There must be other factors at play, because pre-pandemic I attended several live music events every month, a lot of them small <250 people venues. A friend of mine has a goal of seeing 1000 artists in a year, and he got within spitting distance of it in 2019.
Of course, all venues make sure to have outside areas for smoking, because that's the sensible thing to do.
Okay, I'm going to ask "Where?" because my musician friends probably want to move there once Covid is done.
Although, if you say Nashville or New York, you're not helping--those are mega anomalies and all the musicians are already there which makes the situation untenable.
Denmark, but it goes for most of Europe in general, at least the places I've been. Any city over a certain size will have a bunch of small venues, and the laws against smoking indoors are EU-wide.
However, I am concerned that a lot of these smaller venues and promoters will struggle to survive the pandemic lockdowns, unless our governments pull themselves together and support cultural venues, instead of focusing so hard on sports. Culture isn't just something you play with a ball :-)
As for the downvotes, probably general disagreement or spillover from other discussions where someone has taken offense to what I wrote.
Of course, all venues make sure to have outside areas for smoking, because that's the sensible thing to do.