Maroon 5’s Adam Levine was scoffed at for suggesting there ‘aren’t any bands any more’ – but if you look at the numbers, he’s right. Wolf Alice, Maximo Park and industry insiders ask why
I was looking into why I just don't see cover bands at my local venue but this hits a bit deeper at the issue.
I wonder if how niche music tastes have become has something to do with it.
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.
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.
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)