Live Music: Hanging By a Thread

People tend to spend their time and their money on the things they value.  Most folks say they love music.  So, what happened to the live music scene?

It seems that, with the indie phenomenon, there are more performing artists than ever.  Singer-songwriter types fill every nook and cranny of musical genre across the board.  Everyone's a "rock star" these days what with the rock star energy drinks and rock star school supplies and rock star movies and rock star clothing and rock star video games.  I'm waiting for rock star gasoline to come on the scene.  Anything that pricey has to be eligible for rock stardom, I'd think.

Actually, it occurs to me that the only folks who are not rock stars are the ones who play in rock bands for money.  Unless they're super stars. 

So, with all these performers running amok, why is live music dying in so many areas? Does our society no longer value live music?  What happened?

Here are a few observations I am only too pleased to call to attention:

Play Without Pay.  Except for the super stars, musicians currently get paid at the same rates we were paid in the 80's to perform live.  That's twenty years of inflation that sped on by and left us choking in the dust. 

 

Venue Changes.  Live venues (night clubs, restaurants, concert halls, etc.)  are much different than they were 20 years ago:

• There are fewer of them per square city mile.
• The ones that exist rarely book nightly - most only book on weekends now.
• They tend to be much smaller, hence accommodate mostly solo acts, duos or, at best, trios.
• Many of them don't pay directly, but only "split the door" meaning that the band gets a portion of the cover charges collected for every person that actually claims to be coming in to see that particular band.  In other words, how many fans can the band bring to the facility? 
• Others actually charge the musicians to play there.  Not joking!
• Some, like most coffee houses, pay absolutely nothing at all.  They do allow tip jars, though.  But the audience is typically so small that...well...

Stiffer DWI Laws.  Folks are less prone to drive after a few drinks than they once were.  Which is a very good thing!  Unfortunately for musicians, it means people are less likely to engage in nightlife activities...like listening to live music in a club setting.

Plentiful Home Entertainment Options.  iPods, satellite radio, the internet, live concerts on cable TV, Guitar Hero...People don't leave home for entertainment as much as we used to.  Especially if we have to drive more than a few  miles from our neighborhoods because of....

Gas Prices.

Health concerns.  Smoking isn't socially acceptable like it once was.  Unless you live in a city that bans smoking in ALL public areas, you'll be hard-pressed to find non-smokers in clubs and certain restaurants these days.  Many musicians shy away from playing the non-smoke-free environments now as well.

DJ's. They cost about the same as a band, take less time to set up, take up less floor space, and are better able to fill song requests from drunk uncles at wedding receptions.  It's just not the same though, is it?

Busy Lives.  Folks are busy.  We're really good at over-scheduling our lives, aren't we?  Between our work schedules,  the kids' activities and trying to manage households, we're pretty tired when the weekends roll around.  As a society, we don't engage in social activities as much as we did even twenty years ago.

And yet . . .   Despite all of the above, musicians want to perform.  So the sorry pay and sorry playing situations are tolerated. A single, 3-hour gig takes another three hours to set up and tear down at the venue. And that's not counting driving time nor loading and unloading back at the studio before and after the gig.  Then there's gasoline.  I'm not even going to count rehearsal time. The only way to get past that is for live musicians, as a solid, unified entity, to refuse to play unless paid acceptable rates.  That's not happening. Not as long as the desire to perform live outweighs the desire to be fairly compensated.

Staying Alive?  So, what is the thin thread that keeps live music alive?  (It's certainly not money.)  Is live music in danger of extinction?  When was the last time you went out to listen to some live music?  Where are the best places to go in your area? 

Why not make a date with a few friends in September to go see a local band!

Comments

[Mr. New Dilemma]

I have said this over and over for the last 10 years. There's not enough audience, everyone wants to be the star. The problem with that mentality is they close the door on other musicians, letting themselves be awed by their own music not really caring about other musicians.

I for one love live music and am saddened by the loss of revenue to artist over the years. The motivation to do it just isn't there anymore. I will be going to see a local artist play this weekend, who I heard years ago and to be honest, his singing was terrible, akin to yodeling. Why? Maybe he's better now, and you never see live yodeling anymore!

Really though, we would all like to have the crowd motivate us, so I will be there for that.

[pianista]

I really think I should get out and see more live music, but the truth is where I was at uni practically none of my friend were the kind of people to do that often, so I got out of the habit. My dad is a musician so when I'm home I see him play and various other acts, but really it's something I would like to do more.

[Beamer]

Where I live, Country Music is where it's at. If you, Oh My Gawd, Play Rock and roll, you are not going to get much exposure around here. It actually seems Mexican Bands get a lot more exposure than Rock and roll these days around here. (southern San Joaquin Valley, California)

You forgot to mention the time in doing all the little extras like setting up the Microphones, the control board, setting the levels for that room, replacing strings, trips to the music stores to get the strings, the expense for the instruments, keeping patch cords working, you know, Little things like that.

Beamer

[Jacqueline]

I love live music!

I hope some day we'll go full circle and get back to knowing our neighbors, receiving handwritten letters in the mail and making it our business to kick back to listen to some good live music on a REGULAR basis. :-)