Local Clubs On Life Support: 6 Reasons This DJ Scene Is Fading Away.. 

⚡ TIMESTAMPS ⚡ 0:00 Intro 2:39 What clubbing means to us 3:21 Why are nightclubs shutting down? 5:17 Phones are killing the vibe (Reason #1) 7:13 Everyone has access to the same music (Reason #2) 9:00 Big events and festivals have taken over (Reason #3) 10:37 Economic downturns (Reason #4) 11:51 Gentrification of city areas (Reason #5) 13:52 The rise of online connections (Reason #6) 14:40 What's the answer? 27:03 Hercules DJControl Inpulse T7 winner announcement

Your right smoking ban was the first nail in the coffin.. drinking tax, the drug police, owners of venues thinking they know more about music than the djs.. influencers and celebs becoming djs over night and ousting real djs out the booths.. inflation.. ground rents are stupid expensive.. and the kids of today have attention spans of a goldfish.. the list goes on.. big buisness took it and destroyed it..

People don't go out to have fun anymore, they go out to take pictures in which they look like they are having fun, that's all that matters to them.

Growing up in New York City and started clubbing in the late 80's was magical. A different club to go to every night of the week from Sunday to Sunday. Certain DJs had unbelievable followings. From house music to hip hop. Nowadays I think young people lost their flavor and aren't as cool as they think they are. I also agree with all the points you made as well.

Acid house changed clubbing. I remember you could go out every night in the early 90s. Everyone went out every weekend it was great times. Nobody cared what you looked like and you could be free. I’m afraid social media and phones has killed that.

The internet and social media/dating apps have been the biggest killer of the club scene hands down. People just aren’t socialising the way they used to. Going out, getting wrecked, dancing all night with your friends or trying to pull in a club just aren’t popular anymore with most of the younger generation. I think a lot of them are worried about cutting loose and having fun in case someone tags them the next day. Plus a lot of people find clubs intimidating. Now those people can listen to music and hook up with other people on their phones without worrying about embarrassing themselves or getting in a fight or spending loads of money.

I'm a 67 years old who was a full time club DJ. Clubbing is now underground or non-existent loc ally. I was lucky and got 20 straight years in a venue that held 1000+ and we did that 3-4 nights a week. It might never happen again.

In the berlin club scene, which is also struggling, many clubs are requiring people cover their phone's cameras while in the venue in an attempt to make people feel safer going again

An important factor in the decline of my local scene was that there was a massive drop in quality of music being played, when clubbing became popular with non-music enthusiasts. Promoters concentrated on appealing to as many people as possible, and eventually clubbing seemed to be about everything but the music. Music enthusiasts had fewer and fewer places to go. A diverse scene can sustain itself. A scene where every club competes at the same thing, cannot.

I concur with all of your points. There is not as much culture in nightclubbing anymore. Big events turns dance music into a rock festival. The great thing about nightclubbing was the people you would meet. It was the crowd that made the night great, and the DJ provided the soundtrack. Now the DJ is the star, and people just stand around and watch the DJ and the visuals. There is no social scene.

Also don’t discount the death of local radio. Everyone would listen to the radio and they would announce what’s going on at the clubs. Now everyone listens to Spotify or Apple Music. Radio made the connection between local clubs and the music you were already listening to on that station.

In the UK, the biggest reason clubs have disappeared is that pubs have been able to get licences until 1, 2 or 3 in the morning. In the past, the pubs closed at 11 or midnight at the latest and everyone moved on to there local nightclub until 2 or 3 in the morning. Now people don’t need to do that so they stay in the pub until late. This I believe is the biggest loss of the regional nightclub.

The great John Acquaviva once said, “There will always be people in their twenties that want to dance in a dark room together to good loud music” and I believe that with all my heart.

I've seen this problem rising pre-pandemic. It's the VIP and Bottle service culture. A DJ was telling me about the battles he'd have with club owners who would interrupt their sets and ask to play a theme song requested for the guy in the VIP booth ready to have his drinks brought out across the dancefloor. The whole party has to stop for these douchebags as it seems that's the highlight and attraction of the night.

because consumers no longer want to pay more and more money for their drinks and food in those venues

In the 90's leading up to the Y2k it was in the night clubs where you experienced the final transition from analog to digital the most. That race towards the future. The laser lights, the mixing of techno sounds (the word sounded like technological advancement) even the club flyers were designed with futuristic fonts. The club scene was dynamic, ahead of the 9-5 daytime mundane scenery. When you went out, there was this feeling of being part of a movement, almost like you had equity in the phenomena. If you traveled to parts where the sounds were unheard, you spread the word like an ambassador, promoting the vibe you were apart of..it was infectious. But then around 2003 we got there..the Future and many of us felt that the change from vinyl to cdj was maybe not such a good thing. We knew that the easier it got the more diluted those shares we once treasured would devalue and so began the decline. Everyone was now a Dj...throwing cakes 🍰🤦‍♂😪

1:30. That is so true about having a residency. Back in the 90´s and early 2000's, I was a nightclub dj for a good 10 years in New York and I had two residencies back to back. It was great because I got to build a crowd as well as a tell a musical story that would last over the course of weeks. Every weekend set was built on the last one and the crowd appreciated the consistency of knowing that every Friday, they would be hearing me. Now I live in Paris and when I go out, there are no residencies. Every weekend there's a different dj. No one knows what to expect when they go out and the lack of musical consistency is jarring.

Drink prices have gotten out of control here at our local club where we do our monthly night. It's hard to get people through the door when they have to pay 1.5x-2x more for the same drink as the bar next door or the next club down the street. The regulars are still there, but it's getting harder and harder to attract new people "off the street" and convert them to regulars.

Music is undergoing a significant transformation, and it's evident, Phil. In the days of physical media, artists generated both their music and income from it, fostering an environment conducive to crafting higher-quality compositions. Nowadays, music is ubiquitous, more cost-effective to produce, but often suffers from reduced quality, spanning the creative process, mastering, release, and promotion. The newer generation seems less attached to music, viewing it more as a utility rather than an integral part of life. The essence of music as a life companion appears to be fading, blending into the background for many.

I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s when clubs were it. The non smoking inside was the beginning. The drink prices are too much and social media has been a huge problem as well.

Insurance for clubs in South Carolina (USA) is bonkers now. Causing many to have to close their doors. What was a $5,000 - $6,000 policy skyrocketed to upwards of $20,000- $25,000. Others have had to increase prices to try and cover that increase. There is currently a petition for the SC Venue Crisis.

The kids now don't dance, they go to clubs and take selfies, but do they love the music like we did back in the day? No they can listen to music everywhere and anywhere thanks to streaming these days a and that's part of it Then there is the question of why pay to go see your favorite dj when they Livestream 3 days a week there's no motivation to actually get out of their rooms and go see these DJs play live, some have never felt the bass of a speaker vibrating the very strands of hair on there head and the perfect lighting all interweaved into one transformative experience. Lastly everybody is a dj there are too many and when you hear everyone and their mother spinning, it becomes, well less. This is my opinion.

My friend and i actually just started a basement club here in boston called Club Flora, it’s been a massive success especially with our limited capacity and “RSVP only” style of parties, it’s been amazing!

There’s so many factors that lead to the decline, including the DJs. The latest digital technology has helped to make EVERYONE a DJ. About 20 years ago, talent and skill was required to DJ, and they got paid for it. These days the DJs are dorky kids on a laptop and a sync button and they’re willing to play music for just about nothing.

Adding to the woes, Los Angeles witnessed a surge in criminal activities, particularly robberies, further dimming the allure of the nightlife culture. In essence, the nightlife landscape has been irrevocably altered, necessitating a concerted effort to revive its once-thriving spirit.

That picture reminds me of Circus Disco in Hollywood. The Dj booth was right on the dance floor just elevated slightly. Everyone could get right up near the Dj and interact with them. I got to meet so many Dj’s at that place. That’s something that I really miss about clubbing having that accessibility and to see Dj’s up close like that.

I was a touring DJ for a rap group. Once the tours ended I became a night club DJ but now only play in bar lounges. Most defiantly it’s the phones that killed the large rooms. People came to mingle and dance where now they’re busy on the phone updating their status with selfies 🤦🏽‍♂️

UK laws and over policing killed the DJ and music scene back in the 90's. 25,000 people raving in a field does not happen anymore, unless its a mainstream pop music event that happens once a year. All the clubs and venues I used to go to are either entirely different or closed down. Night life anywhere in the UK is dead compared to the old days.

In Australia we have several reasons for clubs closing the cost of entry, cost of drinks ,the brawls where people get hurt, some of the bouncers get aggressive with patrons. One of the biggest things that is killing night clubs is drugs and drink spiking venue are finding the younger people aren't drinking in the clubs some of local clubs had really massive drug related brawls and people got hurt and some of our clubs have been closed because the club owners get into drugs and they go broke

As an American, I think it’s a generation thing. I would say the dubstep and EDM movement was the beginning of the end. I’m 42, and I’ve been into dance music since the 90’s, and our generation had a deep appreciation for the music, and how it all began, and how certain sound’s evolved more than others in certain parts of the world. Ever since dubstep blew up, the crowd that came into the scene from that moment on had no care about anything previous, or anything outside of the world of dubstep. I would try so hard and talk to them about house, techno, jungle, or anything other than dubstep/trap, and they could give two shits less. I would even try and meet them on their territory, and try and go into the roots of dubstep, and talk about grime, and 2-step, and they would look at me the same way we looked at our old man when he would ramble about how music is nothing but shit now these days, and how music was good back in his day. Also along with this younger generation, clubs had no appeal to them. They loved festivals from the very beginning. They liked the flashiness, the carnival rides, the DJ riding a water raft over the crowd and throwing cakes in their faces, meanwhile 7 song transitions just happened with no one behind the DJ booth, or doing heart symbols with their hands and arms in the air. It really comes down to our generation is slowly dropping off as we get older, and the younger generation, just likes to party differently than we did. I love the music and I always will, but the older I get, the more I want to avoid large crowds, and all the hectic chaos that comes with it. I don’t want to be out later than 9pm, and I sure as hell don’t want to be up all night. Plus clubbing and doing stairs and walking several blocks from the parking lot, is hard on my my knee arthritis. Lol! Unfortunately a lot of people I use to club with, we all have different reasons. Some now have kids, some had horrible addiction and got clean, some have health issues, some own houses and can’t afford that lifestyle, and the list goes on. Over all I think it’s a generation thing.

In Sydney, Australia it’s the opposite. Many of the big clubs closed down and local clubs or club nights at local pubs, bars etc have been popping up everywhere. The vibe at some of these events is amazing.

Your points are absolutely on point. Especially where you talk about the phone addiction. It's absurd how the younger generation do not immerse themselves in the moment and enjoy every bit of what they are supposed to enjoy.. such a shame. The love of clubbing, it's excitement and uniqueness is fading away fast. Clubbing days are numbered for sure.

I think it's social media that basically took over the lives of the youthful adults. Clubs also used to be the place to go with a group of friends to try to hook up with others, but why do that when you can swipe on an app? Someone mentioned that the current vibe is drinking and head-nodding rather than dancing. YES... A few places I've played, this is absolutely true, and it sucks. Especially with urban hip-hop clubs. Dudes would rather stand against a wall, nodding their head, trying to look hard, and the females would rather sit at the bar with their friends, not wanting to be bothered, especially when they've already got a ton of DMs in an app. Another issue is that the music of this modern hip-hop culture is just not very conducive to getting people up and dancing like it used to be back in the 80s and 90s, but I have to play it, because it's what they want to hear. Every once in a while, on a night out with friends, we'll hit a club and I'm at that age (over 50) where we don't go into the urban hip-hop clubs anymore. We've found it completely boring. No place to sit. The music sucks. Nobody dances. Drinks are extremely expensive. There are always fights. We'll choose to go to a place that has room to sit, room to dance, and plays a variety of music that range from the 70s to the early 2000s. The vibe in those spots are completely different. Not only are the people much more personable, but people are also dancing, and the drinks are reasonable.

its crazy, the picture of Sasha, no one was on their phones. everyone enjoying the moment. the good o days

The house scene out here in Boston has actually been quite the opposite, it’s been booming! venues opening up left and right, people who never thought they would play in clubs now playing weekly, i have heard about other cities and their dying club scene, come to boston!

so on point with this. I live in a small town that use to have 57 bars with three discotheques and in the span of 10 years the police shut everyone down. We now have no more bars and a whole lot of drugs we did not have before. So people went from drinking and dancing to smoking crack and doing heroine in back alleys. We as dj actually have a heavenly mission to make people dance.

As somebody who lived and worked in Ibiza from 2009-2021, it was the greed and overcommercialism of the scene that bothered me the most. I was a club photographer for a few years, around 2012-2014, always made me sad to see the ocean of phones illuminating the clubbers faces, on the screen, a 3 inch image of DeadMau5 or Fatboy Slim or whatever skilled DJ was just in front of them, for real, doing their thing. Ticket prices were always high but now they're stupid high and if you want a drink in a club in Ibiza, expect to pay 15-30+ euros for a little bottle of water. All in all, it just lost it's magic as the big corporations came in. I'm in my early 50's now so I was lucky to live (and dance) through the golden years. Sadly I am back in the UK now - in a city famous for it's clubs - but I can't even afford to go to a pub for a pint, let alone a big night out.

You are right about the smoking ban. I was djing during that transition and it made a HUGE impact when trying to maintain a dancefloor....

Agree 💯. Iwas in Berlin about a month ago seing Egyptian Lover perform in a club. The coolest thing:: you had to leave urvphone at the door. It WORKS!

It's not just on-line dating. It is on-line socialising. When I wanted to chat with friends, we went to a pub, or club. No social media, no gaming. On-line has impacted on music too, as streaming gives musicians and labels less money. So labels spend less effort talent spotting.

hey phil! i really enjoy your content. i started to play music as a dj nearly 30 years ago and there are so many things in your videos that i can 100% agree with. keep going and all the best from germany

Great talk my friend, and very good points. I can see how the collective of everything you've mentioned is the culprit. One more thing, DJ's like me are now uploading mixes online and getting millions of views a month, which I couldn't of imagined 10 years ago.

I miss the Superclubs. I felt part of something in 99. The venue, music & the insane amount of Ecstasy made for the best times of my life. Thanks for this fantastic video. I've just found your channel. Big love, kindest regards, Richard U.K

Don't forget it's a generation of change here. So completely different when people love to stay home and the kids don't drink anymore like they used to they don't smoke anymore like they used to they don't even vape as much as people used to smoke they don't do drugs like they used to. The true beginning of the end is epitomized in that photo of Sasha playing to a crowd that is just watching. When people started standing around and watching the DJ rather than dancing to the DJ's music, that was the beginning of the end! Truly!

I'm based in Beijing and interestingly enough there are more underground clubs than before. This is also the case for smaller cities. Back in 2010 we struggled to find any underground venues. We had one called White Rabbit which closed and then there was nothing except the more commercial clubs. I remember the only underground club for around a year was actually a punk bar that was kind enough to let promoters do an occasional party there. It took a good few years before a real scene developed. One of the pioneering techno clubs called Lantern was regularly empty for around a year when it first opened. Fast forward to now and there are a good 5 or 6 medium to large underground venues. Covid was a struggle but there has been a bounce post covid. The reason I bring this up is that China has had an explosion of social media, video apps etc and it has the similar conditions where the younger generation are spending more time socializing on apps, yet the underground scene here in Beijing and across the country is flourishing.

I agree, it’s changed so much. I remember packed floors, social people, everyone dancing, amazing vibes. Now the floors are not packed, people aren’t social, people just stand there staring at their phones. Sad really, I’m glad I have the memories I do. Those were magical times…

I've experienced both sides as an older gen z. I've had many club experiences in Toronto, NYC and the caribbean but imo the house parties and casual type rooftop parties are where it's at in terms of partying in north america. The posing bottle service/vip stoosh parties are a killjoys tbh, everyone is taking themselves way too seriously and it ruins the mood. One would think mansion/house parties and frat parties have bad moods like the bottle service/poser vip crews but tbh they never were for me and those have been some of the best parties I've been too with bassment DJ's and all that. It really depends on the crowd and who's there also. If you got the link and know folks that host em then you are a lucky person. The word gets around about random rooftop and house parties depending on ur friend circle but if you're a social butterfly you're sure to come across many of them more than the average person. Also idk bout other ppl's cultural groups or what not but if you are into reggaeton/dembow/dancehall and know some dominicans or jamaicans then you'd prob have many links that would invite u 2 all kinds of parties. Since ppl can kinda separate themselves from others or say well "I'm not into this music scene" or this type of music sometimes they prevent themselves from experiencing parties associated w' these kinds of music genres (amapiano, eurodance, country, jazz, soca etc). In south africa, jamaica, dom rep, puerto rico, colombia and other countries clubs and nightlife are still "a thing".

Tinder plays a massive part, hookup culture was a massive part of the reason people went clubbing. Talked to club owners who outright said Athey noticed the impact of Tinder on the businesses

1. Dating/hookup apps, and 2. Circuit parties, 3. Streaming on-demand video, 4. Growth in popularity of DJ mixing equipment for at-home hobbyists

It’s the phones. 100%. You go to clubs to connect with community. Now it is in your pocket.

Good summary. The smoking thing definitely effected the scene which then led to extended opening times to try and compensate. Social tine WAS 8pm to 2am consistently. People could still just about function the next day to manage a family or go play sport. Now the only option for people who can’t stay up to 6am is a bar… clubs don’t open their doors until gone midnight. I hate to say it, but that’s why festivals are more popular these days as they open the door to those frozen out of the scene due to life commitments

This topic comes up frequently and I think your list was spot on!

I spin at a venue outside of NYC every Friday. Mostly younger crowd. I introduce old school and new school house. I find most stay by the bar and enjoy/Shazam the music. The older crowd dances more. I get many compliments on music choice/style of mixing. I think it’s mainly two things: social media and streaming. Maybe they don’t want to be recorded dancing? The phones are always out. They really don’t understand what the DJ is actually doing. They think I’m playing from a streaming site. Last Friday someone approached me and asked why I have to wheels in front of me/what are they for and what am I listening to in the headphones. I’ve been DJing since the 80s and have seen the gradual demise of the local scene but trying to reverse and bring back that atmosphere is a battle that I hope we win.

I'm a year older than you Phil, and the days before the internet was so much better for society as a whole. Going out if you were into a certain scene, you would only be able to experience it by actually going out and making an effort. Today it is all at a touch of a button. This is not unique. The digital age is killing everything. Jobs are being replaced by AI, including those of tech companies like Facebook and Instagram. Four blokes in a garage who created Instagram are basically responsible for the demise of Kodak and the 300,000 jobs that went with it. I could go on. I stopped drinking many years ago, but when I did, it was affordable. If you go to a trendy bar in East London and you buy a round of drinks, it's costing you a lot of money. Money that most people don't have, paying it with a credit card to impress others. One by one, these people are disappearing fast. The only way out of all this is to go down the unlicensed route. History doesn't lie.

I think there's a big omission here - safety. Two things with this... 1- People are crazy today. 2- There are people who don't want others to have a good time. I believe the 1980s were the most integrated time while I have been alive. Today, people are taught to hate, and taught to be offended. We are over politicized. We get offended to easy, which can lead to dangerous situations in crowded, population dense spaces. Unless there is concert level security (which costs money), large crowds of people consuming alcohol is unsafe in urban areas. COVID forced DJs to operate differently. Now doing club events is not as important, and it's safer.

Amazing analysis ! Thank you for the video

I remember the 90’s. Even standing in line outside the club was cooler than anything now. To me the clubs where magic. They where temples snd my nights sacraments. In Sweden the absolute centre of s town was usually businesses and shops, long closed by the time the club opened. My favorite was more or less a bar on the top floor, and another bar and a dance floor with the DJ downstairs. Some dancing, another beer, some chatting and you leave with someone whos name you didn’t quite get. When i go to my hometown i don’t see a town anymore. I see houses, mausoleums. No clubs, no cafés, not many shops. I can’t help blaming the very medium i’m now using….and a generation who thinks eating a strawberry and seeing a picture of one online are pretty much the same experience. When i use the term ”go out” now it is clear that most people don’t know what i’m talking about. Like you i met someone wonderful in a club. We had some years together and we clubbed in Cork and Kinsale as well ,as we lived in Ireland for a while. Also…where did all the wonderful weirdos go? The city was full of punks, goths etc….usually with their favorite clubs. From people dancing Lindy Hop in Harlem in the 1920 to people dancing to Hip Hop in the Bronx in the 1990’s. New Romance in the late 70’s and early 80’s. People ALWAYS clubbed, they always went out, always got seen, flirted and danced. I hate to go down town only to be met by a necropolis…..goth or not. 😂🎩 Ok, that was my grumpy curmudgeon rant. Sorry! 😆

In our hometown Phil (Reading), you will remember "The After Dark Club". Probably the most famous club in the area and also the club where Laidback Luke did his first ever paid gig. Well it closed down 2 years ago due to all the local housing/apartments that are now in that area. All the residents complained non stop about the noise from the club at night. Now they made the choice to move into an apartment next door to a nightclub that had been there for 35 years and then they force its closure. Very sad. So i think your right, its the regeneration of town centers.

As a DJ and Producer, I think my productions (i.e flips, bootlegs, mashups with my originals) still keep the heat alive but more and more people just wanna listen to songs they already know which demoralizes the art; making it redundant. There is no more room for experimentation. People nowadays just want the raw track that they have on their spotify playlists or they've found on Tiktok.

You took the words out of my mouth, the smoking ban was the beginning of the downfall of pubs and clubs in the uk

Thanks for making this video. It added to my perspective on the topic

The cost of operating is a reason. Utilities, securities, insurances, licensing. All these can be used to block things running hence why it's better to run a festival.

I somewhat middle-aged now (41) and I remember being so excited to order or buy a record. Having certain vinyls was your signature sound. On one hand I love that I can get any song I love instantly, on the other... yeah... it doesn't matter anymore if you had special connections, if you knew that one DJ that had a massive track and YOU got one of the white label copies from them... It also seems that electronic music in general is just dying out at least when it comes to people who listen to it in the club. These days it's just hip-hop and black music clubs everywhere I go. And even those clubs start to disappear.

Great topic. Great video. Thank you!

I live near Los Angeles/Hollywood. Our most legendary night clubs were sold to developers that turned the land into apartment's. The REAL problem is gentrification. The people that know how to throw clubs/parties eventually get old/sick/die and no one is prepared to fill their space. People take advantage of the loss and replace it with other mainstream money making vehicles. Things change. People change.

My kids are early to mid twenties and their lifestyle’s are completely different to the lifestyles of me and my wife at their ages. They go out later, meet for food then have drinks. They won’t pay entry to clubs when they can sit in a spoons until 3 or 4 in the morning drinking cheap drinks. These are the sad facts unfortunately.

There’s a lot of factors that led to the decline of local clubs. Constant noise complaints, the rise of microbreweries and causal drinking environments in the past decade, covid shutdowns cause closures, management scared to invest in entertainment and prioritizing profits solely from food and drinks, people saving their money for big shows and festivals rather than consistently going out in their local community. It’s been on a decline since the late 2000s but Covid definitely accelerated things in smaller cities.

Great video and some really interesting points here. As a resident DJ for many many years I think the points you raise have hit the nail on the head. Mobile phones are absolutely key to the decline in venues- people want to share things all the time on social media and unlike when we used to go to the same places week in week out- it's just not cool to do so any more. People want to share the most aesthetically pleasing videos and photos and not the same old same old all the time. Linked to phones is a massively diminished attention span- we live in a world where everything is available on demand and as a result people don't have the attention span to get immersed in the journey- they want instant gratification ie the next drop of the next song, their request played now etc etc. The amount of people who are literally stood on the dance floor, phone in hand waiting to film the drop of the track they know even at big events is staggering. I think also your point on dating sites is also valid- people don't socialise face to face anymore, everything is done through a screen. Gone are the days where you go to a club to socialise, drink, dance and potentially fall in love the way it used to be. Shame but the screen we have in our pocket has a massive impact on the scene and wider society. Great points

I decided that 2024 is the year I learn how to DJ and I’ve been really happy I found your channel so soon. You’ve helped me navigate dj software and form a plan on buying my first controller (Pioneer DDJ FLX4 when I have the money). I felt like this was a good channel, and then when you brought out the Tangled book I saw a few gems from The Designers Republic as you flicked through. Subscription earned. Looking forward to learning how to dj for fun at home or a friends party, loving your vibe, see you around :)

Great points, but there's one big one that I think it's missing.... CORPORATE MONOPOLIES. Here in Los Angeles, you can't book any big DJ's because of most of them are under contract with corporate promoters. I'm extremely lucky that I have a residency at a big indy club and we don't depend on big DJ's. But I've had a few big DJ's come to my venue and tell me they would love play for us, but they are under contract. That's a shame because we have a beautiful big venue that's in par with any other Super Club in LA with all the latest gear and visuals.

Hi Phil, Hope you're well, you are right about all of those things, but you have to bear in mind that public entertainment has big competition now with home entertainment - you can get anything now (and much cheaper) via the internet instantly without leaving your house and people are getting lazy as a result and not going out as much. Other factors to bear in mind is that there is much less great club music than there was in the 70s, 80's and 90's - if you look at pretty much any club chart from the 80s you'll see it's filled with iconic tracks that are still being played today, music with longevity - these records were brand new back then and because of the lack of specialist radio and the fact there was no internet not everyone had these records or could hear them on the radio, there was a special reason to go out and see a great DJ who was playing all this great stuff. Now by comparison it's very often a DJ who may only play a one hour set before another DJ comes on and all of them are playing mostly tight mix sessions of tracks that the audience don't know and won't remember so they are not having fun, then the focus is on nonsense like getting their phones out and filming the DJ who is often up on a stage clapping and waving his or her arms around dancing and in many cases knob twiddling miming to a pre-recorded set. This is often the case at lots of festivals, indoor and outdoor around the country with DJ lists made up of the ones who have the most TikTok followers and the result is that the crowd get used to this, they think this is clubbing and their apathy towards whether the DJ is actually even doing anything except dancing leads to the whole thing just not even mattering, so yes the local 'venue' is being eradicated and being consolidated into these events/festivals with a very low bar - big but inferior versions of the lighting system, the sound quality, the music, the skill of the DJ etc. Big promoters hiring cheap venues (now called 'events spaces') with rented stage, lighting and PA rig focused on selling the maximum number of tickets but putting all the budget into paying the TikTok star DJ's instead of into what used to be a real dedicated club. It's the older crowds who remember the good times in the 70's 80's and 90's that go to the best events, some at remaining clubs and there are still some great DJ's at these higher quality gigs such as Michael Gray, David Morales, Paul Dakeyne, Lenny Fontana, Norman Jay and some more that these older crowds respect and trust with their ticket price because they know they'll have a special night. If that kind of thing gets bigger and the crowds carry on going to see the good quality knowledgable DJ's then the scene can survive and grow again but if this fake DJ/festival thing becomes the norm then it's all over. Cheers Simon ps: There are some great real DJ's on Twitch doing regular live sets.

THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME! CONGRATS, YOU SAID IT ALL!

Great talk , Phil ! We need more of similar topics.

For those saying the DJ/Local Club scene is fading away, you simply aren't plugged in enough, you're living in the wrong locations, or you're approaching things the wrong way - sorry to say. I live in NY and the local scene is just fine here if you know the right people, the right promoters/groups to follow, or the right venues to frequent. Sure, there are venues where the "phone presence" is high but, there are also venues/parties that don't allow phones and/or its frowned upon and you will be removed for using one around the space. Sure, online streaming and digital platforms have centralized lots of music or popularized certain artists/sounds, but there are also platforms like bandcamp with thousands of independent artists releasing tracks every day that literally no one has heard before, right at your fingertips - it's just a different type of "digging". Sure, the cost of living has gone up, venues are expensive to run, and gentrification exists but, there are also tons of DIY parties, in repurposed spaces away from populated/residential districts, with local DJs making do with borrowed CDJs/controllers, PA speakers, and an industrial fan for the crowd - killing it. Moral of the story is - the scene has changed a bit and the way it's accessed might be different, but it very much is still alive. You just have to adapt and learn to be a part of it.

I was talking about this (sort of) with the booker (who is also a DJ) at the bar where I have my regular stand. The kids (people in their 20s) don't seem to be out as late anymore, at least in Phoenix. We get early rushes, and then it tapers off. I said, "You know what these kids have that we didn't? Legal weed." I suspect they go out early, have a few drinks, then it's back to theirs to spark up around midnight.

Yall beat me to it. I had been talking to my family about making a video on the death of clubs for a couple months but I attributed it partially to covid. Good job on the video. Those are mamy significant factors that reduced club attendance

love you guys!!

The answer to the solution is exactly what I have been working on for the past few years!! DJ gigs are hard to come by in the city I live in. It's all based on who you know. So, creating something myself is what I'm working towards.

Hey man, good video. Im 25 and have lost interest in clubbing of sorts. I think a massive part of this decline in clubbing for me and maybe others too is that steaming services/Social medias allow us access to every song possible and even unreleased music through mixes and youtube clips. This in some sense takes the enjoyment out of going to hear unheard music where as now we can listen to something unreleased instantly imo

I was working a club on and off between 2007 and 09. The business dropped in half after the 08 bank collapse. Simply put, many do not have the same level of disposable income, especially for the over 25 crowd. This is just my personal perspective from Canada

This is a great topic and has sparked great commentary in the comments. Thank you for this video!

I'd say all the things discussed are factors in the death of clubbing, but I'm nearly 50 now, so it won't be up to me to fix it. All as i can say is that i'm so glad i was in the thick of it, both as a clubber then as a DJ/Producer back in the 90s and into the 2000s. Happy times. I just hope the younger generation find their thing, that brings them as much joy as clubbing/dance music brought me.

The city center thing is 100% true. Arizona State University has expanded wildly and also (inexplicably) gotten into the real estate/development game itself. They put up a retirement tower in Tempe next to an established EDM venue, and the gravebait residents promptly sued the club for being noisy. After three years, an arrangement has been made, but we'll see how it holds. ASU has also established a campus in downtown Phoenix, and as a result, DT PHX has also undergone a multi-unit development boom. So far, this hasn't been a major problem for clubs.

Excellent video on this topic.

This is so very, very, very right. It's a mix of many things, but I identify a lot with the "special treats" that a DJ would have in the record cases. Different styles, mixed styles, special records. I DJ'd and had a very small following because they new 40% of my set would be "outside" the norm. The beautiful experience of finding special music, and sharing it, was... wow.. Also prerecorded sets etc.

I personally much prefer local events at bars where the DJs play a specific kind of music, Psytrance, House, Techno, Hardstyle mostly. Everyone there loves the scene because they WANT to hear the music! Not to dance to the latest top 40 trash a club manager wants the DJs to play to appeal to the audience of just-turned-18-year-olds and their (IMO) terrible taste in music.

The indoor smoking ban is a huge reason for club closure. When it came in, it decimated UK pubs. Stands to reason clubs would go the same way.

Love this video and deffo needed to be said.

So glad i found this channel, As an ex club deejay in his early 50's, this is simply perfect. Great job 😊

I think clubbing hasn't died, its just evolved into niche parties. I've seen more niche parties happening, especially as "tribes" have found ways to connect over the internet. These environments are often not plagued with cell phones or people just trying to be cool.

100% everything you’ve said is true! I used to shop for tracks I loved and in turn playing them was very enjoyed and enjoyable! And everything else you said is on point.

Hello! I'm glad I found this amazing channel!Yes, you are totally right!Around here in Brazil itt' s the same unfortunately! There are some restaurants where we can still find some deejays playing ( low music of course),but this is not the same as in a club!This new generation they arw focused on "games", "socia media" not in music anymore... 😢😢! Congrats for this wonderful work you have been doin' on this channel! Best Regards from this far country! Alexander

There has definitely been a shift in the percentage of types of crowds going out clubbing since 2019 here in Eastern Canada. I think people are going out for different reasons now. I think less people are going out to meet a potential partner than before and more people are going out to generally socialize. There are always those who come to dance and for the music. I think people are coming out more as a status thing as well with the increased cost of having an evening out. We are a university city here in Halifax and the party scene is alive and well on the weekends but 20 years ago you could go out almost every night of the week and there would be hotspots

I have several decades of clubbing under my belt. I was lucky while I was in the US military to travel and party at clubs mostly in Europe and S. America. It's strange that clubbing has declined in Europe and the US for sure. It's reached the point where some of my friends give me a strange look when I told them I went to a club over the weekend. In may ways it's just not the cool thing to do for many folks. I will agree with you on the cell phone thing. I will also agree with you on the music angle. Folks used to come out to be exposed to new or different music when they went to clubs. Now many people want to hear the radio stuff or what the other DJs all play. So creativity gets lost and the music becomes boring. Gentrification has killed several clubs in my city here on the east coast on the US. New buildings and tenants pop up, complaints about the noise from the clubs lead to the police shutting it down. I will also add crime and rowdiness to this list. More than ever I see fights breaking out and even shootings especially at hiphop clubs. Some clubs in my city have tried to go to age 30 and over to help with the problems. I will also add to that the overall crappy behavior of the guest. Many are rude to the DJs, bartenders and security. Many want stuff for free all night. Then there is the stupid line dancing all night or the classless twerking. Throw in parking issues, bouncers and security trying to pick fights. A bouncer in my city killed a guy with a punch last year. Then there is price gouging on drink prices. $10 per beer, $14 for cocktails and 20% tips adds up. In the end it all becomes a huge hassle. For many of us it's just so much more pleasant to just go to a friends private birthday party.

Your take is spot on.

WOW, never knew this was happening! Great social insights on what the reasons are. Something new will be born out of this. Think of all of the vacant space that can be used in "pop-up parties".

Music quality has been deteriorating for a while now. The fact that music making software is readily available and you can post so called dance tracks on digital platforms easily has meant a massive increase in very mediocre music. Also as a DJ of 30 years who started with vinyl, the art of DJing now seems to be all about over using effects and super long drop/breakdown transitions instead of beat mixing and blending songs to create musical journey. Every mix seems to follow the same format. Loop the current track to death ,play wackamole with the Cue button then bang in an almost identical beat /tune. James Hype is a classic example of a set being too fragmented with no coherency . When mixing vinyl you didn't have time to be punching the air and clapping. You spent it timing up and mixing the next tune in. As for why nightclubs are closing and festivals are more popular, I'd say its because nightclubs have lost the atmosphere of the 90's when the dance scene was all about the music & the weekend, every weekend. I wouldn't consider going to a club nowadays ,but I still do as many festivals as I can each year.

I felt that as soon as music was easily accessible fewer people went clubbing. Back in the day the only way to hear something truly new was in the club.

Great video. You covered most major points. Particularly like the bit about gentrification and for example Manchester+ remember going to Tangled a couple of times. Nice one

Fleet Week '97 in San Francisco in a small club everyone clapped for the DJ's music skills, imo intimate and thoughtful. ❤ New sub!