Originally Posted By: 90 dB
Live music is alive and well. It has merely morphed into singles/duos from 5 piece outfits.

I would love to have a 7-piece with some horns, a killer FOH guy and a righteous sound system. Of course, I would also like to have a 42' Grand Banks trawler and a chalet in Tahoe. grin


heh... me too..


Quote:
I think it's simply a matter of demographics. If you're playing 60's/70's covers, adjust your demographic accordingly.

Someone born in 1964 was 16 in 1980 ( to use Bob's example). The problem is; people don't just turn 16 and begin to notice music. I believe that music affects children at a tender age. Most of the early Beatles fans were 12-13 year old girls. 12. That's someone born in 1951.

For 60's/70's covers, I think the prime demo is about 45-70. Sounds like a dull group, no? The fact is that this demographic is mostly retired, affluent, and going through their 2nd Childhood! laugh


I agree 100%. And apparently a lot of people do. I recently went on Gig Salad to scope out the market saturation for various genres. When I searched for Jazz, I found a handful. When I searched for Motown I hardly found any. When I searched for Oldies bands, I got so many pages of hits I stopped before I got to the end. I was looking in a 50 mile radius of where I live. And THAT.. is part of the problem. If you own the only restaurant in town you'll make more money than if you own a restaurant on a street lined with 150 other restaurants. The market is saturated with oldies bands.... partly because of supply and demand. Lots of people still like oldies.

Getting back to Bob's observation is the age demographic. You have to seek gigs where your demographic goes. The 45-70 group has largely abandoned clubs, so if you are playing oldies and looking for club gigs, no wonder you aren't getting work.

Retired boomers go to calmer places like restaurants, parks, festivals, the beach, the mountains, rest homes, camp grounds, private parties, churches, social functions, weddings, golf courses etc. If those places don't currently offer live music, you need to put your sales hat on and go talk to them. They need to be made aware of the fact that their main demographic likes live music in the form of oldies. What's good for you is also good for them


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0