to be a band, which is basically learning how to run a small company,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut then, for example, you also have people that make the t-shirts for the bands that then become actual companies working on merch. So it鈥檚 a thing that shouldn鈥檛 be overlooked.鈥�

Venues are also places for necessary community building, Seman added.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e great for building social cohesion, community and they鈥檙e strong anchors for a lot of communities,鈥� Seman said. 鈥淚n many areas, one venue can be a hub where you have people 鈥� artists, filmmakers and musicians, but also teachers, doctors, lawyers 鈥� they all can gravitate around venues. So by losing them we鈥檙e not just losing a place for live music, we鈥檙e losing a place for community to develop.鈥�

There鈥檚 also the ripple effect to businesses that are physically located around venues.

It鈥檚 common for people coming out for a show 鈥� particularly if they鈥檙e coming from out of town or out of state 鈥� to make an event around it, booking a hotel, eating at restaurants, going to museums or shopping, Seman said.

That impact is already beginning to show up with the . Owners of the longtime business on the 16th Street Mall noted that without traffic from concerts and nearby events as well as from tourists, they just couldn鈥檛 stay afloat.

Seman said music venues will struggle the most to rebound from this crisis.

The estimated that without substantial relief funding, 90% of music venues across the country will go out of business after six months. The pandemic is well into month five.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not rocket science,鈥� Seman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not hard to understand the critical situation that they鈥檙e in, and honestly I don鈥檛 foresee live music coming back in the capacity that audiences would have to be there to make it a financially sound proposition for a venue 鈥� I don鈥檛 see it happening until sometime in 2021.鈥�

The industry is beginning to see some of those permanent closures. Most recently, the longtime Fort Collins venue Hodi鈥檚 Half Note shut down. The new owners hope to reopen the longtime concert venue as a comedy club next year.

Red Rocks isn鈥檛 going anywhere, Seman said. It鈥檚 the small, independent venues that are most at risk.

While there are some state and local efforts to help those in the industry, including the Colorado Music Relief Fund, it鈥檚 legislation such as the Save Our Stages Act and the ReStart Act that will be essential, he said. The relief bills would offer those in the music industry 鈥� including venue owners, producers and promoters 鈥� grants and also give more flexibility in Paycheck Protection Program loans.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e in danger of 鈥� the longer this goes on 鈥� is the infrastructure will start to erode,鈥� he said, referencing not only the physical buildings, but the human capital that鈥檚 been built over decades such as sound and lighting designers, promoters and managers.

鈥淚t could be years honestly until we could get back to where we were with all the venues we have 鈥� big and small,鈥� Seman said. 鈥淏ut, that鈥檚 an estimation, you know. It鈥檚 my first global pandemic.鈥�

Not wanting to end things on too stark a note, Seman added that there is a lot to be hopeful about as well.

鈥淢usicians and people in the music industry are some of the most creative people in the country and if there鈥檚 one group of people that will figure out a way to survive and continue and keep bringing music to people, it will be musicians,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I have faith that things will go in the right direction.鈥�