I'm a little late to the party, and I have an early gig today, so I didn't have time to read all the responses. Please excuse any redundancy.

Yes, we play for about what we did 20 years ago, while inflation eats away at our buying power.

Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
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Who's to blame? The clubs for exploiting the bands? The musicians themselves for undercutting each other and undervaluing their music? The perception of the people for thinking music is supposed to be cheap or free and not being willing to pay to see live bands? Solo guys with backing tracks on a computer who will work cheaper than a 4 piece band?

or.... all of the above?


Add to the above:

1) Taxes and smaller mark-up for bar/food prices. Back when the MADD Mothers crusaded against drunk drivers, the State of Florida (and others) used it as an excuse to raise the tax on drinks $0.50 per drink. The bar I was playing in raised their price $0.25 and ate the rest. Food and other services have raised prices to the clubs as well and they are in the same spot as the musicians.

2) Karaoke Jocks. Not Karaoke clubs where the audience gets up and sings (although that hurts some) but people who don't play instruments, buy Karaoke software and go out and play clubs as if they were musicians. This increases the supply of entertainers and supply and demand rules. Plus since they have no investment in instruments and gear or the time to learn, they tend to undercut their prices to get in the door. And since the clubs are working with reduced profits, they tend to think these entertainers are a good bargain even if the product turns out to be inferior.

3) Open mic nights. Musicians will play for free and bring a group of customers with them. Too good for the club to pass up even if the music turns out inferior.

4a) Cable TV. In my parent's generation, TV was black and white, with reduced bandwith for audio, tiny speaker, and tinny sound. Later color TV with bigger speakers but the same thin bandwidth for audio so tinny sound. TV was free, but you had to go out to listen to live entertainment if you wanted to hear good music.

4b) Cable TV continued: Now we have "Home Theater" with giant super HD screens, 7.1 surround sound, and you can have The Stones, Adele, Ga Ga, Chesney, or whatever famous artist/group you like in your living room, like you have a front row seat, and just about whenever you want to stream them.

4c) Cable TV continued: TV used to be free, now it's easy to pay $300/month for TV subscriptions. That money used to be spent in night clubs for live entertainment. Multiply that by millions of Cable TV subscribers, and you can see why attendance is down in clubs. People just don't go out like they used to.

5) The music industry killed itself. It used to be that the music was an expression of an entire generation. From Al Jolson through Frank Sinatra through Elvis Presley through The Beatles everybody of that generation knew the words to their songs. Then came disco which split the market followed by (in no particular order) Metal, Rap, EDO, Pop, R&B (not to be confused with traditional R&B), Alt Rock etc. Not everyone listened and knew the words to Metallica, Dave Matthews, or even Michael Jackson. Instead of a youth radio station, most markets had several different formats for the same generation. So music no longer became the glue that held an entire generation together, therefore it lost its importance.

6) DJ clubs. The youth market and the wedding market that used to be predominantly live bands are now predominantly DJ run. Again, more supply for the same demand. And now DJs have even replaced bands in the adult market.

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Subtract from the above (OP).

1) Singles playing with backing tracks. I've never seen a single replace a 4 piece band around here. They play in rooms that always hired a single. They just sound fuller than they used to. A big club with a big stage and a single with backing tracks replacing a 4 piece band with a real drummer? Ain't gonna happen.

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I'm glad I grew up when I did. I've managed to make a decent living all my life playing music (with the exception of two jobs when I was investigating what it would be to be 'normal'. I found that for me normal is over rated). I've paid off a house in a very nice neighborhood, bought brand new cars (although they were Dodge price point instead of BMW price point), a couple of sailboats, and a nice yearly vacation to 5 continents.

I could have made more with the electronics engineering I took in college, and even tried that for a couple of years (playing music on the weekends). But I'm living my life on my own terms, I'm not a wage-slave to some inhuman corporation, I don't take orders by some Dilbert type boss, and instead of saying "I have to go to work today", I say "I GET to go to work today" and I mean it because playing music is my second favorite thing to do.

In addition I've been treated as a peer by the top musicians of the day, I got to jam with many of them, record with others, I almost made 'the big time', and I've had the opportunity to be intimate with dozens of beautiful women culminating with the best one of all who I married. And for these experiences I actually got paid. How lucky is that!!! laugh

Do I regret choosing Music over Engineering? Not one bit.

I feel sorry for the younger musicians who don't have the opportunity that I had.

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Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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