Maybe it's the fact that it's so fucking expensive to do anything, forcing us inside which is reenforcing itself rather cyclically. It is really hard to get excited about things when you don't have the funds to go out and do things. I am older but would be going out way more to events if I didn't cringe at the money I know I will be dropping on these nights out. Third real world spaces are dearly needed and people are getting priced out of them. I used to go out to music events at least once a week ten years ago.
this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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Venues: "It'll be $50 just to come in and stand for an hour, not including drinks, and if you want premium space that'll be an extra 100 to actually be relatively close to the band"
People: "Uh, nah thanks, I have to buy groceries and survive, you know"
Venues: "No one wants to go to concerts anymore!"
Edit: I also searched the article, "Cost" shows up once but for artist cost, "ticket", "entrance", "price" never show up. What a boomer article. "These damn kids don't want to even go to music concerts anymore" and completely leaves out the most important detail on why.
I for one support the Zoomers in killing the music industry. Maybe we will see more art again in the rubble.
Music industry has always been just garbage, I don't see why it needs to be propped up in any way. Welcome to the Machine called it out back in the 70s. If anything indie music proves that music will always be around, we don't need the corporations to tell us what to listen to.
Bought concert tickets for October. Total cost for tickets was $195.20. It's not a local show (ie: the bands have recognition beyond our town), so we have to travel to the city - 4 hours plus a $75 ferry. Plus overnight stay and food in the city. And we need a sitter to watch the kids, overnight.
So we're pushing $600-$700 for a concert. That's a "once every few years" thing, when we've saved enough and the band is one we really want to see.
Local shows are rock cover bands on a Sunday evening, usually, but I work Monday at 6am.
yup, same here. Any musician who has even relatively small name recognition tickets are now always almost if not over $200. There's no way we can just go to concerts every week/month like our parents did, tickets used to be $20-30! Even with inflation that's still way way less. I'd love to go to more concerts, but they need to find ways to bring ticket costs down, or just suck it up and make less profit. (I know, I know, how blasphemous)
I think you mean “third spaces” but great point otherwise.
I donno why my city hates public pavilions so much.
Ok I know why it's because they hate the poors that hangout there.
Ah yes, sorry! Thank you!
Definitely agree with the dude talking about how niche music has gotten. And to the dude who said "all new music sucks", get out from under your rock man. Theres just so many bands/artists creating so much music now, some is bound to be good. Its easier than ever to record a song and get it out on the internet. The bloat makes it harder to find stuff you jive with, but when you do it almost feels tailor made for your ears.
that feeling when you find a rabbit hole song with a full catalogue behind it.
I just discovered Snarky Puppy last night, and when I saw their catalog I just leaned back in my chair and smiled.
Snarky Puppy - Binky
kinda reminds me of the brass against cover of forty six & 2.
That band makes me lose my mind. The rhythm section is just amazing.
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bands aren’t disappearing. Small local bands are still cheap and great fun. I know, i’m in one. We tour locally every year and play a show every weekend throughout summer. We have to turn people down because we are so booked up. And that’s not just us, but most locals i know. People still love live music just as much as they ever did.
Thanks for making music, I love local bands.
The article is definitely one of those that pushes back on the editorialized headline.
thank you for coming out and listening! Y’all are the reason i love those 20h days of playing a show.
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Bands aren’t disappearing, it’s just that DIY is more inclusive from both a fiscal standpoint and enjoyment standpoint. I don’t think many bands want to grow to the point of doing stadium tours and having the stress of appeasing their labels, managers, venues, merch sweatshops, etc… To me, music seems to be about music again and many up and coming bands are avoiding the industry in favor of the artistry.
yup. this is one of those articles that pushes back on the overly editorialized headline.
I think you nailed it. Artists can lose a lot when/if they get big. They can lose creative freedom, lose time with their loved ones, lose privacy, lose control of where they go and what they do, and more. Especially with the internet these days.
The label :
"You have to pretend to be single so fans will think they could date you. We want a bad boy/girl look for you".
"I like what you're doing, but these sounds are trending right now, so you'll have to incorporate that instead. Oh, our marketing team thought that this logo suits our idea for you better".
"I don't care that your grandma just died, you have a gig to play!".
"We're taking our cut now".
The consumers : (exaggerated, but maybe only by a bit for some people.)
"How dare you try to enjoy a private date! I bought a ticket to your show last year, so you practically owe me your soul!"
"Your old stuff was better. Why would you change the sound?".
"You haven't changed your sound in years, you're stale".
"You're so sick you can barely move? False. Musicians NEVER get sick"
I would require enough money to dissapear off of the face of the earth to ever go into that industry.
I'm in the midwest USA and even here you can see Hip-Hop and EDM taking over where pop and rock would've been the go-to. All the venues/bars that play rock look like a retirement home party now. I'd much rather dance to a DJ then a cover band playing the same shit I've heard a million times over the last 30 years.
Our local scene was decimated by pay to play promoters and it's never really recovered. We would have to pay in to presell tickets and then try to sell them just to try to break even when opening at 4:30 on a Wednesday. Not exactly a good way to gain new fans.
The actual promoters did nothing to really promote the gig since they were preselling to local bands they made their money that way.
If you're popular enough it's not tough to sell tickets once and awhile but if you want to play monthly, your pool of potential ticket buyers shrinks since not everyone can go to a show that often.
Marketb is over saturated with cover bands. If you don't seem then at your local venue it's because the promoter simply doesn't want to book cover bands. If anything cover bands are too damn popular
They're promoted here as sing-alongs.
I live in a major city so the local venues here need a certain headcount before they'll book an event.
There's some very popular cover bands here but there are even less venues that can support them.
white ford bronco is the biggest one I know and their show sell out.
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Speaking as someone in the UK, specifically about here but it may apply elsewhere:
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everything is vastly more expensive than before, with help slashed for individuals and groups
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Brexit. Bands used to be able to tour Europe just as easily as in the UK, aside from the whole language thing. Drive to the coast, get on a ferry, drive from France. We could earn there with no issues, perform with limited issues, but now? Not any more. Anyone other than established bands have been cut out.
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Due to the cost of living, COVID, etc, venues have shut down on a huge scale. I have many locations I used to love seeing bands at which have ALL shut down. Some were around for decades prior. Where can new bands tour now? The pubs I knew that offered places to perform have now also gone, some out of business and others out of noise abation notices due to new apartments nearby.
And in my opinion really, all this has an effect on bands. Why bother putting one together when you aren't going to be able to gig easily anymore?
dudes out of touch music today is more diverse with less industry influence than ever
The article is about pop music. Not music in general. If you read far enough to see the statistics on various pop charts and musical festivals, you'll see the point they're trying to make more clearly.
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There's a place right behind my flat that does live bands 3-4 nights a week, cover is usually less than seeing a movie, never more than 30/40 people there. I know it's tough for venues/bars to pay the bands (a proper rate) and turn a profit some nights, but I really reapect the event-led places that keep it up.
Technology supporting solo artists hits close to home.
It was certainly a larger factor in my decision to quit playing in bands, that composing/DAW software allowed me to make music in a similar fashion.
In many ways, it's better than playing in a band, because you can make exactly the music you enjoy and play not just one instrument, but a whole orchestra.
Obviously, this is far easier said than done and there's many awesome parts of being in a band, too, but I can definitely see this being the preferred alternative for many people.
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