Here is something a little different than what has been written here lately:
I'm not one who likes to spread gossip, but if I do it is to articulate a broader issue. Case in point: one rumor I heard about why Savannah, GA band Perpetual Groove reluctantly cancelled a series of shows en route to California for the Xingolati Cruise they were booked to performa few weeks ago was because of high gas prices. They pull 400-500 people per show on average in Florida (a tough enough feat to accomplish for any band in their age and genre), fill Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA with more than 900 folks, easily fill 1,000 in the Georgia Theatre in Athens, and hell, they are looking at potentially selling out the Theatre for 3 nights straight on NYE Weekend! And they cut back on a number of shows heading out west because gas prices were too high?
Don't think I'm dogging these guys - I'm great friends with them, love them all to death and respect the hell out of what they've done the last three years. What I'm illustrating is that if gas prices are affecting a band like Perpetual Groove, one can only imagine, come this Winter and Spring, how they will affect the entire regional music scenes across this country.
This is serious, fans and friends! There are many bands who have a slightly less sophisticated machine as P-Groove's (or no real machine at all), and the majority do half of P-Groove's business if not less. If you don't think that rising energy prices are going to have an affect on how these bands are going to be able to tour and do their business, I have a bridge in Tallahassee I'd like to sell you.
The sad reality may be that unless you are a nationally touring act, with either financial backing or a record deal, bands and musicians who make their living touring and playing music may find themselves in a world of hurt. This was always my fear when gas began increasing to an average of $2.10. The day I saw gas in Georgia, Georgia, go for over $3.00 was the day I said to myself, "the party's over." And come early next year, for quite a number of folks, it will be.
This realization is what partially led me to consider pursuing the merger with Justin Brogdon. For the both of us, struggling as solo artists for the last year, we stand a better chance of securing a living doing this thing we love to do more than anything. The one advantage we have is that we can put on a great show either as the duo or with a band. Frankly, there is nothing I would rather do than write and perform music and art, and if this duo thing helps sustain that ability, so be it.
But I digress.
Though many are not saying it, they are feeling it - high gas and energy prices could cripple the entertainment industry. What do high gas prices do to consumers? They consume a lot less. Consumer confidence plunged in September thanks to Hurricane Katrina, because people refused to leave their house and/or purchase products at a time that their money would be sorely needed to counter the rise in energy bills, be it gas for the car, AC, etc.
How does this affect the entertainment industry? Simple - when choosing between staying warm at home with food on the table, and going to see a live concert, how many do you think would choose the latter? So, consider all these various clubs and establishments. You have to figure in production costs - door people for collecting and selling tickets, bartenders, bouncers & clean-up crews, the soundmen and/or light guys, and other folks involved in working at the venue that night. Then, consider costs to buy alcohol & soda, electricity and air conditioning or heating. Oh, and let's not forget the lease or rent for the venue if that still exists.
Notice how we haven't gotten to the band yet. This is what is considered first for every venue before the band even sets foot in the door.
Now, you have the band, which averages to about at least five (5) people you have to pay. These can be either just the band, or the band and others involved - the merch guy, the soundman, the light guy (sometimes), the manager, a fan or two, etc. All these folks have got to factor in the costs for their travel time, a possible hotel room, drinks and even meals.
Now that brings me back to the question I earlier addressed about the choice between food and live entertainment. As a direct consequence of this upcoming recession, people will stop going out to see live shows because they can't afford it and all the other stuff that goes with it. You have to consider travel time, dinner, how much you must pay for the show alone, and also refreshments at the show. When people don't come to shows, the venues don't make much money, neither from the door nor the bar (which is where they make most of their dough). When they don't make money, bands don't either. When bands don't, they go elsewhere. And when venues aren't bringing in bands or reasons for people to come to their establishment, they sadly close down.
That is what has been happening in the southeast for the last two years - I can't tell you how many times I have heard of a venue closing down. I heard of one venue in Orlando, FL a while back that, a few months prior to shutting their doors for good, they had just bought a brand new PA system. It's not just old, worn out clubs that are closing, but those that had at the time the money to put into spicing up the joint and its sound. Symbolically, there was a venue/restaurant that I liked in Destin that closed down at the beginning of 2004. What was put in its place? A Goodwill store.
I can also count on more than my two hands the number of times I have heard bands say they will no longer play at "such & such" club because the pay isn't that good, they aren't treated well, or they can't afford the long haul. That number has grown tremendously, and has forced bands to reconsider not only their touring schedules but also whether to tour at all.
Now some may not understand this entire situation without any figures to look at. Ok, consider this - in a venue that has a capacity of say 300 people, a five-piece band shows up and that's all who arrive. They only manage to pull in 40 people at $5 a ticket. That means the door only made $200. So there's that money, and there's an undetermined amount of money made at the bar. For many bands that don't have a contract for the show (and many don't), there are a variety of ways the band gets paid. Here are a few examples (which vary from venue to venue):
1- The band only makes what the door makes
2- The band gets 70% of the what the door makes, the bar gets the rest
3- The band gets a guaranteed amount, say $100, and after the first 100 folks at the door, they get from 80-100% of the remainder of the door
4- The soundman, bartenders, and bouncers get paid first with all the money made that night, and the band gets the rest.
So in describing the above situation, let's look at the amount of money a band is likely to make with each of these arrangements:
For arrangement #1- The band makes $200, plus merch sales (if any).
For arrangement #2- The band makes $140, plus merch sales (if any).
For arrangement #3- The band makes $100, plus merch sales (if any).
For arrangement #4- Likely scenario, the band makes $0, plus merch sales (if any).
Now, consider these money amounts, and the fact that this band, either in one van or a couple of vehicles, had to travel a good 4 hours, roughly 200 miles, to play this gig. Gas alone would probably cost, at a minimum, $70, and that's being lenient. More than likely, the band won't be able to make another trip there unless another better paying gig comes along the way either before or after. So the band is stuck having to play within their region, not just because it costs too much to feed and lodge the band, but now because the cost of gas will be too high to even bother travelling that far for a measely $100.
Likewise, the venue has trouble finding bands who would be willing to play for such a deal. They will have to rely on slightly, more popular bands who can bring in bigger crowds, but they will want to have bigger guarantees that they may not be able to afford. Alas, these bands may choose to play at another venue in town that can provide the guarantee or skip the town altogether. As a result, less & less bands are able to tour in these areas, and less & less venues are able to stay operational, and the whole industry feels the pinch.
It seems obvious that that the entertainment and live music industry is going to head into some pretty bad times. Ironically, it is during these times that some of the best art and music comes out, and really needs to gain support from the music community and fans. So what can we do?
My one suggestion is to find some way, financially or other, to support local and regional music. Going to live shows, buying CDs, encouraging the arts in public schools, anything to help build a community that strives on music and art. There is a music and art community in the southeast that is vast and the love that exists there is tremendous. There is nothing musicians like myself love more than to see new people being brought into the scene and taking part in this community. Frankly, in an age where our current government leadership would rather have us be on our own, we may need each other, locally and regionally, a lot more than ever before.
There usually is a silver lining in every crisis, and in this case it's no different - for all the hard times that will likely come our way, people have wanted and will still want some manner of escapism. Live music has always been one of those art forms that has constantly been able to provide people that outlet. For that night, you and your friends are out together, having a great time, and that positive energy carries over, even when you know you have to go back to your dead-end job or what have you the next day. If anything, it will be that desire that will keep the live music scene, albeit the regional scene, afloat during these troubling times.
The rising energy costs are going to take a serious toll on many bands and venues in the coming years, there is no doubt about that. If anything, it will force out the folks that are only in this business for the money, and give those who are in it for the passion and the love of it the chance to become prosperous. Not only that, the kind of art I'm expecting to be produced will be staggering (it already has). During the tumultuous 60s, musicians and artists were the ones who exposed the truth of our times and helped change the way we all thought and acted. Their art remains timeless to this day, and a lot of that was possible through the people's support of local and regional music and art. And understand this: these artists and musicians did what they did because they loved to do it.
I choose to do what I do because I love what I do. I could make it big, I could crash and burn, but no matter what could happen, the fact of the matter is that I am doing the thing I love at a time when many, MANY people can't or aren't able to for one reason or another. I could cry and moan about my credit card debt and not being able to afford to do this or that, but I choose not to, because I'm pursuing my dream.
With that in mind, despite these financially strenuous times that are coming upon us, I still encourage all of you to support local and regional music & musicians whenever you can. For a good amount of musicians such as myself, it's not so much about sex, drugs and rock & roll as it is about family, community, and art. We love what we do, and live the dream and life, no matter how hard it gets, and your support makes it that much easier for us to continue doing this.