DrumEatDrum
Platinum Member
http://online.wsj.com/articles/these-days-rock-cover-bands-cant-seem-to-get-gigs-1405564202
(click for full article)
This goes with what some one of us have observed. Many people choose DJs, karaoke, or just staying home and using the internet over going to bars these days.
So much of bars used to be where one goes to try to meet a potential mate. When I was younger, personal ads, and online dating was sort of viewed as what people who couldn't meet people the regular way used. But now, I think it is readily acceptable and common to use online dating services, which eliminates a huge reason of why people used to go to bars.
And for those who do still want to go out, dance, and such, the electronic music scene and DJ's often rule over a full band, as this Saturday Night Live sketch pointed out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCawU6BE8P8
And of course, there is an abundant supply of musicians compared to the demand.
Anyhow, there have various discussion on here about why can't so-and-so supplement their income with playing covers, and this article makes a point that for some, even doing that might not get you that much money anymore.
I thought it was interesting that a mainstream media website would even pick up on this.
(click for full article)
Mr. Brown is among the many cover-band artists these days who are finding it more difficult to earn a living. The problem is a paucity of lucrative bar-band gigs (thanks to DJs, trivia nights, karaoke, and changing tastes) combined with a glut of middle-aged musicians who just can't quit the scene.
By Mr. Howard's estimate, Top-40 cover-band gigs have declined 80% in the past 15 years.
Nor is pay keeping pace with the times, artists and booking agents say. A band making $400 or so a gig in the 1980s doesn't make much more now. Inflation has eroded pay.
On a recent Friday night,... he was pushing his sound equipment into Oakland's Elm Street Grill, a sports bar in a nearby strip mall.
"Karaoke tonight?" asked a middle-aged man, smoking outside the bar.
This goes with what some one of us have observed. Many people choose DJs, karaoke, or just staying home and using the internet over going to bars these days.
So much of bars used to be where one goes to try to meet a potential mate. When I was younger, personal ads, and online dating was sort of viewed as what people who couldn't meet people the regular way used. But now, I think it is readily acceptable and common to use online dating services, which eliminates a huge reason of why people used to go to bars.
And for those who do still want to go out, dance, and such, the electronic music scene and DJ's often rule over a full band, as this Saturday Night Live sketch pointed out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCawU6BE8P8
And of course, there is an abundant supply of musicians compared to the demand.
Anyhow, there have various discussion on here about why can't so-and-so supplement their income with playing covers, and this article makes a point that for some, even doing that might not get you that much money anymore.
I thought it was interesting that a mainstream media website would even pick up on this.