LIVE MUSIC-DYING TO THRIVE

I love to dance, and back in the day, my friends and I would dance the night away at a variety of nightspots throughout the city. The memories of places filled with laughter and fun times. All of these places shared one common denominator….LIVE MUSIC!     
I hadn’t really thought a lot about this until a few weeks ago. Hubs and I were out to dinner with friends and as dinner was winding down, I said, “Let’s all go listen to a band somewhere and maybe even dance?” Where could we go? Of course, we all pulled out our trusty smartphones and contacted our good friend Google for “places offering live music.”
I wish I could say that I was surprised by the search results; however, having been married to a musician for the past 34 years, I was very well aware of the decline of live music in the area. As I suspected, there were only a handful of places promoting live music. To make matters worse, the few bands that were playing were from out-of-town, not local musicians! How could this be? After all, isn’t “Buy Local” a modern-day mantra and “Support Small Businesses” a resounding theme? The thought process, with regard to local musicians, seems to be, “they’re good enough to hire here and there, or on a weeknight; but apparently not respected enough to hire on a busy Friday or Saturday night. 
So with heavy sighs, we left the restaurant and headed to our respective homes to turn on the TV and call it a night.
I couldn’t quit thinking about it. What happened to live music in this town? What changed? After all, it wasn’t that long ago that you could find a venue in town where a band was playing your favorite genre. Whether you loved country, rock, oldies, blues, jazz, or a mix, live music was alive and well. Live music was once part of our culture, a big city mindset encapsulated within a hometown environment. 
The music business (even locally) can be a cutthroat industry. It’s difficult for musicians to speak their mind because their very livelihood depends on it. When my husband retired from playing this year, I knew that the window of opportunity had opened and it was the right time for me to try to be the voice that sounded the clanging cymbal (pardon the pun), and possibly shed some light on the problems, expose some of the corruption and maybe offer some tips on how venues and local musicians could work together to bring about change.   
The music business is competitive, the pay is lousy and making a living as a musician is tough anywhere; however, in a small town, it’s next to impossible. When I decided to blog about this topic, my goal was to simply to explore why live music was once a thriving, booming industry, and today, appears to be dying a slow death. I really thought this would be an easy blog to write because I knew where to place blame….or so I thought.
 In an effort to understand the present, you must research the past, explore the results from every angle, and find the truth. What I discovered is that the struggle is real for both venues and musicians.
There isn’t a definitive cause; many factors have contributed to the decline:

1. The “bar scene” of yesteryear has been replaced by social media and online dating
2. High operating costs for both musicians and venues
3. Low wages
4. Drinking and driving penalties
5. Costly copyright licensing requirements for live music venues
6. Demographics and music styles of club-goers have changed
7. Funding for arts decreased
8. Musicians either left the area to pursue their career or left music to work a “day gig”
9. “Everyone thinks they are a star” mentality
10. Musicians believe the venue should promote and vice-versa​

Is there hope for live music to be revived, appreciated, and dare we ask, even thrive once more. I am an eternal optimist and I believe it can; however, it will take dedicated and intentional effort from venues, musicians, and the community. Yes, the community. Unless the community as a whole determines to value and support live music, nothing will change for the better.   
Could it be that musicians and venues alike have become complacent and accepting of things being “the way it is”? Here are some ideas that may help change the focus, redirect, and be a catalyst for change:

Musicians:

1. A club owner does not care how talented you are, the number of CD’s you have made, or how popular you think you are; if your presence does not increase sales, their investment in you or the band is a loss
2. Perfect your skill, (learn to read music and play your instrument), hold regular rehearsals and, be prepared for the gig
3. You’re a professional musician/band. Learn how to network and promote yourself as such (Do not rely on the venue to market you or your band)
4. Refuse to play for free-(Side Note: Undercutting other musicians/bands by offering to play for less money or free is not only unethical but frankly embarrassing, if you call yourself a professional)
5. Your goal should not be to play the same venue or city every weekend but to pack or sell out a variety of clubs every 6-8 weeks. Create a demand, generate a buzz, offer advance tickets (I know, no one is selling tickets here; newsflash, they are in other cities) and, build your own following. You may just discover that your income increases, you have more time to learn new material and the bookings are finding you!  (Example: Playing one club this weekend and the club two doors down the next, eliminates the “having to make an effort to hear you”; it just isn’t a priority if they can just catch the show the next weekend.)   
6. Begin using a contract that specifies the expectations and cancellation policies (benefits both you and the venue)
7. Take short breaks (you’re typically only working 4 hours, trust me, you can do it) and if the dance floor is full, keep PLAYING
8. You are working, do not drink
9. Engage the crowd, people like to feel like you notice them
10. Schedule bookings well in advance
11. Develop a 60-second elevator speech to explain to a club owner why they should hire your band (This speech isn’t about how good YOU are, but how hiring you can BENEFIT the venue such as increased sales, following, and so-on)
12. Realize that you’re not going to be “discovered” in a small town, so stop playing a whole set of original songs, people like to listen and dance to songs they know
13. Do not bad mouth other musicians; instead, attend and support their shows when you’re not playing. This will increase your networking, build your reputation as a solid professional and, develop relationships with a variety of venues
14. Explore the possibility of hiring a booking agent (these are more prominent in bigger cities)
15.  Research a venue’s respective demographics and prepare material to support the interest (great information for your elevator speech)

Venues

1. Do not ask a professional band to play for “take of the house”, “drinks” or for “free”
2. First and foremost, hire local bands (If you encourage  supporting  local small businesses, remember that musicians are self-employed business professionals)  
3. Compensate musicians well and you’ll never struggle to find quality entertainment
4. Hiring a band is an operational expense, treat it as such
5. Begin using a contract that specifies expectations and cancellation policies (benefits both you and the musicians)
6. Promote your venue, do not rely on the band ( if the band brings in the crowd, the crowd will follow them to the next venue)
7. Invest in a stage that has room and capabilities for equipment (a dedicated loading and unloading zone for equipment is a plus
8. Do not hire a 7 piece band and then tell them they are playing too loud – they are a BAND
9. Occasionally, consider hosing an “Under 18” night and hire young bands – this not only provides experience but increases interest in music
10. Stick to a posted start time and do not use the stage as a place for a dining table. (Forcing a band to wait to set up until someone finishes dining or having to move the tables devalues your investment)
11. Eliminate the cover charge. This allows customers to have more money to purchase food and drinks
12. Don’t assume that all musicians drink and party; professionals do not
13. Want to increase your purchasing demographic, hire a band to start at 8 p.m. instead of 9 or 10 p.m.
14. Hire enough staff to wait tables, patrons are only so patient
15. Hire security (People want to feel safe)
16. Ensure that your venue’s atmosphere is enjoyable and clean. (Sticky floors, dirty bathrooms and/or roaches or rodents can ruin your reputation and send people racing for the door)

Community

• Please support venues that hire local bands and musicians
• Provide the venue feedback (Both positive and negative as venues and musicians listen when profits are at stake)
• Hire local musicians for parties, reunions, conferences, weddings and so-forth
• Support music initiatives in schools
• Encourage local businesses/government to financially support the arts

This is not a blog of gloom and doom, but hopefully an article of awareness and encouragement. Your community could become known, once again, as a thriving arts community. It’s a proven fact that a thriving arts community helps create a thriving economy. (Businesses want to move into thriving areas because they want to be part of the growth, not the sole support of it)
Just imagine, with dedicated and intentional efforts from venues, musicians and, the community, the live music scene and the arts in general, could grow easily. Together, we can make it happen!